What is the best sunscreen?

As temperatures rise, more and more people are coming to us for advice on sunscreen. They want it not to ruin their clothes, to protect them from sunburns, to tan the skin, to be ideal for sensitive skin, among other requirements. But is there a perfect sunscreen?

Here at home, with the arrival of summer and the longer days, the trips to the beach are part of our routine.

The buckets, the spade, the watering can, the shells, the starfish and the goldfish, my old sand mill and the beach ball are stored in the XXL bag among the towels. In the mother’s bag, the sunscreen, a bottle of water and a box with pieces of fruit are also never missing.

I choose an SPF50+ sunscreen, suitable for their ages, which protects against UVA and UVB rays and is water resistant, because most of the time on the beach is spent diving or by the water, building castles, swimming pools, eating Berlin balls and playing ball. We walk along the beach looking for shells, stones and pebbles, conches, and jumping from puddle to puddle. As the father says, we take 5kg to the beach and bring home 10kg of sand and ocean treasures

For Mada, my youngest daughter, I use a mineral protector, because as it is not absorbed by the skin, the risk of provoking a reaction is low, and it is indicated for the skin of the baby and children until 3 years old. For Quico and Te I use a sunscreen with a blue application marker to ensure that there is no area of skin without cream.

I, as a mother of three little kids when I do not put on their own cream on them (there are days when you need things to be uncomplicated!) I use an oil SPF50+ sunscreen, with ingredients that help the production of melanin and allow to accelerate the tan.

Who does not like to have a beautiful tan faster? For the face, I choose a sunscreen with the same protection factor in order to avoid stains on the face and the aging of the skin.

The father likes to use a SPF50+ mist sunscreen because, besides being easy to apply, it has no color, and it is an advantage when applied in hairy areas (I leave the tip for fathers, husbands and boyfriends).

Choosing the best sunscreen often does not imply choosing the best product of all, but the one that best fits the skin type and the situation in question. In addition, the sunscreen is only part of protecting from the sun, so it is very important that the following precautions are taken:

• Avoid sun exposure during times of high incidence of UV rays, between 11h and 16h30
• Hydrate yourself! Drink fluids, even if you not are thirsty.
• Put on the protector every 2 hours and after swimming
• Wear a wide brim hat, umbrella and sunglasses
• Apply the sunscreen 30 minutes before exposure to the sun.

A valuable tip that I habitually follow: The kids already go from the house with a layer of sunscreen on, in order to facilitate the arrival at the Beach. The excitement, the thousand requests to go to the water straight away, and the search for a place to spread the towels and open the umbrella are tiring enough!