I’m at the Luckie Park pool off Adobe Road in Twentynine Palms. The morning lap swim is a perfect way to cool down while getting some exercise. And it’s even a bit of a local secret, with just a handful of people here, and several lanes open.
I thought I’d poll the local lifeguards about what they do to protect themselves from the sun.
This is Gianna Bilderain’s third summer working as a lifeguard here.
Gianna Bilderain: “I use basically everything, whatever I can find because I’d rather not get sunburned. I usually use SunBum.”
Bilderain recommends using 70 SPF or higher and re-applies two or three times during a five hour shift.
The pool’s office has extra sunscreen for patrons who forget theirs, but she still sees people coming in with sunburns.
“I’ve seen very bad burns, especially on the younger kids. We have a day camp that comes over every day, and almost every single one of them has a very bad burn underneath their eyes.”
Jaelyn Hannan, also in her third summer lifeguarding at the pool, uses a mineral sunscreen, and just bought zinc oxide, beeswax and olive oil to make her own.
Jaelyn Hannan: “I was doing a whole bunch of research on the chemicals that are in the regular everyday sunscreen. … It’s important to protect your skin. I want to know what’s going onto my body.”
Whether you buy it at the store, borrow it from a friend or make it yourself, don’t forget your sunscreen at the pool. It’s too hot for that.
