Though I had managed to streamline my process (which included heaping on gobs of sunscreen to every unexposed centimeter of skin, waiting for it to soak in and create a greasy film, and repeating throughout my outdoor time) to the point that it took approximately 10 minutes, I wasted a ridiculous amount of time because of my skin-cancer phobia.

I needed an alternative.

Enter spray-on sunblock.

I had previously viewed the idea of spray-on sunscreen with much skepticism. Sun protection cannot be so simple, I thought. I eventually broke down, though, and decided I had to test it. I attempted to create some version of a controlled experiment by comparing Neutrogena's Fresh Cooling Body Mist sunblock to the Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch sunblock of the same brand, my normal sunscreen of choice.

After reading the directions multiple times to tackle the issue of proper application and dealing with a challenging bit of wind, I was able to get the stuff onto my skin. While the so-described "cooling" sensation was only somewhat detectable, my senses were most assaulted by the gross, aerosol-ridden stench. I would imagine that the atmosphere appreciated it as little as I did.

Smells aside, though, the effectiveness of the sunscreen warranted a fairly high rating. I didn't get any sunburn and even seemed to have gone tan-free. This was a particularly impressive feat given the fact the highest available SPF level of the spray-on type was 45, which should have paled in comparison to my normal SPF 70.

Thus, in spite of a few misgivings about its environmental safety, I am basically a convert to the spray-on sunscreen. If nothing else, I will always opt to use it when time is an issue.