Suncream, what do you rate?

[permaquandry]

All recommendations for a brilliant sun cream welcome!

Going to Oz, have 2 kids, 4 and 7.

Eldest has sensitive skin so I currently use ultrasun (once a day) and top up with ambre solaire kids.

I like a milky cream, not chalky and easy to apply/non staining. Am OK to take the above again, however, ultrasun is 20 quid and i'll need 2 bottles.

Anybody used Soltan Once?

Thanks.

soltan with bug repellant for my 2 red heads. use the bottle rather than the sprays or go for the blue tinted ones so you can see where you have put it on. might be as well to take one bottle and see what there is when you are out there because of their slip, slap slop campaign i suspect its a better choice and price than in the uk.

piz buin all day factor 30 is the only one I ever use and never had burns. It is £20 a throw but Boots often do bogof so I stock up then!

take small bottles with you and buy it there. Not sure on current prices but when I was there a few years back you could get a litre of it for AUD10. Even with weak pound it will still be cheaper.

never trust once a day suncream.

The brand is not so important, what makes the biggest difference is regular applications of the right amount. The public health message is a shot glass sized amount for adults. Remember to reapply regularly, especially after swimming.

There is no real difference between a supermarket own brand and the premium ones except price. Make sure you get over factor 30 though.

I use a mix of branded and supermarket own make and they have all worked fine. You dont even need specific kids stuff as the 'adult' ones all tend to be ok for children too.

Queen hate to contradict you but Which did a test some years back and there can be a difference. Products were mislabelled with the wrong protective factor on them. The Sunday Times did one too ages ago. Boots can be trusted.

P20. Can't beat it. Put it on in the morning, don't need to reapply (although you can), and no prickly heat. Wouldn't use anything else. Only downside is it's a bit alcohol-y and can stain white clothes - you need to leave it to dry for half an hour before you go out in the sun. It's cheap in places like Bodycare.

(Oh, sorry - just saw that you liked milky and non-staining. Must read before posting! Ambre Solaire is good for sensitive skin.)

When we were in Oz recently we took a bottle of out own Boots SPF 30 and then bought the Australian Cancer Society Factor 50 for the kids once we were out there. The pharmacist said the main causes of sunburn amongst tourists is they don't use enough suncream often enough, he suggested putting your normal amount of suncream in your hand, then double it, put it on 30 mins before you get dressed/ go outside so it can sink in, re apply every 3 hours swimming or not, wiping sweat off and t-shirts/shorts rubbing rake the suncream off too. Long sleeve UV tops for the beach are a must too. Once a day stuff is not sufficient and P20 is great here but I used it in Oz and got burnt the first day.

I use Soltan Once, and it works really well on my very sun sensitive skin.

For top up, I use the Soltan aerosol as its so fast to spray on

You don't need to pay extra for sunscreen over factor 30. Tests have shown that the difference in protection between 30 and 50 is very little and using a factor 50 lulls people into thinking they have much higher protection so therefore they may stay in the sun longer or not reapply as often.

You can't buy sunscreen over factor 30 in Australia for this reason.

Nanny R - We have a bottle of Australian Cancer Society SPF 50 suncream in our bathroom from last year - you can buy it in pharmacies. They changed the rules last year allowing up to 50+ SPF

Banana Boat. Only one that DS2 didn't react to, but it's very good. Tesco sometimes sell it.
bananaboat.com/

reminder: Australia is nearer the equator than the UK, and there is an ozone whole. Therefore - stronger UV.