Skin Health: How to Tell if You’ll get Burnt on a Cloudy Day

It’s getting to that time of the year, summer has passed and the early autumn days are bringing some overcast, cooler days. It’s actually beautiful weather to get outside – not stinking hot, but not too cold. Many of us are enjoying outdoor exercise, picnics in the park, or even making the most of those final few beach trips. At the end of the day, the last thing you want is to come home burnt, mortified (and mystified!) as to how it happened. It was cloudy, and you were in the shade all day, right? Burnt skin is not healthy skin and can even lead to skin cancer, so we need to consider how we can prevent this, for the sake of our health and our family’s health.

Can you get burnt on cloudy or cool days?

Yes! As I mentioned before, many of us have learnt this the hard way. The sun can damage your skin on windy, cloudy and cool days. This is because it is ultraviolet (UV) radiation, not temperature, that causes skin damage. A cool or overcast day may have UV ratings akin to those on a warm, sunny day.

This is because UV radiation can travel through clouds. What’s scary is it might even be a stronger UV rating when the clouds are out, as the rays reflect off the clouds. Surfaces like sand, water and even grass can also increase the intensity because the rays can reflect off them too.

Can you get burnt on windy days?

Contrary to popular belief, the Cancer Council have advised that there is no such thing as wind burn on a windy day. If it’s windy and you get a red face, it’s likely to be sunburn.

Will a tree block UV rays?

It will block some UV rays, but others can bounce from the surfaces I mentioned above, reflecting onto (and damaging!) your skin.

How can you tell if you’ll burn on a cloudy day?

Remember – you can’t see or feel UV rays, so don’t let your senses trick you! Check the daily sun protection times for the UV rating, available online in the Cancer Council’s homepage SunSmart module, in the weather section of newspapers, or on the free SunSmart app. The UV Index or rating is a simple way of describing the daily danger of solar UV radiation intensity. The sun protection times show when the UV is forecast to be 3 or above.

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How to prevent burning on a cloudy day

You should always use the Cancer Council’s five sun protection measures – clothing, sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and shade – to ensure the best protection.

Sun protection is is something I am so passionate about, especially since having Finn. I can’t bare the thought of his precious little skin being damaged at such a young age. Reis and I have the responsibility to model sun protection to Finn, so whenever we go to the beach we wear our rashies, hats, sunglasses (well for Finn we do our best, but they don’t stay on long, as you can see!), sunscreen, and sit in the shade or pop up an umbrella.

My favourites from the Cancer Council Council Sun Protection Range

Cancer Council Bonnie & Neil collection

As Eat Pray Workout is a big supporter of the Cancer Council they have generously gifted us with some of their range to share with you. As you can see it’s far from dorky, in fact they have a stunning new range (pictured above) by textile design duo Bonnie & Neil.

Cancer Council’s Ugly Xmas Rashie

If however, it’s still not ‘cool enough’ for you, then I recommend embracing the Ugly Christmas Rashies – what a hoot they are! There’s the traditional red and navy below or this year they brought out the gorgeous Cockatoo range.

The Cancer Council also have a lovely range of reasonably priced polarised sunglasses, rashies, and shade options. The umbrella pictured above is a print from the Bonnie & Neil range, which always makes me feel like I’m on holidays! We often use the umbrella over the play pool at home or when we are on a picnic.

This picture above in my Ugly Christmas Rashie was Finn’s first time at the beach…I can’t believe this was over a year ago now!

Know someone who needs a reminder that they can still be burnt in the shade? Share this post with them and together, let’s help prevent cancer.