Reader Sylvia wrote to me about her difficulty finding a sunblock for the arms and body that is moisturizing yet effective in its sunblocking properties. Her note is as follows:-
Dear ParisB,
My mom and I have jumped into the sunblock bandwagon lately. Drugstore brand sunblock are everywhere such as Sunplay and Banana Boat, however, these sunblock are dedicated for prolonged outdoor sun exposure and they are waterproof AND without the mosturising effect for the skin. They also have high SPF such as SPF 30 and SPF 50. What we are specifically looking for are body lotion with SPF15 or higher up to SPF25 only, with priority mission to smooth and hydrate the skin and secondary to protect skin from UV rays. Preferably, the body lotion has to be affordable for everyday usage at drugstore price. A definite plus point is that it has nice fragrance and not smell like sunblock at all. It must not be tinted too. It has to be accessible in Malaysia.
Currently the body lotion I am using are L’occitane Honey Miel & Lemon Cintron Cream, L’occitane Rose Pearlescent Cream, Clarins Energizing Hydra Wear and Nivea Whitening Milk, all of them without SPF.
I also have stock up on these, also without SPF: L’occitane Luminuous Cream with Olive tree extracts, Enchanteur perfumed hand & body lotion, ~H20+ Natural Spring Body Balm, Crabtree & Evelyn India Hicks Island Night Smooth Body Lotion and The Body Shop Papaya Puree Body Lotion.
So there, I bought them because I am such a sucker for scented body lotion. But just only now I realized that why not get scented body lotion that also protect me from the UV rays, so I get more value for my money!
Hoping to get answers from you at the soonest as I am getting darker each day as applying these lovingly scented body lotions do no good to protect me from UV rays.
Cheers,
Sylvia
My answer was simply that I knew of none – no body lotion that has effective sunblocking properties. If it smells good and moisturizes the skin, chances are, it won’t contain sunscreen.
I was of no help because I don’t use body lotion in the day, only at night (and then, only if I remember). In the day, I usually just use my Australian Cancer Council sunscreen on my arms, which isn’t as drying as the other sunscreen brands I’ve used.
I also stay with cream based texture for sunscreen, whether for face or body. I find that anything fluid or non-sticky or mattifying, usually contains too much alcohol which makes my skin feel dry and papery. Cream based textures however, are more moisturizing as they also tend to be oilier. On my arms, I’m not overly fussed about oiliness.
Personally also, I stick to high SPF sunscreen creams or lotions for face and body. Its a personal preference so I never look at anything below SPF30 which to me is insufficient for our tropical sun. Not unless I want to keep reapplying, that is.
So since I have no answer to this one, lets see if you do.
Are there any good affordable body lotions with SPF that are moisturizing and smell good?
Stay beautiful,
Paris B
I’m currently using Eucerin body lotion. It’s moisturizing, and has SPF 7.
But it has no ‘scent’.
Hi Aiyu,
Thanks. No scent is fine too though great scents attract me like bees to honey 🙂
Hey Paris, I might be able to help on this one, I have recently purchased Juice Beauty’s Body care products, it’s so good I can not stop raving about it, I did a brief review when I first purchased it http://www.shanghainesedumpling.com/?p=2216
What it has is those natural fruit acids, which are much safer to use comparing to chemical acids, lightly peels body leaves it smooth and soft, then the Juice Beauty Body Lotion has Whitening, brightening and also firming agents also with SPF 25. It is a little pricy comparing normal brands but it’s so good I could not find another replacement.
All of their products smell really good, just like what the label said GREEN APPLE. I love them so much 🙂
Hi Shanghainese Dumpling,
I saw your review in your blog and would love to try this out someday. 🙂
Do you mind helping me to check whether Juice Beauty’s lotion is using physical or chemical sunblock as its active agent? As far as I know my skin is able to tolerate physical sunblock like Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide but not on chemical sunblock. I will develop allergy all over my body as is my experience of using Banana Boat and Neutrogena confirmed it.
Hey Ms B! There’s also another one. My sister was telling me Kiehl’s has the Creme de Corps with SPF30!
Hmm… There are no nice smelling drugstore ones that I know of. Most end up smelling like the Banana Boat Mega Shipment from US which I never could get used to. Even the clinique ones smell like regular sunscreen.
There is one tho. It’s only SPF30PA++ but I like it very much when I tried it at the shops. Paul and Joe’s Body Protection Cream. Lightly scented with their signature orange flower oils. Light texture as it’s made for the summer. Retails for RM98 at their counters. Go to Parkson Pavilion and ask for Nancy. She’s like my favourite P&J SA ^^
Hi Saintangelius,
I tried Banana Boat’s and I’m annoyed of the weird smell the whole time and worse of all my skin develop allergy. I’ll never go near BB again. (so is Coppertone). Orange flower scent sounds nice to me. I think might go check it out. Thanks for your input.
I like the Loreal UV Perfect [XL Block] Advanced Cream-Gel Protector for Chest, Arms & Hands SPF30 PA+++ (what a mouthful, lol!)! I know the SPF factor is abit higher than what you’d like, but do give it a try! I feel that its more moisturizing than the usual sunblocks! Not sure if they’ve revised the price, but it was selling at RM32.90 previously. HTHs! 🙂
Hi Jenn,
I will totally go check it out. I’ve been ‘sweeping’ Watson store lately but this Loreal UV Perfect [XL Block] Advanced Cream-Gel Protector for Chest, Arms & Hands SPF30 PA+++ (yeah what a mouthful) never caught my eyes. Yes it helps, thanks 🙂
Hi PB,
Thanks for featuring my questions in your blog. Wow, I realized I wrote such a long and detailed question for you. Teeheheh..
For the past few weeks, I had been diligently searching high and low for the right body lotion with UV Filters at Watson and other drugstores and reading users reviews. Guess what, I found myself liking the Garnier Body Light Whitening Hydration UV Lotion. As promised by Garnier, my skin lightened 2 tones after 2 weeks. Actually Nivea has recently launched its UV Filters Body lotion lines too but I am not keen with the smell. All in all, there is really not much choices for me at the drugstores.
I made 2 other purchases on super sunblock with SPF50+ which are Banana Boat and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer, but I totally develop allergy on all area on my body after wearing for about 4 hours. I had to give away them after 1 use only. Sob Sob.
2 other purchases made on Sunplay Skin Aqua (Gel) with SPF25 PA++ and Bio-Essence Sunscreen SPF56 both suited me well with no allergy. These 2 sunblocks can be even be used on my face. Hurray!
I use the garnier UV protect body milk lotion. It has sunblocking properties, and it contains shea butter for moisturising your skin. not too greasy. and my skin didn’t burn. SPF30
i have this weird theory that whatever is safe for a baby, would be safe for adults and provide the best protection too. therefore, whenever i go on a holiday at the beaches, i would definitely look for banana boat’s baby block… there are those that contain as low as 35spf and there are those that are as high as 55spf i think. the smell is lighter and i don’t develop allergies to it. the best part is, it works like a charm… for me, that is.
i use CCA sunscreen on the arms and legs too. ‘Tis a pity it’s not available in M’sia, ‘cos it’s great stuff.
I’ve known for a fact that Australian have the highest cancer rate in the world from latest study and malaysia is in the middle but still the highest in SEA. But frankly, SPF stuff would degrade its sun protective ability rather quickly even when you are not in the sun, and plus, how would you know if the ingredients in it may react with the UV rays and can produce carcinogenic metabolites.
I go with SPF 15 since usually I covered a lot of skin except my forearms, feet and face and never go out of the sun longer than 150 minutes. Clothings do have SPF properties anyway.