Lollapalooza — Tips on staying cool, hydrated and avoiding sunburn

Your Lollapalooza partying this year can be totally fab, since you can stay cool, hydrated and sunburn-free while still wearing glitter and your so-dope floppy hat.

The key is to prepare well, experts say.

For glitter queens and kings, you can cover your SPF 50 suntan lotion with Sea Star Sparkle Rainbow Glitter sunscreen.

And for girls worried about the tell-tale ghostly glow that’s caused by sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, you can mix in makeup foundation and create a tinted sunscreen right on the spot, says Loyola Medicine dermatologist Dr. Rebecca Tung. Tung’s 18-year-old daughter, Eleanor, a veteran of two Lollapaloozas, has used Color Science’s Sunforgettable and bareMinerals’ powder sunscreen to do the trick.

Another tip: Wear sun-protective lip balm such as Lip CoTZ lip balm. You can put lipstick over top.

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The point: Wear sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum protection, and take it with you to re-apply every few hours. If you forget, there’s a Lolla store on-site.

If you’re prone to acne, choose an oil-free gel sunscreen. Beware if you’re taking Doxycycline for acne or skin infections; it can increase your risk of getting a sunburn, said Dr. Caroline Robinson, dermatologist at Northwestern Medicine.

Festival goers can further protect themselves from a painful sunburn – especially to vulnerable ears, scalp and eyelids — by wearing sunglasses and a floppy, wide-brimmed or safari hat.

“No hat is not a good idea, even if you have a full head of hair. That’s 25 percent of your exposed skin right there,” said Dr. Samuel Grief, associate professor of clinical family medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “I recommend people buy safari hats that you can get at Uncle Dan’s on Southport (3551 N. Southport).”

So while you’re having fun getting ready to party with Bruno Mars and The Weeknd, be prepared for the daylong rays (even if it’s overcast or hazy), so you don’t have to bail out from sunburn, heat exhaustion or worse. Experts advise:

As Northwestern Medicine’s Dr. Christopher Hogrefe put it, “A recipe to set yourself up for dehydration is to have three Red Bulls and sit out in the sun.”

Dr. Grief of UIC says, go ahead and have a Mike’s Hard Lemonade or a Summer Shandy, but only if you’ve done your due diligence by drinking water.

“The mechanisms that lower your core temperature can become impaired when you’re intoxicated,” said Dr. James Winger, a sports medicine physician, an expert on hydration and an associate professor of family medicine at Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine.

Winger said he treated a few cases of heat stroke when he served as medical director of a 10-mile race on a humid, 78-degree day.

“You can have heat stroke on a mild day or a cloudy day,” he said.

In case you need to call 9-1-1, light poles around Grant Park will have pole markers attached, so you can help emergency responders find you quickly. If you have allergies, make sure you’re wearing an allergy bracelet and have a list of your allergies and medications in case of a medical emergency.