European guidance on sun protection is honestly, rubbish. I always turn to the Australian’s for such guidance, because for Australians, skin cancer is a serious public health issue. Two out of three Australians will get some form of skin cancer before they reach 70 AND over 95% of skin cancers are caused by exposure to UV radiation.
That means PREVENTION OF SKIN CANCER BY REDUCING EXPOSURE TO UV RADIATION IS AN OPTION.
As Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer globally, its worth paying attention to what the Australians say about sun protection measures.
Protection against UV radiation is not just sunscreen
The approach the Australians take is five pronged as follows:
Clothing
Wear clothing that covers your shoulders, neck, arms, legs and body.
Choose closely woven fabric or fabric with a high ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) rating in a dark colour.
Sunscreen
Use an SPF 30 or higher broadspectrum, water-resistant sunscreen. Apply 20 minutes before going outdoors and reapply every two hours, or after swimming, sweating or any activity that Causes you to rub it off.
For an adult, the recommended amount is 1 teaspoon for each arm, each leg, front of body, back of body, and the face, neck and ears – a total of 7 teaspoons of sunscreen for one full body application.
Hat
Wear a hat that shades your face, neck and ears. This includes legionnaire, broad-brimmed and bucket hats. Choose fabric with a close weave that doesn’t let the light through.
Baseball caps and sun visors do not offer enough protection.
Shade
Use shade from trees, umbrellas, buildings or any type of canopy. UV radiation from the sun is reflective and can bounce off surfaces, such as concrete, water, sand and snow, so shade should never be the only form of sun protection you use.
If you can see the sky through the shade, even if the direct sun is blocked, the shade will not completely protect you from UV.
Sunglasses
Protect your eyes with sunglasses. Wraparound styles are best. Sunglasses should be worn all year round to protect both the eyes and the delicate skin around the eyes.
What other things should I consider?
UV radiation is at its peak between 10am and 2pm/3pm, so avoid going out then.
Finally, sun protection measures apply to kids as well, except keep in mind, that children will burn quicker (greater surface area than adults), so there sun exposure time should be limited
Source of most of this blog is https://www.cancer.org.au/ (verbatim)