To be very annoyed that dd is so sunburnt?

[Edenviolet]

Dd2 is 4.

It was lovely here today and she wanted to play in the garden so I put factor 50 sun lotion on her and she played from approx 10.30-1130 am then as it was getting a bit hot and she needed her lunch she was indoors from 11.30-2pm.
Reapplied sun cream (water resistant apparently) and she played in the paddling pool for 1 hour. Got out, reapplied sun cream and she played till about 430 pm.

Her face and arms and back are very sunburnt! Why!?? I thought I had reapplied enough and often enough? Other dcs had same sun cream on at the same times and they are not burnt at all and ds1 and 2 are much paler in general than dd2.
I do not have a clue why dd has got so burnt? Half of me wondered about the sun cream but as the other dcs have used it and are fine it can't be that.

Ah now OP. There has been an article this week about the claims of some lotion providers not measuring SPF properly. Brands that were mentioned were Piz Buin, Howaiain Tropic and Malibu. Articles are available on the internet if you want to check them out

I just think it's down to different skin types.

Ds's are 6 and 4. Both have the same skin tone generally (in the winter) and hair.. They both get covered in factor 50 in equal amounts and spend the same amount of time in the sun. Neither have burnt, but after a few days of lovely weather ds1 is completely sunkissed - a lovely healthy golden colour on his face, neck and arms. Ds2s skin is exactly the same shade though, i swear that child just repels the sun. He's not tanned at all even after a good ten hours of hot sun over this weekend, not red (which I'm glad off obv), not got the t shirt cut off lines on his arms like ds1 has...totally bizarre!

I can recommend sudcrem for sunburn. There have been a couple of occasions when I've seen DS looking rather pink, cursed myself for not reapplying suncream, and put sudocrem on the sunburn, only for there to be no trace of it in the morning.

Definitely put the pool in the shade next time. It's probably the combination of the water washing off the cream and the sun's rays reflecting off the water.

cold tea is supposed to be good for sunburn. you have my sympathies, i come from a family of olive skinned dark haired people and yet i am fair (take after my aunt), our first holiday abroad and my mum just was not prepared for how badly i burnt, i blistered across my shoulders.

I've heard that suncream is more and more protective up to about factor 25, but after that the level of protection actually changes very little; factor 30 is hardly any more protective than 25, and 40 and so on, almost no difference at all, so for children's skin, 25 factor protection is about all you get.

Def one of those UV covering swim suits next time and get the gazebo sorted ASAP. We bought a pop up gazebo from Tescos for about £40 last year and it is so much easier to put up than the ones with separate poles - our garden has no shade at all so it's essential.

I find I burn much more easily on my neck and shoulders than anywhere else. I personally would never wear a stroppy dress or top because I would burn even with high factor sun cream. Stick to t shirts or dresses with more coverage.

OP, this happened to my DS1 when he was little so now I make sure all 3 of my DS's wear a t.shirt in the paddling pool.

It sounds like it might make them hot, but it really doesn't once they get wet.

I replace suncream every year because it is less effective when it is old. They now put a little sign on the bottle to say how long to keep it for.

Also, sun creams have been in the news this week as Which have been teasing them. There are a couple of big name brands that they say to avoid.

This might sound silly, but is it actually sunburn? I ask because DD1 is very fair. DS and DD2 have more olivey skin. I always plastered DD1 in factor 50 and she always went red.

It then dawned on me that it might be the suncream rather than the sun.

Changed to factor 30 and the redness has gone. She has been outside for most of the day with 30 on and hasn't changed colour at all.

I can't remember what the ingredient is in the factor 50, but it is something particular that is not in the 30 (about 5 years since I solved the mystery - brain not that good!)

Just a thought!

We use decathlons UV swim t-shirts / rashvests too to save the whole issue of suncream/water. Quite cheap and last for ever.

Ihave some sudocrem I will put some on her, the aloe gel didnt seem to help much really.

321go-I also have a friends who's child skin reacts to factor 50 -Dermotologist advised to not use higher then 30 on children as above that doesn't let the skin breath? Her DS is fine now using the 30.

I'm loving all the random opinions on here. Clearly nobody has a clue what SPF means!

Suncresm manufacturers would have you believe you need UK replace it every month!

That's interesting magentastardust. I didn't know that.

We're in NZ, so just out of summer now, and sun protection is (for good reason) a national obsession.

I'm very fair and DD2 in particular appears to have inherited my skin type. This is our system:

UV swimwear - to elbows and knees, high neck.
Hats on the minute they leave the house. Younger one always has a hat with neck protection, older one wide brim. School and crèche are brilliant with this too - from October to March if they don't have hats they may only play in the shade.
8-hour suncream applied before dressing in the morning. Fully waterproof. But if they've been in and out of the water all day I will still reapply "regular" factor 50 too.
We try to avoid being out in the sun for more than an hour at a stretch (so always have gazebo/parasol/sunshade up whether we're at the beach or at home, and I get the kids under it for snack/meal etc pretty regularly)
Both DC also have their own water bottle with them at all times in the summer.

I follow all the above for myself too, and fool myself that my big wide brimmed hat makes me look like Jackie O

The only one who got burnt this summer was DH who spent so much time sorting out the gazebo one day at the beach that he forgot to put his own suncream on. I'm still as pale as I was in November, as is the 2yo. DD1 (6.5) is a lovely healthy colour, but most of that is just extra freckles.

I find that mine do not burn with tesco factor 50. it is water resistant when I try to wash it off after I have applied it to the children, though it does not claim to be. sunsuits. and sunhats. the ones that come with the suits are quite good.

I know the factor fifty works all day in school as once ds did pe with his tshirt buttons undone and got burned on that bit. the rest of him was ok.

Isn't suncream full of horrible chemicals though? Our Dc's come out in a rash the minute it is applied. We have managed without using any for years with no sunburn at all, just by keeping covered up and wearing hats.

After the pool I reapplied when she was outside. I think I put enough on it was a spray so she had three sprays for each arm, five for each leg and I put some on my hand to then put on her face.

probably not enough in the sprays. we have got through one and abit bottles in two weeks.

"Isn't suncream full of horrible chemicals though? Our Dc's come out in a rash the minute it is applied. We have managed without using any for years with no sunburn at all, just by keeping covered up and wearing hats."

That is a better option than sun cream, but sometimes it isn't practical to cover up and wear hats all the time - in a swimming pool, sports day at school, athletics for PE (at DD's school they are very strict about the PE kit, and in this weather it is short sleeved PE shirt and shorts or get a detention). And I bet when your children are teenagers they won't cover up and wear hats all the time.

There must be one sun cream that doesn't bring your children out in a rash.

My mum is allergic to all suncream. she has to go out in a wide brimmed hat and gloves. not allowed to be in the sun at all after sevearl cases of skin cancer.

Neither DD, both fairer haired than me burn as easily as I do.
Fairest DD2 burns least.

Also DD2 trampolines all year round and takes to a t shirt or vest top two months before anyone else thinks it's faintly warm enough. This means she has a faint tan at all times, which certainly helps against burning at this time of year.

Are your other DCs older? Have they been doing out door play times and sport? Not being absolutely pasty white helps enormously against the worst May sunburn.

water resistant is a bit of a misnomer. It won't stand up to an hour in water before it is washed off/diluted/stops working. I think most water resistant creams start losing effectiveness after 20 minutes or so. An hour - no way. That's when she got burnt. She needs a T-shirt/hat or shade if she is in the paddling pool.

factor 50 is only recommended for the hotter parts of the day, it is not good to use all day as it blocks the pores in the skin and can cause dehydration. factor 30 gives sufficient cover but children should be covered up in sleeves and hats if possible. 20 mins of sun a day is enough to give them the vitamin D needed the rest of the time they should be shaded as much as possible. hope it wears off soon OP. The all day sprays from Boots are good, but still need reapplying after water play.