Living in Siargao with pale British skin can be challenging – especially when the UV levels reach ‘Extreme’. As someone with English/Irish heritage who learned the hard way, I’m here to share my essential sunscreen recommendations and a cautionary tale that might save your skin (literally).
The time I became a lobster actually wasn’t even in the dry season, it was late January 2023. We decided to drive by car to the north to surf at Secret Paradise and on the drive, it was raining of course. When we arrived, it was still raining and I just thought ‘fuck it, I won’t put anything on, I’ll be fine’.
After 20 minutes in the ocean, the skies cleared and the sun emerged. I was having so much fun that I completely forgot about my complete lack of sunscreen.
I surfed for 1 hour and when I came out I was feeling good, had a great session and I was feeling alive!
We’d packed food with us so we sat down, began to eat and I started to feel that my skin was quite tender. Jamie was like ‘ooo, looks like you caught the sun’.
My god, I kid you not, over the next few hours I began to develop and it was baaaaad.
After leaving Secret Spot, we drove to Kolekbibo (amazing veggie/vegan food) and when we walked through the doors, the owner’s partner Darren saw me and was wide eyed. This was not good.
We stayed for a drink and soon it was time to check into our Airbnb. By 3pm my skin was a deep shade of red and it really hurt!
I showered which provided some relief but trying to dry yourself with a towel after was torture!
That evening we were going to eat at Izustarri (amazing Spanish food and wonderful owners – Borja and Daphne) and when we arrived, Daphne saw me and gasped. I asked if they had any aloe vera but she didn’t.
It’s safe to say I barely slept that night, my skin was so dry and so raw that at around 3am, I had to get up and shower again and the only fucking lotion that I had with me was my sunscreen (which I had packed by the way). So in the middle of the night I had to cover myself with sunscreen to try and relieve the discomfort.
The next morning I was able to find some aloe but honestly, it took around a week for my skin to heal and for around 5 day I was pealing like the fucking snake.
I’m telling you all this so you don’t make the same mistake I did!!!
I was cocky! But oh no, my English / Irish roots were laughing at me for my stupidity!
PACK SUNSCREEN!
2 days after the initial burn
5 days after the initial burn
Once I started actually using sunscreen daily, I have actually become the most tanned I’ve ever been (which compared to everyone else here is still incredibly white) but it just goes to show, you can tan while wearing sunscreen.
The brand I now use daily is by Alturist.
I’d been recommended by a colleague in the U.K. and it was developed by a doctor who dealt with many patients who had skin cancer and one of the big issues that he came across was that his patients found that sunscreen was too expensive.
He decided to develop an affordable range and I absolutely love them.
It’s lightweight and doesn’t smell which I find to be so important when choosing an everyday sunscreen.
The products I bought over from the UK and currently recommend for everyday use are:
Dermatologist Sunscreen SPF 30 – 1 Litre
Dermatologist Sunscreen Face Fluid SPF 30 – 50ml
Dermatologist Anti Redness and Pigmentation SPF50 Tinted Face Cream – 30ml
These sunscreens are also reef friendly as they do not contain harmful chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate that can damage marine life.
If you don’t have the luggage weight to bring before hand then there are a number of reputable brands being sold in Siargao that are also reef safe including:
Human Nature 50ml Safe Protect SPF 30
Sun Bum SPF 30 Sunscreen Lotion
Both of these can be purchased in KS Boardriders next to Mondayys and Shado Surf in General Luna.
I hope that this guide will be helpful for those travelling to the Philippines who have pale skin and want to ensure that they are properly protected.
