Please tell me about sunscreen.

[Fourmother]

Sunscreen is something I have used infrequently and know very little about. I've never had a sunburn in my entire life and always assumed our abundance of melanin would protect me and my children.

Last week we went to the beach and two of my kids got sunburned, even though I put a 30 SPF water resistant sunscreen on them before we got there. My 8 yo's face turned red, then the next day he had a rash all over his face and upper body. Over the next few days, he and his little sister had peeling skin on their faces. We've been to the beach many times but this has never happened before. Actually, I've never seen this kind of sunburn in my life on someone with dark skin like ours. I'm taking it to mean that we can't afford to be complacent about it anymore.

I've heard that some brands contain potentially dangerous chemicals, but I don't know what to avoid. All I do know is that my husband doesn't like the zinc oxide kinds of sunscreen because they leave a whitish residue on brown skin. I can sort of cover this with make-up, but of course, he can't. What should I be looking for in a sunscreen?

[Carrie1234]

Hmm. I don't know much about dark skin and sunblock, but I hope you won't mind if I relay that story to dh. My 6 year old inherited the Native American genes, and dh seems to think he can skimp on her sunblock because she turns such a "pretty" brown.

[Mrs Mungo]

Some of the newer sunscreens with zinc oxide don't leave white residue because it's broken up into tiny bits.

One reason people tend to get burned is that they don't reapply. You should really reapply every two hours, especially at the beach where you're in and out of the salt water and sweating and everything.

[krazzymommy]

Sunscreen is something I have used infrequently and know very little about. I've never had a sunburn in my entire life and always assumed our abundance of melanin would protect me and my children.

I have never, ever heard this. I have always been told (by my dark, olive skinned mother) to always, always, always wear sunscreen. I have heard from numerous sources that no matter what your skin coloring to always wear sunscreen: whether sunny or overcast. When we all go to the beach, we're all wearing 50 and re-applying it as the day goes on.

Last week we went to the beach and two of my kids got sunburned, even though I put a 30 SPF water resistant sunscreen on them before we got there. My 8 yo's face turned red, then the next day he had a rash all over his face and upper body. Over the next few days, he and his little sister had peeling skin on their faces. We've been to the beach many times but this has never happened before.

I think it is recommended to replace your sunscreen every summer - could it be expired? Was it something new you tried? It sounds more like an allergic reaction than a sunburn?

All I do know is that my husband doesn't like the zinc oxide kinds of sunscreen because they leave a whitish residue on brown skin. I can sort of cover this with make-up, but of course, he can't. What should I be looking for in a sunscreen?

Your pediatrician may be able to point you in the right direction re: how/what to choose. That's where we started. I don't know about chemicals, but we always use the Banana Boat baby and it is white. If you rub it in, the white goes away. I would be more concerned about the safety of your skin then trying to cover it up with make-up? Maybe I am misunderstanding which sunscreen you are referring to.

One other thing that many people don't pay attention to: you are supposed to put the sunscreen on and let it "soak in" for at least 15-20 minutes. If you put it on and go in the water right away, it does no good. And again, after being in the water, it normally is necessary to re-apply.

It sounds like all of these issues are "first-time" things so I would venture to guess it was the particular bottle of lotion. I think it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to sun protection, though. (Sorry if this comes off rude, I'm kind of cranky and don't mean it that way. :))

[JenParrish]

I burned really bad once when I used a different sun screen. Not all types of sun screen work for every individual. My guess is that they may have had an allergic reaction to the sunscreen or they did not wait the recommended time before going into the water. I am sorry to hear they were burnt so bad. We are not dark complected but have been really happy with the Aveeno products. Burts Bees leaves an orange tint to our skin so it "might" work for a darker completion.

[Fourmother]

I have never, ever heard this. I have always been told (by my dark, olive skinned mother) to always, always, always wear sunscreen. I have heard from numerous sources that no matter what your skin coloring to always wear sunscreen: whether sunny or overcast. When we all go to the beach, we're all wearing 50 and re-applying it as the day goes on. Well, we are a whole lot darker than olive. :) When I was growing up sunscreen was never mentioned by my parents. I guess they believed we didn't need it.

I think it is recommended to replace your sunscreen every summer - could it be expired? Was it something new you tried? It sounds more like an allergic reaction than a sunburn?Yes, come to think of it. It was something new. I bought this sunscreen from Trader Joe's just for this trip. We had never used it before. Maybe it was an allergic reaction.
Your pediatrician may be able to point you in the right direction re: how/what to choose. That's where we started. I don't know about chemicals, but we always use the Banana Boat baby and it is white. If you rub it in, the white goes away. I would be more concerned about the safety of your skin then trying to cover it up with make-up? Maybe I am misunderstanding which sunscreen you are referring to. If your skin is a dark color, say the tone of mahogany, then the white does not really go away. It can leave the person looking like Michael Jackson or like they are wearing white clown make-up. If you've never experienced it, then I guess it would sound strange. LOL!
One other thing that many people don't pay attention to: you are supposed to put the sunscreen on and let it "soak in" for at least 15-20 minutes. If you put it on and go in the water right away, it does no good. And again, after being in the water, it normally is necessary to re-apply. We did put it on 20-30 minutes before we got to the beach, so I guess I got that part right. But unfortunately, I assumed "water resistant" meant it wouldn't wash off without soap AND water. OK, learned that the hard way.
It sounds like all of these issues are "first-time" things so I would venture to guess it was the particular bottle of lotion. I think it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to sun protection, though. (Sorry if this comes off rude, I'm kind of cranky and don't mean it that way. :))

No harm. Like I said, I wasn't raised to be concerned about this, so I'm trying to educate myself about it now. Starting with the doctor is a good idea because there is so much information out there in the market place to wade through. Thanks

[Fourmother]

I burned really bad once when I used a different sun screen. Not all types of sun screen work for every individual. My guess is that they may have had an allergic reaction to the sunscreen or they did not wait the recommended time before going into the water. I am sorry to hear they were burnt so bad. We are not dark complected but have been really happy with the Aveeno products. Burts Bees leaves an orange tint to our skin so it "might" work for a darker completion.


So there is a trial and error element to this sunscreen business, huh? I'll check out Burt's Bees and Aveeno. Since it sound like ds had an allergic reaction, I won't use the Trader Joe's brand on him again.

[GretaLynne]

Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock is my all time favorite sunscreen because it goes on so nicely AND it protects against UVA as well as UVB. Many brands claim to, but don't effectively block UVA. This one got Consumer Reports' highest rating because it blocked UVA so effectively. And it doesn't have zinc oxide or titanium dioxide in it. Though it is possible that whatever it has would leave a white residue. I'm as pasty white as it gets, so I wouldn't notice it on my skin! (I actually like the zinc oxide stuff too. It's in my foundation makeup.)

Can I take a moment to whine about having pale skin? I live in a high-altitude desert and I swear my fair skin has aged about 20 years in the 10 years we've been here. I wish I had more natural sunscreen built into my skin since I was too stupid to use sunscreen for the first 28 years of my life!!!