Kids still getting sunburnt despite Suncream and hats?!

[maria2bela1]

So I've been applying SPF 50 to kids which is also water resistant, but my 3 year old has woken up with red cheeks this morning, and my 6yo the same a few days ago. They also wear caps and were not in the sun for that long yesterday, is there anything I'm not using or missing out on?

What do you call 'not long'?
Where are you?
Do they wear caps in the pool?
Do you reapply straight after the pool?

Years ago I was told it makes bo difference on spf if theirs not 5 stars on the bottle, not sure if this is true but I always make sure to buy bottles with 5 stars. Also you could try a sun block stick after you've applied the cream.

Is the suncream new this year and a good brand?

Are you sure it's sunburn? Could be a reaction to something, maybe the suncream?

What time of day were you outside and for how long?

Well it depends on so many factors, even with cream on your still need to be careful. Also some creams are better than others, I can’t use Nivea cream as I still burn.

If it’s just parts of their body and not all over, you’re not applying it properly

Do you put their suncream on 15 minutes before you go out?

Make sure that they’re dry before you reapply it?

stay out of the sun in the most fierce part of the day?

Are you reapplying every 2 hours? (unless you use an all day one).

How long is not long?

Apart from all the points already raised, if they are not burnt, could it be a reaction/ irritation to sth maybe? Is it only on the cheeks? Maybe put a non fragranced emollient on in the evening to help it go down. I find Aloe gel great.
Try and keep children out of direct sun between 11 am and 3pm (difficult i know).

We went to the beach on Tuesday kids were in and out the water
. We used factor 50. Put it on quite thick. Only once And they still came home like milk bottles.

My DS has gone pink on the cheeks with ultrasun applied religiously but we think we were unlucky and didn't leave enough time for it to sink in before swimming and it happened in about 10 mins. Luckily I realised he was looking pink, pulled him out of the water and got him to sit with a huge hat on so the pinkness faded by the next day.

We've said no swimming in the peak of the day now and large hat to be worn when out and about. I think the UV levels are just super high.

You will still burn in sun even with spf it just takes longer. I think the most common mistakes are not enough Sun cream on, not reapplying often enough, then staying in sun too long. You need much more cream than you’d think to get proper protection

People don't apply enough sun cream, there are only 5-6 full body applications in a bottle so a thin layer doesn't cut it. As for water resistant, that's just that it's resistant not water proof - so fine for if you get splashed or sweaty but prolonged exposure submerged in a body of water and you need to reapply afterwards regularly.

Is it possible they have slapped cheek?

Sunscreens are unregulated in the UK, so manufacturers can limit the amount of light reflecting molecules, which block the suns' rays in their lotions, if they choose to.

Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, and others.

So as an experiment, I compared a childs' factor 50 sunscreen with an adults a few years ago and I burned. In fact I burned like I would with no sunscreen and my skin is naturally as white as a sheet.

So, some kids sunscreen is a diluted version of the adults, now where on earth they think that's acceptable it absolutely isn't, so parents and at least 2 options as to what sunscreen they wish to use on their DC.

When children spend a long time in a pool all the hat wearing in the world is pointless - the water reflects the sun!

Best thing ever for protecting cheeks if they are spending a lot of time in the sun is the good old neon sunblock applied when skiing!

Also make sure before they go to bed to apply a good moisturiser and/ or barrier cream.

I always used Vaseline on the checks when ds was swimming over sunscreen.

I used the sunblock sticks for faces...factor 50. They go on pretty thick...almost like a waxy balm. I find them better than the creams.

Yea that's the things I was trying to say about. Couldn't think how else to describe what they are 😂

Thanks all, just to clarify they were not in pool, I was just mentioning the water resistance aspect of cream as I thought this meant it was stronger, they were out after 3.30pm yesterday on a roofless bouncy castle, but it was cloudy for a lot of the time and I applied the sunscreen just before they went out. I'm starting to think the cream I'm using isn't good, we went to Dubai in 30 degree heat for the whole week and they never got burnt once, but I was using a different sunscreen..

Are their clothes spf rated?

It sounds like you only applied the suncream once. You need to be reapplying it regularly.

I wouldn’t expect anyone to burn in the UK, after 15:30, while wearing SPF50 (or even while not wearing it, and I am a pale ginger who doesn’t tan).

I agree with others, is this definitely sunburn? Or a skin reaction to something else?

@quickturtlemy thought too.
I though dd had sunburnt cheeks last week - it was slapped cheek

@Saschka I did think of this too as weird my son had the same a couple days ago now my daughter..Perhaps passed something on, they don't have any other viral symptoms though, very strange!

Bouncy castles also reflect the sun!

Lots of things do.

But I would imagine a lot of it is the fact the skin on the face dries out easily and that retains a redness.

In my experience sunburn appears quite quickly, it isn’t something that comes up overnight. In the circumstances you describe I’d suspect slapped cheek.