Q and A with Boots Suncare Adviser, Mike Brown

[RachelMumsnet]

Do you know your UVA from your UVB? Unsure about what SPF and product is best to protect your kids from the sun during the warmer months?

Boots Suncare Scientific Adviser, Mike Brown, is joining mumsnet to answer your questions as we approach the summer months. Mike has more than 24 years experience in sun care product development; including SPF testing and product formulation and is also the expert behind Boots Soltan?s ?5 star rating? system.

Send your questions to Mike here before Sunday 29th May and we'll be posting his answers shortly after.

Are there any sunblocks that rely on physical rather than chemical barrier?
Are the sunblocks recommended (or not) for frequent & prolonged use?
Is there any info/research on long term use / side effects - and where to find it?
Is there any info on who the sunblocks would not be recommended, why and where?
How are SPF factors determined?

Norbert, I get the same thing. I have very sensitive eyes and can only wear certain eye make ups and mascaras. I think there is something in sun cream that irritates my eyes, even if it does not actually touch them. Like a scent or something? Does that make sense?

I get the same thing with certain under eye concealers too.

I have found that using a daily moisturiser with an SPF is better for me. But I have fairly dark skin any so I can get away with the lower factors. I think in daily creams they are usually around factor 15.

Which of sunblocks available from Boots offer widest spectrum protection, ie UVA and UVB?

Hi,
Can you please tell me in what way SOLTAN differs from most other sunlotions? Does it have a different ingredient than most other lotions?

It is the ONLY sunlotion which give me an itchy red rash. This rash is localized only to where the lotion is applied, so it must be the lotion. And I need not be in the sun to get this effect, so it is not a burn. (Binned now, of course, so cant tell you more details)

Seing my own reaction to the lotion, I am now very hesitant to apply any Boots own brand lotion to my children's sensitive skin.

(Come to think of it, I got a No7 moisturizer for my birthday a few years, and got a bobbly red rash across my face. When the chemist at my local Boots store saw my face, she gave me a gift voucher to the value of the moisturizer upon the return of the moisturizer, so this was of course very good of her)

What is your policy when it comes to reactions to your products, and refunds?

that should of course have been A FEW YEARS AGO (I did not get it for a few years, I got it a few years ago)

No, I've always been expatinscotland, Fab . Been in Scotland for 9 years now. But lots of folks do call me expat on here.

Chickio, I am not bi-racial but am Latina and have pale skin with olive/yellow undertone.

The best thing for the face I've found is a moisturiser with sunscreen. That way you avoid sun damage and the white paint look.

what are the most important ingredients in a sunscreen? I am allergic to so many, even the hypoallergenic ones. Are there any effective ones with natural ingredients? I am very light/blue eyes, but dark hair so just have to think about the sun and get burned!

why do you have to wait before going out in the sun after applying once daily suncream? does the sun stop it working later on or does it just not offer protection for the first 15 mins? I put it on before the kids go to school so they have protection on their breaks but I usually put it on straight before we head out so is that stopping it working later on in the day?

separate question - what do you think primary school policy on suncream and hats should be?

I've been using the Boots Once for Kids range to protect my son all day at infant school. I read somewhere that the P20 once application sun cream wasn't all that great as it didn't offer the right UVA (or B?) protection. Is this right and does the Boots Once give good UVA and UVB protection?

Why is it that there's only star ratings for UVA rather than UVB?

Thanks!

Another sensitive skin question.

My son has very severe eczema. He uses lots of moisturiser and steroid creams.

I need a sun screen that will not make his skin flare up. I am desperate to avoid this because it can take months to get his skin back under control after a flare.

I am also a bit confused about what order to put his sun screen on. Do I put it on before or after his moisturisers? Will his eczema creams affect how the sun screen works?

I am afraid I have avoided using sun screen as much as I can. My son is mixed race so has dark skin but I am aware its important to use it regardless of skin tone. But its seems so complicated.

Mr Brown

Why do creams labelled for sensitive skin still bring my DD out in the most hideous eczema rash? I know that the sun can aggravate eczema anyway, but her reaction appears within minutes of application, even before she sees the sun! We have spent a small fortune trying various different so called sensitive creams, and Boots Soltan is no exception....

Also, I have read that after a point the factor is just a meaningless number and that anything beyond factor 25 is pointless. Can you please calrify?

But....for those of you with DC with sensitivities/eczema, I have recently tried a sample of Green People sunscreen on my DD, and so far so good; no red, sore and itchy skin on her knee pits, eyelids and crook of her arms. Usually she reacts within minutes of suncream being applied, but two separate applications over two days and nothing!

There is a big question mark over the use of parabens as a preservative in cosmetics including suncreams. (Oestrogen mimics that might raise the risk of cancers such as breast and ovarian.) I only use products free of parabens and think they should be banned completely until more is understood.

Many suncreams are full of them. I don't choose these but the alternatives are often even pricier than the already expensive suncreams. What ranges do you have that are paraben-free?

(((holds hand up and waits patiently to ask question)))

Yes... I have a question actually....

I have red hair and pale skin. I've always used P20, which I have found to be fantastic! It now contains UVA and UVB (whereas before, it only had UVB). I have never burnt when using P20, but I'd like to know if it is high enough to use on my own children. They are 5yrs and 2 yrs. they both have fair skin.

Also, my youngest (2yrs) gets really bad rashes from any suncream I use on him (even the baby ones - I've tried soltan (as was recommended by my health visitor, but that's the same and always makes his eyes run (even when not applied to his face). So, is there a suncream mild enough to not cause this rash (I think it's prickly heat from not allowing the skin to breathe)? P20 would be great for allowing his skin to breathe, but concerned about it being only SPF20.

Please help!

Are there any suncreams/sprays that can be used on heads without giving the greasy comb-over look. My 18month old won't keep her hat on but would be just as useful for my DH who is a little thin on top!

My kids all get a rash from chemical sunscreen (I've tried all of them and have an expensive pile of unused bottles of the stuff), so I have to buy mineral-based sunscreens (such as Clarins, Greenbaby, Roc Minesol) which are expensive and more difficult to source...why don't Boots make one?

Would like to second or third the getting in the eye thing, it's doesn't seem to be straight away but when I get hot it sort of melts into my eyes -owww!

Can we also have a possibly unbiased verdict on the shelf life of suncreams? Can you use them from one year to the next?

Please can Boots start stocking Aveeno srpay on Sun Block - they do it in Factor 35, 50 and 75 - it is the best stuff ever and we have to pay a fortune to have it shipped from Ireland or the States - half our village use it so we do a huge order every once in a while - but Johnson and Johnson who make it don't think here is any call to market it over here.

There obviously is though as it goes for a firtune on Ebay and the lady who we sometimes order it from in Ireland is almost sold out as soon as she gets it in.

It is brilliant stuff which you just spray on from a small distance away - there is no rubbing involved and you can get the kids to take a big breath and shuit their eyes and their face is done in a matter of seconds - no trying to get them to hold still whilst you try to rub horid thick white stuff into their skin. Oh and it is great for kids with Excema - that P20 stuff ended up with us at a doctors in Tuscany trying to figure out why DS was covered in huge red blotches!

Please Please Please listen to your customers - I can vouch for how much I spend in your store by the millions of advantage bloody card points I have! Oh and I live in the vicinity of Colchester so if you would like to trial it there I would be very very grateful!

(whinging and harping on over and done with!)

Am I wasting my time worrying about whether my daily facial moisturiser has SPF?

Obviously I wouldn't rely on it for sole protection for a full day out in the sun. However, it is often the only thing I use on my face even though I wouldn't go out in the summer sun without an SPF20 cream on my arms and legs.

Given that you apply sun cream every 1-2 hours, is a face cream that you apply once at 7 am any use at all?

Can you recommend a suncream for a 2-year-old with super-sensitive skin and eczema? Similar to 'belledechocolatefluffybun', my ds comes out in hives and starts scratching soon after application with every cream I've tried so far. I've been told that lower-factor creams clog up the pores less and are better for kids with sensitive skin but he was still scratching with a factor 15. I've also tried organic products but he has the same reaction.

How about natural ingredients(organic) -sunscreens are they as good as the other sunscreens eg nivea? are they better for skin and have less chemicals?

I have a family history of skin cancer at a young age, so visit an oncologist regularly. He recommended Green People Sunscreen to me, along with a few other brands (not including Boots) as sunscreens that are not carcinogenic themselves. Why do Boots not do an own brand, mineral sunscreen like these?

He also told me never to trust that they will work for more than 3-4 hours, and wrote letters to my kids school to make sure they get help reapplying their lotion at lunch time. Do you agree that sunscreen shouldn't be advertised as lasting all day?

My little on is 3 weeks old and I prefer not to use chemicals on his skin. Can you advise on UVA and UVB proof tents or shelters?

At what age can/should you start applying sun cream on children? In some other countries they advise avoiding sun creams before the child is 2 yrs old and just keeping them in shade - v. difficult though with an active baby/toddler!