Unsound basis

Those sunnies will protect your eyes, but don’t expect the hard-earned tan to protect your skin...

Living in tan-tasy land

If you built up an all-over “base” tan this summer, you won’t burn as easily, right? Wrong! According to research in Scientific Americanmagazine, the diference between pale and tanned may be as little as 10 more minutes in the sun before skin begins turning painfully pink. “A base tan only provides an SPF, or sun protection factor, of 3 or less, according to the US Surgeon General,” explains the piece. In other words, as cool as your island-holiday tan looks, you still need to be just as careful next time you venture out into the sun for any leng th of time. What’s more, base tans that come courtesy of a tanning salon are even less efective and, according to an additional study, may only equate to an SPF of around 1.5.