Sun protection for Burning Man

Most of the burn happens away from the hex. The shade structure keeps camp livable at 2 p.m. The four-minute walk that takes twenty is a different problem. The Survival Guide puts sunscreen and sunglasses on the must-bring list, and a hat with a chin strap plus umbrellas or parasols on the should-bring list for midday away from camp. This page is how those lines become gear.

We are an independent outfitter. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Burning Man Project. The event name is used so you know which week this gear is for.

The hat

Buy a hat with a strap you will actually clip. The playa wind does not care that the brim looked right in a mirror. A wide brim shades the face and the neck. A baseball cap shades a forehead and leaves the ears. Clip it before you get on the bike. A hat in the basket is a hat you are not wearing. A cotton shemagh covers the neck and works for ordinary dust and sun. It is not the respirator, and it is not the goggles.

The sun hat with a chin strap is a search, because colors and brims rotate. Pick a strap and a brim, and skip anything with fringe or glitter. A cotton shemagh is the neck and the light dust. Wet it if you want. It is still not a whiteout mask.

Sunscreen you can see

A mineral sunscreen you can see on the skin is harder to pretend you applied. Put it on before you are already burned: ears, hands, the back of the neck under the scarf, the part in the hair, the tops of the feet if they are out. The tube lives in the day bag. A single coat at 9 a.m. is how the shoulders go by 3. Reapply. Dust on your skin is not shade.

We link a search for mineral sunscreen, SPF 50, face and body, because the tube that is in stock changes. Read the one you open. Lip balm with SPF is the same hour, smaller.

Shade you can carry

An umbrella is the roof that fits in a basket. It is for the walk. It is not the 10 by 10, and it is not a toy to keep open in a whiteout. Wind turns it into a kite. Close it, put the goggles on, and bring it home. A white or silver canopy throws light. A black one is a small oven you are holding. Either one beats a bare scalp at noon. We are not repeating a wind-speed claim from the listing. If the afternoon is the hot part of the day, the city's guide already tells you to consider laying low.

The compact travel umbrella is the one we opened. If the frame is bent when you get it, send it back before the week, not on the playa.

After the skin is ahead of you

Get into shade. A small aloe gel is the comfort the first-aid booklet lists for a minor sunburn, on skin that tolerates it. Follow the label. Keep the cap on so the dust does not take the jar. A blistered burn, confusion, or a person who stops sweating and feels wrong is a medical tent, not another squeeze of gel. At night, after the wipes, a plain unscented lotion is how the skin does not split by Thursday. Scented bottles are a gift to everyone in the tent.

The gel is Fruit of the Earth aloe. We do not repeat purity claims from the box. The booklet is the BRC first-aid PDF. Lotion at night is unscented lotion. The frame that stays at camp is the shade structure. What you wear for the rest of the day is what to wear. The pouch for the aftermath is the first-aid kit.