SHOP TALK : Screening Out Your Choices for the Best Sun Protection : First decide on the correct SPF rating, then consider whether you need the sweat- or waterproof variety.

There is nothing like going to the beach on a nice sunny day. There is also nothing like coming home looking like a pomegranate.

Providing the weather cooperates, many of you will be hitting the sand over the next several months. You’ll be Boogie-boarding, surfing, swimming and tanning.

What you don’t want to be doing is burning. So you might want to put “get sunscreen” somewhere at the top of your “To Do” list. Sounds easy enough, but buying the stuff can be tricky.

For one thing, there’s the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) to consider.

SPF measures the amount of protection a sunscreen will provide. With an SPF of 15, you are supposed to be protected 15 times more than if you used no sunscreen. A 45 is supposed to protect you 45 times more. There is some disagreement, however, as to whether an SPF of 15 is actually the maximum, and those SPF 30s and 45s are pointless. Regardless, the higher SPFs sometimes cost more.

When you factor in the number of brands on the market, the number of stores selling them and the varying prices, you can see what a task it can be to choose a sunscreen.

We went shopping at Ralphs and Walmart in Oxnard, and at Sav-On Drugs in Camarillo’s Carmen Plaza. Here’s what we found last week for a sampling of the many sunscreens available.

We’ll start with Vaseline Brand Intensive Care.

Four ounces of both the SPF 8 and 15 were $6.79 at Ralphs. Six-ounce containers of the same sunscreens were $6.89 at Sav-On. At Walmart, we found four ounces of SPF 15 at $3.97 and six ounces at $5.87. Have we lost you yet?

How about the old favorite Coppertone? A four-ounce bottle of SPF 15 was going for $6.99 at Sav-On and $5.97 at Walmart. An SPF 6 was $6.79 for four ounces at Ralphs.

Now, just to confuse the matter a little further, Coppertone also puts out a “Sport” brand of sunscreen. It’s called “Sport” because it’s for those athletic types who tend to sweat--and Coppertone claims that the product is sweat-proof. A four-ounce bottle of SPF 8, good for six hours of protection, was $9.69 at Sav-On, $6.79 at Ralphs and $5.97 at Walmart.

By the way, here’s a good time to emphasize the importance of “waterproof” sunscreens. If you’re going to be in the water, you’re going to want to find a sunscreen that won’t wash off immediately. Most of the brands out there are waterproof. But some aren’t. Make sure you keep that in mind when you read the labels.

Want to get even more mind-boggled?

Check out the Shade brand of “UVA Guard” sun block, made with Parsol 1789. Parsol 1789 protects skin from ultraviolet A sun rays, which can lead to long-term skin problems (as opposed to UVB rays, which are responsible for the burning). Four ounces of Shade UVA Guard, SPF 15, was $8.99 at Ralphs, $7.99 at Sav-On and $6.97 at Walmart.

And, finally, there’s always the generics. At Ralphs, we found Perfect Choice brand sunscreen, both SPF 15 and 30+, going for $4.99 for four ounces. Sav-On’s Osco brand, SPF 15 and 30, with aloe and Vitamin E moisturizers, was priced at $3.99 for four ounces.

Now go protect yourself. Just don’t get burned.