UV does not need a blue sky at Big Bay

Most UV comes through light cloud. What people use to judge risk is heat, and on this coast the wind removes the heat while the UV stays. That is how you get a red face on a day you would describe as cold.

Water and wet sand reflect UV back up at you, so a session gives you a second dose from below — under the chin, the underside of the nose, the ears.

Spring UV rises quickly here from September. The index in the middle of the day is already high enough to burn pale skin in well under half an hour.

Water-resistant sport formulations are made to stay put through sweat and sea, usually thicker, often a stick or a cream rather than a light lotion. They are what you want for a surf, a kite session or a long ride.

Everyday facial sunscreen is lighter and pleasanter and comes off in the water. Fine for the school run, not for two hours in the sea.

Water-resistant is not waterproof. Reapply after towelling, every two hours regardless, and use more than you think — most people apply about a third of the tested amount.

Lips have almost no natural protection and lip cancers are not rare. A balm with sun protection, reapplied, is the whole intervention.

Ears — tops and backs — are the other spot we see damage on in people who have spent years on this coast. A cap does not cover them. Neither does a hood in the water.

Add: the back of the neck on the bike, the tops of the feet on the beach, and the parting in your hair.

Skin that has seen no real sun since October burns in a genuinely surprising amount of time here, and the wind hides it completely. First few days: shade in the middle of the day, a shirt in the water, and reapply.

Sunscreen bought at home may be an older formulation or a different rating system. Ask us and we will match it.

Blistering burn, burn with fever or feeling unwell, a burn in a baby or small child, or any mole or patch that is changing, bleeding, itching or not healing — see a doctor. Skin checks are worth booking here whether or not anything looks wrong.