Performance gear deserves care and attention. The wetsuit gets rinsed and hung up out of the sun. Leashes are stored uncoiled. Boots are cleaned and dried. You look after it because it looks after you. There's one piece you've had longer than anything else, will never replace, does the hardest job and might receive the least attention: Your skin. So let's treat it like the rest of the kit you rely on.
Header image: The right dose of sun is a good thing! Photo courtesy of Little Urchin.
SKIN IS GEAR
Gear has a rating, a job, and performs as well as your upkeep permits. Skin is the same. The sun isn't the enemy. Morning light helps set your body clock, and most of us feel better after time outside. Maximum benefit at minimum cost starts with reading the conditions.
Let’s start with the rating. Every piece of kit tells you what it can take. Skin has a rating most of us don’t bother to learn. Dermatologists use the Fitzpatrick scale, running from skin that never tans to skin that rarely burns at all. Knowing where you sit tells you how much margin you've got.
You check the swell and wind conditions before you paddle out. The UV index is a forecast of how strong the sun is, and three is the magic number. Above that is strong enough to do damage. In an Aussie summer that's most of the day. Under three, you can pretty much relax.
Water complicates things. The surface bounces UV back up, so you're copping it from all directions. It’s cool touch masks how burned you’re getting and scrambles your warning signals.
Nate Florence buffering his Florence protective gear with some overhead coverage. Photo By Brent Bielmann.
LAYERS OF DEFENCE
There are layers of defence between you and damage. Material is your foundation. A rashie or a long-sleeve top doesn't wash off or need topping up. That UPF number on the tag tells you how much UV the fabric blocks: UPF 50 stops around 98% of it. If you only sort one thing out, sort this.
Sunscreen* is the one most don’t do enough of. The number on the bottle assumes you're putting roughly a teaspoon for your face and neck, and a teaspoon for each arm and leg. Skimp to half that and fifty behaves more like seven. Using enough, getting it on twenty minutes before you're out, and re-applying every couple of hours, and straight after you've been in the water or had a towel near you, will improve results.
Zinc is shielding for the places you can’t cover with fabric. It’s a heavy duty barrier in places getting hammered and losing their cover: your nose, cheekbones and ears. Cream for broad coverage, zinc for the critical zones.
Before you chill, rinse off, and give your skin a chance to breathe. Photo by Parkit.
Finally, there’s maintenance. Do the work between the sessions. Rinse salt and chlorine off; both of them dry skin out. Hydration and sleep are key because skin repairs when you're least active. Moisturiser on the parts taking the most weathering keeps the surface from drying out and wearing thin. Protection is an ongoing process. Plenty of your sun comes from the ordinary outdoors of a normal day. Treat a bit of daily cover as routine upkeep. Put in the effort on the quiet days to reduce the strain on the big ones. Most equipment breaks in, getting better with use as it molds to you.
A tan looks like adaptation. It is the opposite of conditioning; a record of damage, and it's cumulative. A base tan isn't money in the bank so much as the bill arriving.
A cool breeze and a bit of cloud might lull you into a false sense of security. Stay vigilant. Photo by The Captain.
Any gear you rely on gets a regular once-over. A hand down the rail looking for dings and cracks, the leash inspection searching for nicks and cuts. When you notice a freckle or mole behaving differently or a new addition turns up, be the person who investigates early. Every other bit of kit in your quiver is expendable. This is the piece you get issued once. No warranty, no seasonal upgrade.
The sun is not a threat to evade. There’s goodness in those rays: the vitamin D, the clear head, the time out enjoying yourself. You benefit most by managing the dose. Look after the piece of kit you can't replace, and it'll keep taking you out there for a long time yet.