Tips for Protecting Your Skin from the Sun

• Apply sunscreen generously before going outdoors. It takes approximately 15 minutes for your skin to absorb the sunscreen and protect you.
• Use SPF 30 (or higher) sunscreen with UVA/UVB protection.
• Use 1 ½ ounces of liquid sunscreen (shot glass size or the amount you can hold in your palm) to fully cover all bare skin on your body. Remember your neck, face, ears, back, and tops of your feet.
• Reapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours.
• Fair-skinned people are at a higher risk for burns and melanoma, but people of all skin tones are vulnerable to skin damage.
• Seek shade, keeping in mind that the sun is strongest between 10 am and 4 pm.
• Wear protective clothing that covers as much of the skin as possible.
• To protect your lips, apply a lip balm with a SPF of at least 15.
• Wear a hat with a wide brim and sunglasses with UV protection.
• No sun for babies. Babies have sensitive skin that can easily burn so those younger than 6 months should always be kept in the shade when outdoors.
• Avoid artificial sources of UVA radiation, including sunlamps and tanning booths.

Did You Know?

Since 2019, our Payson Center for Cancer Care has partnered with the Rotary Club of Concord, Concord Parks and Recreation, and IMPACT Melanoma to protect and educate community members related to sun exposure. Generous grants from the Rotary Club of Concord have supported the purchase of the following items:

• Sunscreen dispensers for all seven Concord New Hampshire community parks with pools/splash pads to include: Keach, Rollins, White, Merrill, Rolfe, Kimball, Garrison;
• Sunscreen dispensers for use outside of the Payson Center for Cancer Care and at Concord Hospital Trust fundraising events like Rock 'N Race, Pedaling for Payson and the Challenge Scramble Golf Tournament;
• SPF 50 broad-spectrum sunscreen with UVA/UVG protection that is water resistant, reef friendly, and without oxybenzone or octinoxate; (view ingredient list)
• Two 10x10 tents for Concord Parks and Recreation campers seeking shade;
• Twelve large lifeguard umbrellas;
• Toolkits with information, UV bracelets and skin cancer identification cards.