tell me which sunscreen to buy

[redsquirrel]

I don't know what my problem is. I am just swaying in the breeze in the store. I am overwhelmed by choices and I can't find anything that meets my requirements. If you know what I am looking for please, just tell me what to look for.

 

We are a very light skinned family. I am a redhead and my boys have my fair skin. We don't tan, just burn. Here is what I need:

 

SPF 50 (but I will go down to 30 if I must)

water/sweat resistant (kids play in water or get sweaty all the time)

no perfume! I have a good friend who is very allergic to perfumes. She can't be around us if we use scented sunscreen

 

I don't really care if it is a chemical or physical block. I have a slight preference for physical because it doesn't sting our eyes.

 

I prefer an easier to find brand. I go through a lot of sunscreen and prefer to be able to walk into a target or supermarket and buy it.

 

Any suggestions? Or is there some website or app that can tell me which one I want?

 

This has never happened before. In the past I could find whatever I wanted and it was easy. I know there has been some reworking of labels of sunscreens and because of that some are no longer being made etc, but this is ridiculous.

 

Thanks for the help!

[bettyandbob]

We've sed Badger for years. It has zinc so it's a phyical block. It's thick and you have to work a bit more to spread it on, but I never gotten burns when I've applied it. My dd is whiter than whit and does well with this brand. She does not tan with sun exposure.

[felicity]

I am similar to you in both coloring and needs. We spend most of our days at the beach and in the water, so I've had to find some good ones. Right now I am using Solar Sense Clear Zinc as a base, before we even go out. It's SPF 50 and does take some rubbing in, but it's a good physical blocker. It's really hard to rub in when the kids are wet though. We also have Bullfrog Water Armor Quick Spray, SPF 50, for reapplying at the beach. I use these on their faces too (I put the bullfrog in my hand first) but I have Rocky Mountain Sunscreen Face Stick too. 

 

According to Consumer Reports the Target Sport SPF 50 is the best off-the-shelf. I don't buy the aerosol spray anymore--apparently the chemicals can actually catch on fire and there are nanoparticles in them that can be dangerous. The Bullfrog spray is actually a pump spray, not aerosol.

 

Hope this helps a bit. I did a lot of research since my fairest child is going to the desert for Scout Camp next week and then will be in the ocean for 3 full days a week with a Jr. Lifeguard program.

[lailasmum]

Ultrasun if you can find it. I am a sensitive skinned fair red head. They do very high factors too and leave out the scents and colours and stuff to make it as suitable for sensitive skin as possible. It's a once a day one that lasts 8 hours.

[8circles]

I've had good luck with No-Ad products & you can find them at Walmart & Walgreens.  This one seems to fit your requirements.

 

http://www.amazon.com/NO-AD-Sport-Sunblock-Lotion-SPF/dp/B001U2FOSA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373120057&sr=8-3&keywords=sunblock+no+fragrance

[Chris in VA]

My favorite is called NoAd, as in No Advertisement. We used it 35 years ago, and still use it when we can. We find it at drug stores.I am not sure if it comes in unscented, but the scent is not strong, like Copper Tone and Sea and Ski are. It's less expensive but very good.

[8circles]

My favorite is called NoAd, as in No Advertisement. We used it 35 years ago, and still use it when we can. We find it at drug stores.I am not sure if it comes in unscented, but the scent is not strong, like Copper Tone and Sea and Ski are. It's less expensive but very good.

 

great minds  :D

[Word Nerd]

I've had good luck with No-Ad products & you can find them at Walmart & Walgreens. This one seems to fit your requirements.

 

http://www.amazon.com/NO-AD-Sport-Sunblock-Lotion-SPF/dp/B001U2FOSA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373120057&sr=8-3&keywords=sunblock+no+fragrance

We used these when we lived in another state, but for some reason the WMs around here don't carry them. I didn't even think about checking Amazon.

[redsquirrel]

I love NO AD but can't find it anywhere. I bought it for years and years. It was my go to sunscreen back when I was the only one in my crowd using sunscreen.  I thought they had stopped making NO AD because I cannot find it. Not walmart, not CVS, not target, no where.

 

I guess I can get it off Amazon, but it seems silly to have to buy sunblock via the interwebs.

 

Thank you so much for these suggestions. I am making a list and will go shopping tomorrow. I don't know why it has been so difficult to find the combination of what I need. The high SPF along with the unscented seems to be causing the problem.

 

I am also going to look for the bullfrog quick armor spray. I used something similar from Neutrogena last year (made to go on wet skin) when we went to the ocean. I can't find it this year.

 

I feel like the stores have less selection this year. I am guessing it is due to the change in rules from the FDA governing sunscreen. I know a bunch of companies allowed their stock to deplete in anticipation of having to make new labels. Maybe they didn't have enough product for when stores placed the bulk of their orders? Or maybe some decided to hold off until next year to roll out their new product.

[felicity]

The neutrogena is everywhere here, but it doesn't work at all on my fairest child. He got seriously sunburned last week even after my reapplying it every hour. I was so happy to find the wet skin and then felt so bad later that evening.

[redsquirrel]

The neutrogena is everywhere here, but it doesn't work at all on my fairest child. He got seriously sunburned last week even after my reapplying it every hour. I was so happy to find the wet skin and then felt so bad later that evening.

 

Oh no! I bought it last year and only used it a couple times. My kids were not happy with the spray type sunscreen, but it did work well for wet skin application. It did work for us, but it was also late in the day when I applied it.

[KungFuPanda]

I am a fair-skinned redhead too. I've never had brand loyalty for sunscreen. I use the cheapest I can find in a high SPF that's sweat/water proof. As long as I apply liberally and reapply regularly I don't burn. I did see that Trader Joe's has sunscreen. I think it's fragrance free. You might want to look into that. If that fails, you can apparently make your own. Disclaimer: I have never attempted this.

 

 

http://www.lisahammondphotography.com/2013/05/22/homemade-dye-free-paraben-free-fragrance-free-sunscreen/

 

I will say that the best sun protection is probably avoiding the sun during the hottest part of the day. Sometimes we just go to the pool in the evenings so we can skip the whole sunscreen ordeal. As for the spray sunscreens, I'm not sure I trust them. They're certainly easy, and seem effective when I use them, but they're banned from my son's MDA camp because they're bad for the kids with compromised lung function. This leads me to believe they're probably not so good for the rest of us either.

[redsquirrel]

I am a fair-skinned redhead too. I've never had brand loyalty for sunscreen. I use the cheapest I can find in a high SPF that's sweat/water proof. As long as I apply liberally and reapply regularly I don't burn. I did see that Trader Joe's has sunscreen. I think it's fragrance free. You might want to look into that. If that fails, you can apparently make your own. Disclaimer: I have never attempted this.

 

 

http://www.lisahammondphotography.com/2013/05/22/homemade-dye-free-paraben-free-fragrance-free-sunscreen/

 

I will say that the best sun protection is probably avoiding the sun during the hottest part of the day. Sometimes we just go to the pool in the evenings so we can skip the whole sunscreen ordeal.

 

I wish I had a Trader Joe's in my town. I think we are too small. I've never seen one, but I hear it is great.

I agree that avoiding the sun is the best bet, but I don't think we can do that when we go camping for a week. Sitting in the tent during daylight hours isn't really a viable option. Plus, I am a big believer in using sunscreen all year long. We use it even for incidental exposure and not just big days outside.

 

And staying inside doesn't eliminate exposure. UVA rays penetrate untreated glass.

http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/uva-and-uvb/uva-radiation-a-danger-outdoors-and-indoors

 

I am not loading the kids up when we stay inside, but I do make sure my daily moisturizer is an SPF of 50.