BLOOMINGTON - Here's good health news for the start of summer:

It is possible to enjoy the outdoors and be sun-smart and sun-healthy. | MyPantagraph: Healthy Living Group

Now, hold onto your wide-brimmed hat, 'cause here's even better news:

You can practice sun safety and still get a tan this summer - provided you use common sense and adhere to some sound advice.

"I didn't get burned once last year and got beautifully tanned," said Jori Cooper, the manager of Holiday Pool in Bloomington and a lifeguard for 11 years.

"It's my 11th year out in the sun," Cooper said. "If you're out in the sun enough, you will get tanned, even if you wear sun block."

Even sunscreen lets some light through to the skin, said Dr. Steven Quimby of Quimby Dermatology in Normal.

Cooper has her skin checked once a year by a dermatologist and hasn't had any problems.

To enjoy the sun and get some color without burning and increasing your risk of skin cancer, use a sunscreen that works for you, wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, limit your time in the sun at mid-day, and take breaks to get out of the sun.

"You can enjoy the sun safely by avoiding long-term contact," said April Fisher, lead instructor and health and safety assistant for the American Red Cross of the Heartland, based in Bloomington.

Even though she practices sun safety, Fisher, a lifeguard for 33 years, said "I get a tan every year."

"Technically, there's no such thing as a safe tan," Quimby said. But Quimby also knows that people feel better being outside, that outdoor activity can be healthy and that many people "feel better with a little color."

"People need to have a reasonable attitude," Quimby said. "It wouldn't be healthy to hide in a cave."

But for people who want to get a tan inside, Quimby is firm: Don't use indoor tanning beds, which use UVA (ultraviolet) rays that can lead to premature aging of the skin and may do more damage than UVB rays.

Instead, he said, use self-tanners, which come in lotion form.

"They're safe, with an FDA-approved chemical that's been used for a long time," he said. "They work with protein in your skin to make another pigment. You can have color without risky behavior."

Here are tips for people who want to get that bronze look outside.

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Sun tips

Ease into summer

Some people spend much of their summer indoors in the air conditioning. Then when they have a day outside, their body isn't acclimated to the sun and heat, said April Fisher of the Red Cross.

"They rush outside, spend several hours there, and get burned," she said. "Then they think, 'Oh, I don't want to do that again,' and they go back inside to video games."

Fisher recommends easing outside this time of year when the weather is warming but isn't yet overly hot and the sun isn't as intense. Gradually spend more time enjoying the outdoors.

Beat the clock

Limit your amount of time outside when the sun is most intense - between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Pick your sunscreen

Dr. Steven Quimby doesn't recommend specific brand names for sunscreens and urges patients to try several until they find one they like. "They're all about the same," Fisher said.

Quimby recommends a sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15, which blocks 93 percent of the sunlight and lets through 7 percent. A sunscreen with an SPF of 30 lets through 3 percent of the light and an SPF 50 lets through 2 percent, so you're not gaining much advantage by moving up to SPF 30 or 50, he said.

Get a broad spectrum sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Water resistance has not been proven in sunscreens, he said.

Slop it on - again

Use sunscreen when you will be out in the sun for more than a few minutes on sunny days between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Quimby suggested. Apply about 30 minutes before going outside and reapply about every 90 minutes that you are out.

If you get into the water, reapply sunscreen when you get out.

If you are exercising outside and perspiring a lot, reapply sunscreen as soon as your workout is over, Quimby said.

Slip on sunglasses

Sunglasses should block ultraviolet radiation; too much time in the sun without adequate eye protection could damage the cornea, said the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness. When buying sunglasses, look for a label that says the glasses offer 99 percent to 100 percent UV protection. Cooper wears sunglasses with polarized lenses to limit glare off the water.

Get some fashion

"Wear the widest, broadest-brim hat you can find," Quimby said. The classic baseball cap protects the forehead but not the sides of the face, the ears or the back of the neck, he said. Cooper wears a straw cowboy hat.

Take sun breaks

Even people who spend the entire day out in the sun practice sun safety. "Ninety percent of my time as a lifeguard is spent under an umbrella," Cooper said. Seek shade often and stay hydrated to reduce the risk of headaches and feeling faint.