It's worth it to avoid a serious burn on occasion. And it's fine if you do that with some zinc sunscreen with minimal GC chemicals.

But the reality is that if you eat a healthy diet with lots of fat soluble vitamins and anti-inflammatory plant compounds and have a natural base tan for that time of year, you really don't need to worry about getting burned at all unless you're in direct sun from like 9am-5pm straight in late June.

I'm shocked how many retarded parents I see slathering sunscreen all over their their kids at like 4pm in March or September when the UV index is 0. Total retards.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5598788&forum_id=2#48114767)

For example, being in the sun causes your skin to protect itself from the sun. So, for example, if you are out in the sun from 8am-1pm, you're less likely to get burned than if you were in the sun from just 11am-2pm -- all things equal. IR radiation in the morning prepares your skin for the forthcoming UV radiation. It, interestingly, has partly to do with melatonin (not melanin) contained in the mitochondira of the cells in your skin.

As another example, sun exposure is a fairly weak predictor of skin cancor generally, and skin cancer death specifically. Diet, excecise, etc. are all must more important than avoiding sun. And, shockingly, people who work outside in the sun a shit load have no high skin cancer risk than people who work in an office. Like I said, turns out the conventional widsom is fucked on this topic.

All that said, it's still worth it to avoid getting sunburn -- but you can do a lot with diet and livestyle to avoid sunburn -- not just avoid UV radiation hitting your skin.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5598788&forum_id=2#48114788)