They grew up chasing tans. Now these redheads swear by shade and sunscreen.

As a redhead, my relationship with the sun is complicated. I love feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin. But I also know it’s basically trying to kill me.

My hair color, fair skin and freckles put me in the highest risk group for skin cancer. Bottom line: I’m really not meant to be in the sun. That didn’t stop me from spending my teen years wishing that all of my freckles would magically blend into a coveted tan like the ones my friends flaunted on the beaches of Santa Monica, Calif., where I grew up. It also meant that I wasn’t always as diligent about protecting my skin as I should have been.

But as an adult, I don’t mess around with the sun. I’ve been a sunscreen evangelist for years now, telling anyone who will listen, including my kids on the daily, about the importance of wearing sunscreen every day — yes, even on cloudy days and even indoors. And even on a plane!

Many fair-skinned redheads go through a similar journey: wishing they could tan (or at least that their freckles would disappear), getting sunburned and then (hopefully) realizing they need to step it up when it comes to slathering on sunscreen. I spoke with three of my fellow redheads about how they handle the summer sun, the hard lessons they learned about sunburns and the sunscreens they swear by. Even if you’re not a redhead, their sun protection strategies are worth stealing.

‘I do remember having this delusion that I could tan’

Every redhead has a story about being teased and another one about getting a bad sunburn — and Kate Loveless is no exception. In elementary school, “there was a boy who realized carrot tops were green, so he called me ‘carrot butt’ all through 6th grade,” she tells Yahoo. “I remember someone calling me ‘brick’ or ‘red.’”

Loveless was younger than that, however, when she got the worst sunburn of her life. “I think I was in fourth grade, and I remember having to explain to people what happened — it was a really bad sunburn. That was pretty embarrassing.” Loveless, who is the founder and creative director of Redhead Revolution, a makeup line for redheads, thought she’d largely learned her lesson after that. Then came college. “I do remember having this delusion that I could tan, even though I knew I couldn't,” she says. “I thought I was getting darker. In retrospect, when I look at photos from that era, I just looked red.”

While she loves sunshine, she says her sun-worshipping days are long gone. “Nowadays, if I'm going to the beach or a pool with friends that tan, I'm like, ‘Alright, I'm not on your level,’ so I make sure I come prepared with a cover-up, an umbrella and my SPF because otherwise I'm telling them I have to leave in about 30 to 40 minutes — that's my limit.”

Her go-to sun protection: Loveless typically uses Sun Bum or Neutrogena sunscreen spray, saying about the latter: “It dries really dry, which I like — it's not greasy.” Since remembering to put on sunscreen (and reapply it) is half the battle, Loveless stashes it in multiple places, including in her bathroom, car and handbag. Although she admits she hasn’t always been good about wearing sunscreen every day, that’s changed after she discovered the popular Korean brand Beauty of Joseon, at SPF 50, which she now wears daily.

“I really hate when my scalp gets burned so I do try and wear a hat when I’m in the sun,” she adds. Like me, Loveless also has a hard time seeing in bright sunlight — “my eyes can’t handle it,” she says — so sunglasses are a must. They also help shield eyes from harmful ultraviolet rays.

‘I don’t care what kind you buy — reapply, reapply, reapply’

Meghan Lagergren, a redhead with two ginger-haired kids of her own, is fully aware that people stare at their vibrant locks. “We stick out,” she tells Yahoo. “When I walk around with the two kids, it’s unbelievable how many people comment.”

Even though her hair stands out, Lagergren wanted to blend in with her friends growing up. “There were times when I thought, I can tan like a couple of my fun Italian friends, but no,” she says. “I remember being on the beach with a couple of friends and being burnt. Later on that night, we're all going out and they look tan and fun, and I am in pain.”

She remembers feeling the “social pressure” of wanting a tan. “When you’re a teen, you also don’t have your mom reminding you to put sunscreen on every two hours,” which resulted in some sunburns. She says that caught up to her as an adult.

Lagergren has had multiple skin cancers, including stage 0 melanomas, removed. “I have lost count,” she shares. It’s left her with some scars on her arm, leg and back — and it served as a wakeup call for her to be more vigilant about protecting her skin. The last time she had skin cancer removed was 12 years ago, and Lagergren hasn’t had another since. “It gave me enough of that scare, and I was like, ‘OK, I will be better. I promise,’” she says.

She sees her dermatologist at least twice a year, gets photos of her skin taken to monitor any freckle changes and has her kids’ skin examined as well. “I pay attention to it and I know what looks like a normal freckle and what doesn't, so I've had them checked for a couple of things,” she says.

Lagergren jokes that her dermatologist loves to see her family coming. “We keep them employed,” she says, laughing. “I'm putting their kids through college because we're constantly in the dermatologist’s office.”

Her go-to sun protection: Lagergren used Blue Lizard mineral sunscreen when her kids were little but now relies on a variety of brands. It makes her think of a mantra that’s been stuck in her head: “The germ of it is: I don't care what kind you buy — reapply, reapply, reapply,” she says.

While she’s used Neutrogena sunscreen sticks in the past, lately she’s been reaching for Target’s Up&Up mineral sunscreen stick SPF 50; both are easy to apply on her kids’ faces. For her own face, Lagergren likes Olay Regenerist SPF 25 and Mary Kay CC Cream tinted sunscreen at SPF 15.

For the body, “I don't buy anything less than SPF 50 anymore,” says Lagergren. Her strategy: She applies sunscreen lotion first “because I can see it and know where it's covered,” she says. “And then I reapply later with a sunscreen spray because it's so much easier.” Ttypically, that’s

Target’s Up&Up sunscreen spray SPF 50 or Sun Bum SPF 50 sunscreen spray because her kids love the smell.

Applying sunscreen to herself and her kids is “the absolute routine,” she says. “We don't step out of the house without putting something on.”

‘I had to find the right products long ago that would help me enjoy the outdoors fully’

Redheaded writer Jennifer Walsh was teased “relentlessly” growing up, from being called “freckle face” as a kid to much more degrading terms in her later teenage years and early college days. “I even went out to be a model and most agencies said that no advertiser wants to see redheads,” she tells Yahoo.

But Walsh wouldn’t trade her signature red hair for anything. “My hair is unique and uniquely me,” she says. “People often say they can find me in a crowd because of my hair.” She adds: “I’m proud to be a redhead.”

But that often means being more vulnerable to the sun’s rays. Walsh says she had one or two serious sunburns as a teen, “awful blisters and all.” Being an avid lover of outdoor activities — from long-distance running, triathlons and swimming almost daily in the spring and summer, to playing tennis, hiking and walking — made her realize that “I had to find the right products long ago that would help me enjoy the outdoors fully.”

Walsh says she has “a deep love of the sun” in all seasons. “I don’t lay out in the sun like I did as a kid, but I do swim a few times a day in the ocean now that it is summer,” she says. “I love skiing in the winter. There is no season I don’t like, when it comes to being outdoors and enjoying the sun in the warmth or cold.”

She makes it a point to wear sunscreen every day. “As an Irish, fair-skinned strawberry blonde with light eyes, I can’t be outside without it,” she says.

Her go-to sun protection: For her face, Walsh likes Daybird, a 4-in-1 Serum Skin Tint SPF 50 that offers full coverage, and Jones Road Beauty Everyday Sunscreen SPF 30, which she says is perfect under makeup or alone. “I never forget my lips either,” she says, even though many people do. Her favorite that she wears daily: Beauty Stat C Lip Serum SPF 30.

For the body, she loves Undefined Beauty R&R Sun Elixir SPF 30 Glow Oil. “The beautiful scent alone has me wearing this as a daily summer scent,” she says. She’s also a fan of Sol Labs Fountain of Youth SPF 30, which she says is great for everyday body coverage. If she’s out running, swimming or biking, Walsh reaches for Oars & Alps Hydrating Antioxidant SPF 50 Spray. “The brand is targeted for men, but it is my go-to brand for outdoor activities,” she says.

Walsh also has a “huge” selection of sunglasses from Sunglass Hut and wears different pairs to protect her eyes, depending on the activity. “I wear a hat when I run or hike or find myself sitting on the beach late in the day,” she says. “While I try and swim a few times a day when I can, I don’t sit on the beach until after 4 p.m., and that is when I’ll wear a hat and not face the sun.”