How long does a can on spray on suncreen last?

Honeymooner04

DIS Veteran
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Sep 24, 2003
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570
I know that this is a ridiculous question but I just bought some spray on sunscreen for our upcoming trip based on the recommendations from the dis and I'm curious if the can I bought will last my family the whole week. It'll be my dh, myself and my dd who will be 19 months. Thanks for clueing me in!
 
My family (dh, ds5 and ds2, and me) went through a bottle in two days of the spray on kind. We are pretty avid sunscreen users, though! We also found that the spray kind got in the boys eyes and they hated it. We stick with the good old-fashioned bottled kind of the No-AD baby block. Works great on sensitive skin and we sure don't burn. We may glow in the dark a little as we are so pale, but no painful sunburns!:beach:
 
The spray-on runs out a lot faster than traditional lotion sunscreen but it is so much more convenient. Can't say how much you will need because I am not sure how much you will use each day or if you apply multiple times during the day. I found that a quick spray was most effective. If you sprayed too long, the sunscreen dripped.
We went through 5 cans for 8 people (2 adults and 6 kids) for 12 days. We also had a sunscreen stick for our faces. We applied only once for days at the parks and two times for days at the waterparks and pool.

They do sell the spray-on sunscreen at WDW for around $12. I paid about $7.50 at home.

p.s. Make sure you get the sunscreen that says no rub. My SIL bought a spray on lotion and you still had to rub it in.
 
For our WDW trip, I bought the smear on kind for myself and the girls because I am cheapskate, DH used the aerosol spray-on bottle and it lasted 3-4 days for just him!!!! Not worth the extra expense if you ask me, smear it on.
 

Thanks for your responses.....I'll be sure to bring a regular bottle of sunscreen when we go in a couple of weeks in case we run out.
 
Spray on sunscreen does not seem to have the lasting power of creams! My husband and DS spent a while in the pool in SSR and they were FRIED! My son handled it ok, but my DH was MISERABLE! The spray on is totally convenient, but not worth the hassle if you are around water.

Have a great trip!!!:hippie:
 
Spray on sunscreen does not seem to have the lasting power of creams! My husband and DS spent a while in the pool in SSR and they were FRIED! My son handled it ok, but my DH was MISERABLE! The spray on is totally convenient, but not worth the hassle if you are around water.

Actually, I found the Coppertone Sport Spray is very effective in the water - that stuff goes on like cement! It took a lot of scubbing with a soapy washcloth to get that stuff off!

For day-to-day use, I like Neutrogena spray-on. It's lighter feeling, but does a good job. I use Coppertone only when going to the pool or water park.

As others have said, you'll go through a lot more spray-on sunscreen than the lotion kind. I'm bringing two bottles of Neutrogena for just myself for eight days, plus a bottle of sunscreen lotion (Neutrogena Dry Touch) as a back-up.

You're supposed to apply one ounce of lotion per application head-to-toe (that's the amount that would fill up a shot glass). If you don't apply that much, you're not getting nearly the amount of SPF listed on the bottle. Most people don't put on enough sunscreen, and only get about half the SPF protection number listed. I'm pretty paranoid due to some cases of melanoma in our family (both people were in their mid-20s!), so I say, better safe than sorry! Also, it can ruin your vacation to get a bad sunburn, so be careful!
 
I hated the spray sunscreen and a bottle does not last long. I'm not sure if this applies only to the brand I bought but it smelled almost toxic when it was being applied and my kids refused to use it because the fumes would make them gag. I will say though, it is EXTREMELY convenient for quick applications and we were there in July and needed tons of sunscreen so we usually used the cream for the first application before heading to the park and brought the spray for reapplications.
 
We went through two cans in about 5 days for four (two red-headed) people. What is great, though, is the spray-on aloe spray. We go through a LOT of this, too (it's the red head thing) and my kids swear this is the best (and beats paying $7 at the hotel gift shop). Try keeping it in the fridge or cooler for extra-cool relief.
 
We went through a can in two days at the beach. I do not like it as well as the lotion because it is harder to put on my little ones face. And it goes everywhere when the wind blows.:eek:
 
Spray on sunscreen does not seem to have the lasting power of creams! My husband and DS spent a while in the pool in SSR and they were FRIED! My son handled it ok, but my DH was MISERABLE! The spray on is totally convenient, but not worth the hassle if you are around water.

Have a great trip!!!:hippie:

DD and I used Coppertone "Sport" and didn't have to reapply after swimming. We never even got pink. We went through 2 cans in 10 days for the 2 of us.
 
Depends on how much you use and reapply but it goes A LOT faster than lotion! TOO FAST.

DH and I went through an entire can in 2 days while in Mexico- that's reapplying once a day. So technically enough to cover 2 adults bodies (in bathing suits) a total of 8 times or 4 uses per day for 2 days.

I can buy a bottle of the lotion for the same cost and it lasts us 4 days usually. Granted it's a lot more convenient to have the spray. So for this trip to WDW I bought 1 can of spray and 1 bottle of lotion. Figure if we are in a huge hurry we will just use spray.

Also when in WDW, we only need to apply once in the morning and then once again for our faces and that's it. It's not like we are wet all day and the sunscreen wares off.

I think we would probably use spray for the kids bodies for the trip, do their faces with actual cream and use cream for him and I. You know kids- taking the 10 minutes for actual cream is a nightmare. Spray takes like 2 minutes and it's done. Good for impatient little ones.
 












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