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.
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