Sunscreen problems with my kids..need advice

[**pixiedust**]

For some reason, especially when we are in Florida, the regular brands of sunscreen such as Coppertone and Banana Boat do not work well on my kids. Even though I use the maximum SPF waterproof formulas, and am diligent in applying it to them, they always wind up a little red. It never completely works. My kids are 6 and almost 4 and are both fair-skinned. Does anyone know of any other brand of sunscreen (I do not care about the cost for this) that is better, or more advanced, that I can get for them? I am also looking for something that won't sting their eyes. TIA!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Sorry I can't help from my own experience. I do remember reading a thread about this not too long ago. You might want to try doing a search, because I do remember the OP getting lots of responses. Good luck.

 

[In a hurry]

You want to put sunscreen on about 15 minutes before you go out, dab it, not rub it in for a couple of minutes. We've been using the Coppertone that is in the funky shaped white containor and is a full spectrum SS, and having excellent luck using this technique. Will try to find out the name!

 

[minniedisney1]

My son is fair & our dermatologist recommends Coppertone Water Babies in the Pink bottle. It is 50spf. It blocks UVA & UVB. It works great!!! We go to the local theme park in the summer a lot & he never burns. Just make sure to read the back abour reapplying etc. Good Luck!!

 

[debster812]

3 suggestions from this fair skinned, dark haired girl of Irish/Scottish descent. (yep, I'm about as pasty as they come )

Bullfrog SPF 36 Spray Qic Gel (this is important, get the spray)
Blue Lizard SPF 30 Suncream
Coppertone Water Babies in the pink stick for faces.

The Bullfrog spray gel is among the MOST waterproof sunscreen I've ever found. We have been using it for 3 years now, and it's perfect for us.

Blue Lizard is very thick, very creamy, I use this more on faces, because I don't like to spray the Bullfrog on our faces.

DS has a bit of sensitive skin, and a week in FL, under the hot sun, swimming in chlorine tends to dry out his skin, so I use the Water Babies stick on his face, to try and prevent horrible dry patches of skin.

Good Luck, it's a struggle to find the perfect mix.

 

[Now Mom of 3]

I would suggest Baby Magic. It is very thick and goes on whiteish at first so it is easy to see if you missed a spot. It contains titanium dioxide so it begins working immediately. It is especially a good choice for reapplying later. Most sunscreens work best when applied to cool dry skin. (the kind that takes at least 15 min. to work) Baby Magic and others with the titainium dioxide in them don't need the skin to cool and dry to adhere best. That's why I usually use it to reapply after we are already warm from being out in the sun.

Also, don't forget to reapply after a few hours. My kids and I are very fair also. The lighter your skin, the sooner you need to put more on.

One more thing, I remember reading an article about how much sunscreen is needed to get good coverage. I do not remember the guidelines now but I remembered being shocked at how thick it said to apply it.
Hope some of this helps!

 

[princessjv]

I would suggest Vanacream sunblock. You will need to ask for it at the pharm. counter (though it is not a RX). Vanacream was developed by derm. at the Mayo Clinic and is wonderful for sensitive skin and stays on! Do not forget (as another poster suggested) that you need to apply sunscreen up to 30 minutes prior to going out. It then should be reapplied every 2-3 hours.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

Another idea is some of the new clothing with UV protection in the fabric. i know that lands end has swin shirts and short that offer good coverage and protect the skin.

I would use the sunscreen under that but it might be a little added protection.

 

[NotUrsula]

From a freckled Irish redhead: Get a spray and a wax stick! Coppertone Sport Spray (in the blue can) is a good one that is affordable and water resistant. Bullfrog Sport and Hawaiian Tropic Ozone Sport are good, too, but a little pricier. Use the wax stick for faces. You want the sort of fine spray that does not have to be rubbed, BTW. The reason for the fine spray and the wax stick is that they are very convenient to reapply, so you will actually do it.

If the sunblock works at your home but not in Florida, it is because you are not using enough or not using it often enough, as the Florida sun is much more intense. Applied properly, a standard can of the Coppertone will last less than one day if used by two adults. Last June on a 9 day trip with 2 adults, 1 teen and and one kid, we went through 23 cans of it (+ 6 Neutrogena wax sticks).

If you are treating 4 fair-skinned people and you do not use a full standard bottle/can in a day, you are not using enough. The spray should be a very visible white when you put it on -- do not go into the sun for the first time or into water until it has dried and you can no longer see it. If you are sweating or swimming you should reapply every 90 minutes to be sure to be covered. (We reapply in ride lines.)

 

[fran99999]

Sunscreen doesnt stop working it soaks into the skin or sweats off the skin. It should be applied every 1- 1 1/2 hour for correct coverage. I found this out when I had surgery and needed to apply for the first few months to prevent scars. Also make sure U use a sunscreen that was made this year. Sunscreen looses it effectiveness when opened and left to the next year.

Also if it isnt waterproof it will wash off as soon as you are wet. Dont forget most people tend to wipe there skin off when wet. This again wipes off the sunscreen. I now carry the Sunscreen wipes from Avon they are easy to pack/carry in my fanny pack and they are easy to put on as you can tell where you use the wipe to make sure U dont miss any areas. Some also have bug protectant for the twilight, bugs are just coming out but the sun is still stong enough to burn.

I am a 48 year old natural redhead that burns very easily. I have tried quite a few and found these fun facts out by many burn ( RED) and peel vacations.

 

[pigletof4]

I second the bullfrog. I am fair skinned and used this last year for the first time. I bought the highest spf that was available with this brand. Very easy to use. My 6 year old used it at camp and it's not messy. I bought mine at Walmart.

 

[disneyfreakk]

go with bullfrog!!! This is the BEST stuff out there! I have been using this brand for 11 years. I have verry fair skin and was a lifeguard for years. I could put bullfrog on ( i used the childs sunscreen ) guard the pool, sweat my ears off, jump in the pool and I still didnt get sunburned!

 

[Soccerpooh]

We have really good luck with baby sunscreen, with high SBF. We use Baby Faces 60+. My DH has had skin cancer twice (red head and freckles and was stationed in Hawaii for 3 years in the Air Force- not a good combination! ), and the dermetoligist said to always get sunscreem with Parasol in it- that gives you better protection againist the UV rays. Don't forget hats!! That helps too.

 

[fuji]

I burn very easily and i used the new spectra spf 50 I think it is by water babies. When I went last May (late May) I didn't even tan with this stuff it works great.

 

[CleveRocks]

For some reason, especially when we are in Florida, the regular brands of sunscreen such as Coppertone and Banana Boat do not work well on my kids. Even though I use the maximum SPF waterproof formulas, and am diligent in applying it to them, they always wind up a little red. It never completely works.

First, keep in mind that the closer you are to the Equator, the stronger the sun's rays are. I have a somewhat dark complexion and never burned except if I was out for like 12 hours at a time, but on my Caribbean honeymoon I burned after about 2 hours.

Anyway...
Keep in mind that no sunscreen can totally stop the chance of a tan or burn. The SPF (sun protection factor) is a multiplier. It purportedly means that by wearing it you get "X" times your body's natural protection. So let's say, theoretically, your kids are very fair skinned and in the Florida sun if their skin were left untreated it would begin to show signs of a burn after 5 minutes. If they wear a 30 SPF sunscreen that was applied PERFECTLY and did not come off, your kids could stay out in the sun for 150 minutes (2.5 hours) before showing signs of a burn. OK, so let's make it 10 minutes. That would buy them 5 hours in the sun even if the stuff was liberally reapplied every three minutes. On a typical day at WDW, especially a summer day when the days are longer, I would imagine they'd be outside longer than a total of 5 hours in any single day.

[I chose 30 SPF because, according to my pediatrician wife, who INSISTS the entire family wear sunscreen no lower than 30 SPF, studies have shown there is no real difference in protection/effectiveness between 30 SPF and any higher SPF number].

Wide-brimmed hats? Long sleeves and long pants?. Tightly woven fabrics? Layers? Sounds hot, but it might be the supplmentation they need if nothing else is working.

GOOD LUCK. I hope you find the answers you need.

 

[hopesmommy]

Only a thought...My Dsis is allergic to almost all sunscreens. She would burn with sunscreen on and applied correctly. She finally found one that worked. Clinique. Yes it is expensive, but does have a money back guarantee. So if it does not work, you can always get your money back.

As for clothes, try to find ones that are DryWick or similar product. I will be cool than regular clothing. (From experience, I walk 60 miles in 3 days in June 2005 in Dallas for Breast Cancer research.)

 

[allyoopsindisney]

Myself and my son (since he was born) have used neutrogena sensitive skin. It only comes in one spf, i think it's 37 or some odd number, but it is chemical - free and physically blocks the sun. It is sooooo thick, but we have never burned. It is also not waterproof so you have to be diligent about reapplication. But the stuff works. It's all I use and I am so white I am pink.

Hope this helps.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

I burn very easily and i used the new spectra spf 50 I think it is by water babies. When I went last May (late May) I didn't even tan with this stuff it works great.

I second the Spectra 3 products. I am beyond fair and I have tried coppertone, bullfrog, bath and body works, banana boat, the purple stuff, all of them and have gotten sunburned even with many applications. I am only 22 and I have early signs of skin damage. I am NOT a sun worshiper at all. It is just from years of wearing sunblocks that do not work.

I was going on a cruise to the caribbean and needed a good sunblock. I bought the Spectra 3 spf 50 in hopes it was a miracleworker. IT IS! I didn't even get the slightest bit burned. I actually (for the first time in my life) got a tan! Last summer I sat at a beach for hours on end watching an air show and didn't burn because of the Spectra 3. I went to WDW this past Sept, and once again no burn. Not even a little one. I also didn't have to apply tons of goop to stay good. I applied about 2 times a day, once before I hit the parks and once in the afternoon. I also like this product because it isn't very greasy and it doesn't have much of a scent.

I am going on my second cruise this summer and I plan on bringing a whole bottle of Spectra 3 spf 50. I now know that I can safely go out in the sun. I whole heartdly recommend this product to anyone.

 

[imageid]

Thank you for all the great product ideas! We are an extremely fair skinned family! I was wondering what to use also We use Waterbabies at home, but I know Florida sun in VERY different from Northern Ohio sun!

 

[NotUrsula]

Whatever you do, don't engage in "SPF math" to try to figure out how often to apply sunsblock. The FDA bans labeling with a factor higher than 30 because people were buying high-factor sunscreen, doing that math, applying WAY too infrequently, and getting cumulative skin damage even if they dodged the sunburn bullet.

WHEN VISITING FLORIDA, DO NOT EVER GO MORE THAN 2 HOURS IN THE SUN WITHOUT REAPPLYING SUNBLOCK. (And that goes for everyone, not just fair-skinned whites. AA's and olive-skinned people get skin cancer, too.)

The SPF is reliable only as a way of testing inefficiency, not efficiency. Anything less than 15 has proven to be useless for practical purposes, and there are demonstrated improvements based on the SPF from 15-30, but past 30 the "formula" doesn't hold up under the way people use sunscreen. Unless you fall asleep on a beach, you are not going to be holding absolutely still for more than 2 hours in the sun. You are moving (perhaps in water), and sweating, and wearing clothing that rubs against your skin, and all of those things make a dent in a sunblock's efficiency. (Even if you are sleeping in the sun, you'll be sweating.)

BTW, be careful with Waterbabies, or any formula that is scented with coconut. That sweet scent can attract stinging insects.