Confused suncream fair skinned family hol abroad in August

[saltedliquorice]

We are a fair skinned family. I am confused about FB posts suggesting using Aldi, Asda, Morrison’s or Boots Soltan. Another post suggests children have beeen badly burned using ASda suncream.

Normally, on hols abroad DH and myself use P20 suncream factor 50 initially then continue to use this on face moving to factor 30 elsewhere as holiday progresses. We spend most of our time under an umbrella.
The DC use Ambre Solaire factor 50, going down to factor 30 on legs last couple of days. The DC are early teens and total water babies never tan as some kids do but we do smear them in cream. On a couple of occasions inspite of chasing them around the pool with sun cream, trying to insist they spend 2-3 hours indoors at the hottest time and insisting they wear rash vests or tshirts etc.

What are others using or would recommend?

we use green people factor 30 on my son who is ginger and pale and has eczema. He never burned on our last holiday in corfu and it was HOT! we also used the sun protection suits in the water and a wide brimmed sun protection hat.
Green people suncream is mineral based so sits on the skin, rather than being absorbed. its a barrier. it goes on white but goes see through.

Thanks hungryhippie I will look into that as both DC’s have mild excema no ginger hair though. As they are tall 13 and 14 year olds my DC wouldn’t do widebrimmed sunhats or sun suits or the like these days though.

We use calypso once a day on the whole family. Liberally applied after showers and before breakfast, allowing time to dry before dressing. That’s it for the day. We are all v fair skinned and holiday abroad frequently. I come back the same colour that I go away.

Pale skinned family too.

I put no store whatsoever in the once a day one - don't work for us. Always use factor 50, have had good protection from the Aldi own brand.

Not fussed about "getting a tan".

We all use ultra sun never had a problem we holiday in high and lower season in the Canary Islands, Greece or Cyprus

ultrasun is fab, we always use it. Friends recommended sunsense for people with eczema

I always check for the "star rating" which is usually found on the back of the bottle. The higher the stars, the better the protection.

The best I've found is Boots Soltan. I haven't looked at the supermarkets brands but Nivea and L'Oréal are only 4 stars and some Piz Buin is only 3.

Boots have got a good range this year, there's the 3 or 8 hour swim and play range. I've been using it on all my 4 children in this weather and found it to be great. I still reapply after a couple of hours though.

Agree that we always look at the star rating too. The supermarket ones vary too, Aldi's is 5 star as was Sainsbury's. Both considerably cheaper than branded ones and do a range of aerosols, waterproof, sensitive etc.

We used Sainsbury's spf50 on our recent holiday. My youngest is fair skinned with red hair and tend to react to some creams. The Sainsbury's one went on really easily, it's not overly thick so quick to apply to a squirming toddler and we had no burning at all. It actually was better than their spf30 which for some reason was much thicker and harder to apply.

When we went to Mexico and Egypt pre kids we used to use P20. My husband burns quite easily and we had no issues. The only downside is the naked star fish pose whilst waiting for it to dry properly, and it stained some white clothes.

I think the ambre Solaire only has a 3-Star UV rating. So not the highest level of protection against cancer-causing UVA. I really rate the soltan. We use the sensitive one on son with mild eczema and never had any problems.
Rash vests might be a teen-acceptable option to wear in the water? Look in surf shops, brands like o Neil and billabong.