No more rash!
Written: Jul 09 '04 (Updated Dec 09 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: no chemical sunscreens so truly non-allergenic, no fragrance
Cons: white-ish, not waterproof
The Bottom Line: It's a great product for people who are allergic to chemical sunscreens.
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| ilmomof2's Full Review: Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock Lotion |
A few years ago, we discovered my son's sensitivity to most chemical sunscreens. Unfortunately, he seems to have inherited my very sensitive skin. I am allergic to a number of ingredients commonly found in lotions and shampoos, and many fragrances make me sneeze. Because of this, I have always been very careful about what products I use on my childrens' skin. I had been using a non-fragrance, PABA-free, sunblock for children which was supposed to be hypo-allergenic. The product had had not caused any previous adverse reactions by my son when used while he was in daycare, but it was used less frequently and not on his chest and back which would be covered with a shirt when he was outside.
My son was five and was in an outdoor summer day camp, so he needed sunscreen even though he does not have fair skin and does not burn easily. By the 4th day of camp, a beach day when he had sunscreen all over his body, he got a terrible rash that was especially bad on his face, chest, and back. It itched, and between the inflamation and my son's scratching, it ended up scabbing over.
I tried several "sensitve skin" sunscreens on him. But they all caused reactions, and I noticed that they all used one or more of the same few chemicals as their active ingredients. Finally, I found the Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock Lotion (the old SPF 17 formula, I think). It did not cause a rash and he's been using the new SPF 30 formula without any problems for a couple of years.
We discovered that the counselors in his camp could not use regular sunscreen for other children and then help my son put on his sunscreen because the residual chemicals left on their hands would mix into his sunscreen and thereby get onto my son's skin. After we figured that out, the counselors were very careful to either help my son with his sunscreen first or wash their hands with soap after applying other sunscreens.
One major disadvantage is that it is not waterproof, so it washes off when he goes swimming. My son now wears a swim shirt at the beach or pool, so that he doesn't need sunscreen on his back and chest. Another disadvantage is that since titanium dioxide is a "physical sunscreen", like the white zinc oxide that people use on their noses and lips, the lotion leaves a whitish tinge on the skin. The lotion is pretty thick and doesn't seem to absorb into the skin as much as some other lotions, so you can certainly feel that you are wearing it. On the other hand, it isn't as sticky or oily as some lotions either.
It is more expensive that the cheaper regular sunscreens, but not as expensive as the few other non-chemical sunscreens that I've found. I've been searching on the Internet for a waterproof chemical free sunscreen and found one for $15 for a small 2.9 oz tube and even some others for over $30 for a small bottle! It is not as widely available as other sunscreens, and last year I had trouble at one point finding it in local stores (it was out of stock at the store where I originally bought it), but now I just stock up when I find it. Since I can buy it in local stores, I don't have the extra expense of mail order.
Overall, I'm very happy with this product. My son simply could not use the other products. I'm glad that we don't have to choose between sunburn (and an increased risk of skin cancer) or itchy, nasty rashes.
Update: I found a better sunscreen, although I have to order it on the web because local stores do not carry it:
Blue Lizard SPF 30+ Baby Sunscreen
available from Coolibar (item 05144 on website), $9.95 for a 5 oz bottle. It is non-chemical, fragrance-free, and WATERPROOF. It even comes in a fun bottle that is white indoors and turns pink when exposed to UV light (such as outdoors in the sun). Like the Neutrogena sunscreen, it is slightly white-ish because it uses zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. It has less of a thick greasepaint-like feel, but is still absorbed into the skin less than most chemical sunscreens. It does seem to be waterproof.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ilmomof2
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Location: Illinois
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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