Summer Sun Protection

 

A week ago I was complaining that I was still in long sleeves mid-May, and now I am melting on the city streets. It has been pushing the 90s lately in Manhattan, and with the excess of concrete and lack of trees, it might as well be 100 outside. Nevertheless, we have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather, and the lull between class and camp for the kids, and spending our days in the park.

In preparation for the summer and their first semester in “separation” camp (3 hours to myself?!?!?), I have been stocking up on warm weather supplies.

With very little shade, and two fair-skinned children, sunblock has always been a big focus area for me. It is HARD to put sunscreen on wiggly, writhing children every morning. And, with health warnings against the easy-on aerosol cans, I am left with the goopy white lather that stains both my clothing and theirs.

With all the energy and effort it takes to get them ready each morning, and mid-morning, and mid-afternoon, and early-evening, I really wanted to find a product that worked well at blocking out the sun, and was also safe from harsh chemicals that could irritate their baby skin. Bonus points if I could wear it too, since wrinkles in my 30 are now becoming an actual reality.

I love this product by Blue Lizard. It is broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Both the “baby” and the “sensitive” versions that we use over here only contain active mineral ingredients like Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide, and they are also paraben-free and fragrance-free. To be honest, we stopped buying the “baby” version, as it seemed to be one in the same as the sensitive, and just bought that version in bulk for the entire family, as well as the face cream.

While it does apply with a thick, white coating, I find that is rubs in very easily, is not greasy and has excellent coverage, in my opinion. My red-haired and blue-eyed Bryce is proof that after a morning of working hard at the water table, she can still maintain her porcelain complexion.

The best part is that the bottle/and or cap changes color in UV light. We were out on Memorial Day morning, which was somewhat cloudy and overcast. Our sunscreen bottle turned bright blue letting me know that it was necessary to apply even though it was not overtly sunny in our location.

Mr. Golden Sun is a tricky one.