Which of these sunscreens do you like? - Page 2

[luvmyrory]

Originally Posted by loon13

Update on me: I want to try Trukid that zinemama linked above but everyplace I can find online to buy it (including the company's website) says it won't be stocked for a couple of weeks.

So right now I purchased Vanicream SPF 30 to try. I've seen this got lots of recommendations from dermatologists so I'd like to try use on my face ( I can be sensitive to breakouts). Using only on my face should make it last a bit longer.

For the rest of my body (LOL) and for DH and the kids, I also purchased Tropical Sands SPF 30 (from mexitan.com) This is the sunscreen that is identical in ingredients to the one Dr. Mercola recommends on his website. I couldn't find Dr. Mercola's prodcut on the EWG list, even though his site claims it got a great score there. When I asked customer service about it, they said they couldn't tell me the name of the private manufacturer/distributore that makes it for Dr. Mercola. I'm pretty sure Mexitan/Tropical Sands is the brand. This also got great scores on the EWG list. This one is supposed to be very environmentally friendly. And if it works, the company's website sells a huge jug of it.

So I will let you all know how it works out.

If neither work out, I still want to try the TruKid and Badger.

Please continue to vote and discuss on this thread! I am still intersted in all answers.

I wonder if there could eventually be a sticky on this forum about everyone's favorite sunscreen? It seems to come up so much....

Just curious if you got the sunscreens and what you thought of them??? I need to order some soon, and the Mexitan is what I was thinking to buy.... given the price per ounce while still having a great EWG rating. Have you tried it? Do you like it?

[hhurd]

Kiss My Face Sun Spray

[sedalbj]

Voted no sunscreen. I don't like that it gives you a false sense of security, it protects against the safer of the two rays but the melanoma causing ray it doesn't, or does in limited capacity. I go for hat and staying out of the sun. And started to put coconut oil on almost every day and am thrilled with the changes in my skin's ability to handle the sun. That said, if we are on the beach all day (1 day/yr probably) we use whatever sunscreen is waterproof and sweatproof and UVA/UVB. And I avoid sunglasses, your eyes are part of you body's sun defense and if you trick your eyes into thinking it is darker than it is your skin reacts differently.

[Chamomile Girl]

My Badger separated, annoyingly. Yuck.

I'm a fan of Aubrey's sunscreens. I've had good luck with the green tea one.

[loon13]

Originally Posted by luvmyrory

Just curious if you got the sunscreens and what you thought of them??? I need to order some soon, and the Mexitan is what I was thinking to buy.... given the price per ounce while still having a great EWG rating. Have you tried it? Do you like it?

I did get the Vanicream and the Mexitan but haven't had a chance to try them out yet. It's suddenly been raining nonstop here.
I did do a quick patch test with the Mexitan on the inside of my elbow. It blends in quickly, no overpowering sense of smell but of course I would like to do a more extensive test.
Also we had a bottle of Neutrogena Sensitive Skin spf 30 we're using up which DH used on the kids the last sunny day we had.

I will post with more info when I have it. But all the reviews I have seen on the Mexitan and the Vanicream that I can find have been very positive.

[luvmyrory]

yeah, we've had a lot of rain too.... it's starting to get really old.

Thanks for your thoughts. I think I'm going to go ahead and order the mexitan- blending in is my biggest concern, but it seems like it should work out okay.

[sebarnes]

Originally Posted by bigteamug

we use the kids version of alba - the one with a pinky/purple container, but we also try to use hats/shirts etc to minimize use of sunscreen.

Same for us.

[AuntieLiz]

Originally Posted by Treece

Question about coconut oil: would it brown a very pale person who almost always burns?

I know this is an old question, but I just had to share my experience with coconut oil..

I'm as pale as a fish's belly. Ghostly pale. My super-fair skin is often described as "lily white" and "porcelain" (I like to say "I'm a white woman in the body of an even whiter woman." lol); I burn very easily and never tan. Last summer I missed a big patch of skin on my back when I was applying sunscreen (got distracted and never finished applying. my bad) and ended up with a raging, purple, blistery sunburn on my back. The only thing I found that soothed me was copious amounts of coconut oil. (Granted, I know this isn't the same as using CO as sunscreen, although I've since learned that it works rather nicely if reapplied every 2 hours or so.) IME, coconut oil is millions of times more soothing than aloe or chamomile or any other natural sunburn remedy I've ever tried and will be my #1 go-to if I ever get burned again.

Even though my burned skin eventually peeled like a ripe banana, that area of my back is STILL BROWN. Nearly a year later. (Got my sunburn on 4th of July weekend last year; I will never forget the agony.)

I'm no fan of sun exposure, as skin cancer runs in my family, and I'm pretty nervous about the long-term effects of that particular burn, but... the rather vain part of me kind of wishes I'd known about CO's tanning effects long ago. ("you mean I wouldn't be the only person at the beach who glows under a black light?")

[loon13]

Originally Posted by luvmyrory

yeah, we've had a lot of rain too.... it's starting to get really old.

Thanks for your thoughts. I think I'm going to go ahead and order the mexitan- blending in is my biggest concern, but it seems like it should work out okay.

Let me know what you think of it. I'm interested in your thoughts as well!

[loon13]

UPDATE

The weather has still been more rainy than sunny here, but we are really liking the Mexitan. My older dd who HATES putting on sunscreen actually said "Ooh, I like this sunscreen, it goes on really quick and easy." I agree. The Mexitan blends in really well. I even used it on my face with no breakouts. DH will use anything as long as I remind him to do so. I like the fact that there's one sunscreen we can all use, and I like the fact that I can get a larger size from Mexitan. Plus really liking the ingredients.

I still think it's easier to use sticks for the little one's faces until they get old enough to stand still for the lotion application on the face. So I will be getting the TruKid version for that.

The Vanicream works well too. No overpowering odor, no reaction, but it is harder and thicker to rub in. It does go on white like most sunscreens but I find the white fades after a few minutes. I don't find it much different than the Neutrogena Sensitive Skin SPF 30. The Vanicream gets the better EWG rating but If I ever ran out of sunscreen and had to buy at a store while waiting for an online order to ship, it'd be much easier to grab a small bottle of Neutrogena.

When I run out of the Vanicream, I probably won't order it again. Only because I prefer the Mexitan. Hope that helps someone!

I'm going to write up a review at the Natrual Home & Body Reviews board.

Thank you all for your opinions and thoughts!

[hels5625]

I have been using Mexitan SPF 50 and I find it very effective. I have very light skin. It takes some getting used to the thick feel and white color, but if you spread it on lightly it doesn't stay white on your skin. It seems to stay on great even after I go in the water. I also have very sensitive skin and I have never had any rashes with the Mexitan.

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by hels5625

I have been using Mexitan SPF 50 and I find it very effective. I have very light skin. It takes some getting used to the thick feel and white color, but if you spread it on lightly it doesn't stay white on your skin. It seems to stay on great even after I go in the water. I also have very sensitive skin and I have never had any rashes with the Mexitan.

Do you find it is good in the water? This sounds a lot like Blue Lizard (same active ingredients, the micronized oxides), except it looks a bit more natural from the ingredient list (the other ingredients), however Blue Lizard is insanely waterproof, its even very difficult to wash it off your hands with soap after applying, its so waterproof and I think that's part of the reason it works so well for us. I might try mexitan when we need more if it was good at staying on in the water, since we generally use it while swimming and getting kids to reapply sunscreen in the middle of fun can be difficult.

[hels5625]

Originally Posted by mightymoo

Do you find it is good in the water? This sounds a lot like Blue Lizard (same active ingredients, the micronized oxides), except it looks a bit more natural from the ingredient list (the other ingredients), however Blue Lizard is insanely waterproof, its even very difficult to wash it off your hands with soap after applying, its so waterproof and I think that's part of the reason it works so well for us. I might try mexitan when we need more if it was good at staying on in the water, since we generally use it while swimming and getting kids to reapply sunscreen in the middle of fun can be difficult.

Yes, definitely. It doesn't wash off that easily. I would mind that normally, but my skin feels soft after using it.

[FillingMyQuiver]

We love our Mexitan products. We've been using them for about 2yrs now and find them to be very effective and easy to use. AND we have used them while swimming and don't have to reapply as often as some other sunblocks we've used. They also have a very wide range of products, we use the 30spf for the kids and the 8 for DH and I.

[islandfarmgirl]

We loved and used the TruKids "happy days mineral sunscreen spf 30", and chose it because it got such good ratings on the Skindeep cosmetics ratings site. Now apparently it has been discontinued. No information on the TruKids website as to why. We still have a bottle of it ($15 for 4 oz!) and wondering if we should stop using it. They had a fire sale in June - 50% off their sunscreen products, and they don't make them anymore. Anyone have any information on that?

I think we are going to switch to Badger. Interesting posts about the CO, we might have to try that too!

Please post if you know anything about TruKids pulling their sun products off the market. Thanks!

[islandfarmgirl]

BTW to Loon13 - we tried the TruKids sunscreen stick, and found the sunscreen MUCH easier to apply than the stick. The stick was kind of sticky -- not creamy enough to spread at all. It wasn't spreadable, and since it didn't glide over the skin, it was pretty impossible to use on the baby. I will probably just use it up on my nose and hands, since it was over $8 for a stick that was shockingly small - the size of a slightly overgrown chapstick.

[loon13]

Originally Posted by islandfarmgirl

We loved and used the TruKids "happy days mineral sunscreen spf 30", and chose it because it got such good ratings on the Skindeep cosmetics ratings site. Now apparently it has been discontinued. No information on the TruKids website as to why. We still have a bottle of it ($15 for 4 oz!) and wondering if we should stop using it. They had a fire sale in June - 50% off their sunscreen products, and they don't make them anymore. Anyone have any information on that?

REALLY?!?! Holy cow no wonder every place I tried to buy TruKids from said "out of stock". Wonder what's the word on that.....

[loon13]

Originally Posted by islandfarmgirl

BTW to Loon13 - we tried the TruKids sunscreen stick, and found the sunscreen MUCH easier to apply than the stick. The stick was kind of sticky -- not creamy enough to spread at all. It wasn't spreadable, and since it didn't glide over the skin, it was pretty impossible to use on the baby. I will probably just use it up on my nose and hands, since it was over $8 for a stick that was shockingly small - the size of a slightly overgrown chapstick.

Thanks so much for the info! Hadn't gotten around to ordering it yet. I had been using the Waterbabies stick, : , only because there was a little bit left, so I was trying to use it up and it was a bit easier to get it on their faces. At this point the kids are used to me putting the sunscreen on, so I think I might just go ahead and use the Mexitan on their faces too. And that Trukids size sounds like a really small stick of sunscreen!

For those wondering, I have not written up a review yet but I still plan to. Just a busy mama here like the rest of you.