P20 or alternatives

[CutYourHairAndGetAJob]

Hi, it's April so time for me and my ginger family to start covering ourselves head to toe in factor 50

Last year we discovered p20 which is brilliant - easy to apply to a wriggly toddler, lasts all day etc. However it is quite £££. Has anyone seen it on offer or know of any cheaper alternatives?

Thanks

[prettybird]

Another Ultrasun fan. Used P20 for a few years before I discover Ultrasun. I use the F20 and F30 Sensitive Skin (and facial) formulations (and only occasionally the F50). Only the F50 goes on white - the other two leave a lovely glimmer on your skin. Don't like the sports formulation - it's a liquid more like P20 and I find it can sting a bit, as well as being more difficult to manage where you're applying it (important if you're only doing so once a day).

It is expensive but because you only need to apply once a day, it balances out

I tried the Boots Soltan Once lotion but burnt with it

[SweetPeaPods]

We love sunsense. John Lewis and ocado stock it. Probably Amazon too.

[CutYourHairAndGetAJob]

Yet again I am cursing the fact that there is no home bargains round here!

Mrst your story has made me slightly nervous about putting it on the kids, I'd probably risk it for myself though

[MrsT2007]

I had patch testing done under dermatologist as an emergency referral.

It's amazing what you find out!!

[MrsT2007]

I'm known shown to be allergic to Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, which is the main sunscreen in it, and 99% of the brands out there.

It's more common than people realise and it's a 'builder' allergy so the more you use it the worse the reaction gets,

My kids have only had the SunSense sensitive or organic babies used on them as any physical contact with other sunscreens will make me react (ie burning angry hives reaction) but both are excellent, stop me (v pale!) from burning.

An annoying side effect is in also now allergic to developing type fake tan too so I can't go brown whatever I do

[SuckingEggs]

Thanks Hula

[XiCi]

I love P20, have used it for years and have never burned or had any sort of reaction. Your experience sounds awful MrsT. Did they say what had caused it, were you allergic to one of the ingredients?
Boots Soltan do a once a day OP that's really reasonable. My db and sil live in a tropical climate and it's the only thing they use, I have to bring a load over for them when I visit. It's often on 3 for2 which brings the price down more
If you want to stick to the P20, I buy it from home bargains for less than £10

[Hulababy]

It goes on white iirr - but again, if you leave it a good 15 min to dry before dressing it doesn't seem to stain.

[SuckingEggs]

Does Ultrasun go on clear or leave a white tinge?

[CutYourHairAndGetAJob]

Wow the ultrasun is pricey, even on offer. I don't think I can afford that on maternity leave. I will try the Calypso instead as it is cheaper, they have some on Amazon for £6 if anyone else is looking

[Hulababy]

Your reaction to the suncream sounds really horrid MrsT.

DD reacts to a lot of suncreams but luckily never as bad as that. We have now eliminated any that she reacts too as I read that reactions can become worse with time.

Ultra sun, and many once a days, bind to the skin I believe. Must be the way some of them work I guess. DD much prefers UltraSun though.

[Hulababy]

The newer formula of P20 doesn't stain in the same way - they changed the formula. I wore a new white dress a couple of times on my recent holiday, after using P20 - no staining on it at all.

[Hulababy]

Me and DH use P20 with no problems at all. Never reacted to it in the slightest and never burned with it either.

DD uses UltraSun as she doesn't like the oil formula of P20.

She doesn't use many other forms as she reacts to many other brands, including other brand once a days.

So yes, they are expensive - but for us it is worth it as they have worked for us.

[CutYourHairAndGetAJob]

Thanks all

That sounds awful MrsT

I don't have a Waitrose nearby but I could do an ocado online shop and get some ultrasun. I really need the once a day stuff because I always forget to reapply

[hollinhurst84]

Link to their website
http://www.bananaboat.co.uk/ultramisttheanywhichway_spray.html

[hollinhurst84]

It's not a one a day but I like the banana boat spray. Comes in different variations of waterproof, sensitive and different factors
It's an aerosol spray so no rubbing in and I've never burnt with it (redhead, faint shade of blue)
I don't have DC but recommended it to a friend who likes the fact you can spray it on a toddler that's legging it from you

[notapizzaeater]

We use ultrasun or p20 - whichever is on offer when I buy it. A bottle last DS a year.

Your reaction sounds horrid MrsT :-(

[MrsT2007]

I used p20 for a week no issues. So before a school field trip I bought more for exactly those 'won't need to reapply' reasons.

I used it & I had a HUGE reaction where it's been applied and sun exposed. The treatment involved A&E in the end, taking steroid tablets and massive antihistamine doses. Five days in, steroid dose reduced, & it flared up massively again.

This continues for a month as p20 chemically binds to your skin. So your skin cannot get rid of what it's trying to react to and your body keeps on reacting more and more.

I basically had chemical burns as the reaction is photosensitive and any daylight made it worse and worse.

Dermatologist tests revealed I am now spectacularly allergic to all chemical sunscreens. This is mainly because my body produced more and more reaction to a chemical it couldn't get rid of.

My arms are permanently marked where I had the reaction, as is my neck. In the summer it comes up redder than other areas.

So yes, I reckon it's pretty vile stuff.

Ultra sun I can't use but it is good. I use SunSense sensitive. Great on reactive skins and kids, and no chemical sunscreens. Also like the green people organic kids one.

[Kirriemuir]

Ultrasun.

[scrappydappydoo]

We use ultrasun. We did use the boots all day one but it was horrid really thick and wouldn't rub in. We then switched to piz buin which was OK but stained clothes we then discovered ultrasun and haven't brought anything else since. Me and dc use the lotion and dh uses the sport version as he's v hairy and it doesn't get all in a mess like the lotion (sorry for that image). It's on offer with ocado at the moment.

[SingToMeInFrench]

Ultrasun! It's great. Pricey but you can get good deals on QVC or online

[Madbengalmum]

It is not about whether p20 gives any issues,more about the nasty things it contains that you are adding to your skin.
It stains clothes yellow also.

[member]

We had no issues with P20 re skin/protection but it did create a very yellowy oil slick in the pool

[MarvellousCake]

Ultrasun is the best. Wouldn't use anything else now. Pricey, mind. Last bottle I got was from M&S with a 20% off code.

[Madbengalmum]

I believe it is some sort of binding ingredient, but i stand corrected.