Non-irritating sunscreen?

[Gracie09]

I like the Blue Lizard line. They don't have sprays but the smell is different than most sunscreens and it is a mineral as opposed to a chemical block so you do have to rub it in for a minute or so. It works though.

 

[Lucretia]

Neutrogena has a great face stick that isn't irritating to the eyes.

Agree this is great.

 

[capegirl]

I have very sensitive eyes, and I have never been able to find a brand that does cause stinging. I use Waterbabies on my face, but can I no longer apply sunscreen to my forehead, and I try to wear a hat. I am a big fan of Neutrogena products, and I was quite surprised when I had a bad reaction to the Ultra Sheer spray; broke out in red bumps all over on my body last month at Typhoon Lagoon !

 

[AustinTink]

So, I live in a house full of people with skin sensitivities. I have rosacea. My son has eczema and atopic dermatitis. Hubs has many chemical sensitivities. So, believe me when I say we have tried every sensitive skin sunscreen product on the market. Every. It's exhausting.

At this point we are loving Vanicream's line of sunscreen for face and body. Actually we use their full line of products. We also like california baby's sunscreen, especially the face stick.

 

[disprincessatheart]

I also have rosacea and almost every sunscreen breaks me out. I recently found elta sunscreen at my dermatologist and will not consider switching unless something changes with my skin. It's zinc based but clear. It's very thin and absorbs quickly so even wearing it for a week in Mexico at the pool it never got greasy or ran in my eyes like other sunscreens and I had zero sunburn when normally I would have been fried. It's not cheap but I only need a pea sized drop to cover my face so it will last a very long time!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

For the rest of the body, I would suggest maybe getting some SPF rash guards. It covers the prime skin real estate and my kids appreciate that. We still apply sunscreen to arms. Legs, and face. But I do like that their shoulders and back are covered consistently with no worries off reapplying sunscreen frequently.

I will look into these other suggestions as I need a new face sunscreen.

All all I know is that my dermatologist a few years back said to make sure your sunscreen blocks both UVA and UVB rays.

 

[AustinTink]

I also have rosacea and almost every sunscreen breaks me out. I recently found elta sunscreen at my dermatologist and will not consider switching unless something changes with my skin. It's zinc based but clear. It's very thin and absorbs quickly so even wearing it for a week in Mexico at the pool it never got greasy or ran in my eyes like other sunscreens and I had zero sunburn when normally I would have been fried. It's not cheap but I only need a pea sized drop to cover my face so it will last a very long time!

Interesting. I broke out horribly with Elta before. I wonder if they changed the formula?

 

[Superchikk]

I am a skin cancer survivor and we take sunscreen pretty seriously at our house. Neutrogena products make me break out, so I can't use their sunscreen. I've done a ton of research on sunscreens, and am not a huge fan of all the chemicals in many of them. I also LOATHE the smell of chemical sunscreens that never wash out of your clothes. (Ick!) My dermatologist also says not to use the aerosol spray sunscreens - it's too easy to not apply properly.

We've used two sunscreens for the past two years that I like a lot: Jason and Kiss My Face. The Kiss My Face sunscreen we use is in a spray bottle, but it's a trigger spray, not aerosol. It has a light scent, but not chemical-y, and washes out of clothing. The Jason sunscreen is in a tube, and has a pleasant smell, not a chemical sunscreen smell. It also washes out of clothing. Both work very well for my family.

I've just received some Rodan + Fields sunscreen that I'll be trying out this summer. Their products are high quality, and I expect no less from their sunscreen. However, it might be a little pricey to use for a family during vacation.

 

[bcla]

I am a skin cancer survivor and we take sunscreen pretty seriously at our house. Neutrogena products make me break out, so I can't use their sunscreen. I've done a ton of research on sunscreens, and am not a huge fan of all the chemicals in many of them. I also LOATHE the smell of chemical sunscreens that never wash out of your clothes. (Ick!) My dermatologist also says not to use the aerosol spray sunscreens - it's too easy to not apply properly.

We've used two sunscreens for the past two years that I like a lot: Jason and Kiss My Face. The Kiss My Face sunscreen we use is in a spray bottle, but it's a trigger spray, not aerosol. It has a light scent, but not chemical-y, and washes out of clothing. The Jason sunscreen is in a tube, and has a pleasant smell, not a chemical sunscreen smell. It also washes out of clothing. Both work very well for my family.

I don't know. Many "chemical sunscreens" actually smell pretty neutral to me. If there's any smell, it's typically from some sort of fragrance, and the majority of sunscreen products have some sort of fragrance. Fragrance-free chemical sunscreen tend not to smell like much to my nose. What smells strong to me are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Even though they're stable sunblocks, they smell to me even when the manufacturer says they're fragrance-free. That being said, I used to love the smell of Hawaiian Tropic dark tanning oil. It had this coconut/fruit smell, and I'd take the cap off and have a sniff. I never used it, but some of the sunscreens had similar tropical fruit odors.

I do have some sunscreens with titanium dioxide, but they inevitably leave a pasty almost silverly appearance on my skin no matter how long I rub it in. I know there's micronized zinc oxide (sometimes called "clear ZnO") but I've heard that it may not be that effective. Since they don't actually absorb into the skin, many of these feel weird to me, almost like dried flour on my skin.

The biggest problem most people have is not using enough sunscreen to match the the rating on the bottle. You're actually supposed to use a lot of it, but most people apply it thinly because otherwise it feels like slapping on an oil slick. The ideal sunscreen would be one that doesn't irritate skin, barely feels like anything, bonds well enough that it won't run into the eyes when placed on the forehead, and actually protects against sun damage. Another thing is that the SPF is only a comparison of how long it takes to burn. It doesn't mean an SPF 20 blocks out 95% (1 - 1/20) of UVB rays. It means that if you slap it on, it should take 20 times longer in the sun before the skin burns. I've seen curves of UV transmittance tests, and they start off low and apparently UV goes through at a higher rate when chemical sunscreens break down. A lot of people would be better served by reapplying a little bit after some time, since those sunscreens do have reduced effectiveness as they break down.

The other thing I'm trying to figure out is when L'Oreal's patent on Mexoryl runs out. Currently they're the only manufacturer that uses it. They don't sell the ingredient and don't license its manufacture to anyone else. The only sunscreens sold in the US that have it are extremely expensive. I've bought some of this stuff on special at their (Lancome) outlet stores but not recently. They also don't have it in many formulations made for active sports.