P20, ultrasun or other?

[SurreyisSunny]

My DS (fair, hates having suncream put on) and I (ridiculously fair, burn in 5 mins) are heading to Florida in May. What cream would you recommend?

I generally use boots soltan factor 50 in various forms and swear by it but the Florida sun is something else and not sure I was to be stopping every hour to cover both of us with cream. We will wear hats when out in the sun and rash guards when swimming to help.

I’ve used P20 before but it ruins white clothes so looking for alternatives. Will use it if it’s best though

Red hair and fair, freckled skin here, so well versed in sun screen selection. I've also been to Florida - we went in September.
When we went I found a factor 100 SPF in Walmart. I think it was by banana boat. I bought and used that for our entire 2 week stay. It was like covering myself in double cream, but it did the job! I still applied it 2-3 times a day though.

Apart from that one, I can't say I've ever bought "branded" sun screen. I always look to make sure it's UVA and UVB 5 star protection and a minimum of factor 50 SPF.
I like Aldi and Lidl children's sunscreens (for me and the kids!). But my favourite is Sainsbury's clear factor 50 spray sunscreen. As it feels lovely and light on my skin.

Altruist SPF 50. Developed by a British consultant dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon.

We are a pale, pasty family and used Ultrasun in Florida without any burning.

Strip everyone down to underwear / swimming stuff in the morning before you go out; apply sunscreen; let it sink in and dry a bit before you get dressed.

Unless you are in the water parks or swimming you shouldn't need to reapply, and we didn't have any stained clothes.

I'm very sun sensitive, and for a full day outside would use P20. The secret is to have a shower, apply it, and then leave it to dry for at least 15 minutes before dressing. That way it doesn't stain. I prefer p20 as there is less chance of a burn from a collar rubbing cream off, or missing a bit when topping up/
But the best protection is using Solbari sleeves or Uniqlo Airism spf clothing. The Airism hoodie is especially good as its so light and airy to wear and the neckline is really high - but the sleeves let you wear a t shirt or whatever and still be fully protected

@12manyimo not come across that before; looks good. How often does it need reapplying?

@CMOTDibbler yes I have to be careful on clothing so as to only have bits exposed I can reach!

@RockaLock how many bottles did you need for a family. Wondering if 2 is enough for both of us for 2 weeks (I’ll pack some standard cream too for use in water)

Altruist Sun FAQ
How often should I reapply sunscreen?

It’s always difficult to give an accurate guide to how often to reapply, as the strength of the sun and skin type vary so much, but every couple of hours should be plenty unless you’ve been swimming. After going into the water and towelling off it’s important to reapply.

@SurreyisSunny General recommendation is to reapply suncream every two hours if outdoors.

I think we had one of the big pump bottles (400ml?) plus a couple of small ones (I carried one around everywhere "just in case", but never used it while we were out and about). I'm fairly sure that did us a couple of weeks, but I might be misremembering, it was a while ago now.

And wear hats.

M&S and escentual often do good offers on ultrasun, you might get lucky before you go.

We got some factor 100 in Walmart when we arrived and it was great, think it was only about $8ish. We would put on in the morning and top up at lunchtime and didn’t burn at all. Was great for DD who gets a rash with some sun creams.

Ultra Sun. Discovered it last year on a recommendation. Hit an amazing pack bargain from M& S and much of it unopened. Comes in all shapes and sizes. Doesn't stain. The head hair spray one was a godsend last summer.

For Ultrasun , look on the QVC shopping channel ( or the website ) , they have that brand and often discount .