Why would a sunscreen leave streaks and handmarks (This is on many different brands)?

Poor babies! I would try using alot more to get it on more evenly.

Even application is key. Thicker patches = more protection there, less protection where it’s thinner.

In addition to even application, most sunscreens need to be reapplied every 2 hours and after being in the water, getting really wet (like a water balloon fight or using squirt guns), or sweating a lot.

And in addition to applying sunscreen it is also advised for (smaller) children to put on a t-shirt and a sun hat while playing/sun bathing.

Yeah, my kids were 16 when they went to Equador. They tell me they put it on 5 or 6 times over the course of 6 hours, and let it dry before returning to the water. They tried to go to a hospital, but none were available.

It must not be going on evenly. This never happens to me. I have a few suggestions:

- get a lower SPF. Anything higher than 15 is usually tacky and thick, and does not spread smoothly.

- put on a generous amount.

- put it on in two directions to make sure you don’t miss a spot.

- Coppertone

I am very very pale. I burn red in 30 minutes without sunscreen, amd I never have a problem. I only use coppertone.

Just the fact that there is a hand print shows the chemicals are working and it is the application. Anywhere you miss will get burnt.

Yeah, So I slathered on the stuff rubbed it in every possible direction, and let it dry. The very fact there was a hand print shows something, but who knows what? I tried it every possible way I could think of, with dubious results, as I mentioned. I think my kids and I will stay out of the sun. The results are much more dependable.

I have a friend who went to Aruba and used sunscreen and had a hand print for three years afterwards. Everytime he got tan, that handprint showed up.

Use waterproof sunscreen in combination with rash vests and board shorts?

Hand print. Like with fingers spread? Like if you are making a handprint in clay in nursery school? I could never have that type of handprint left on me because my fingers are together spreading a blob of sunscreen. Hand print is more like if not much sunscreen is put in an area, or none, and then a sunscreen filled hand touches the person in one place, like when you touch someone while talking or helping them.

I actually do have a problem, I just remembered, with a Lancome or Estee product, can’t remember which, that is not suntan lotion but face lotion with SPF and it seems to do nothing. Might be the chemical. There are several different chemicals for sun protection. I regularly use Coppertone 8 which usually gives me a little tan, 15 I get nothing, no tanning at all.

Just a reminder SPF blocks the absorption of vitamin D, if you always protect your skin it is likely you will be D dificient, typically no amount of food is going to give you enough. The only way to know for sure is to get a blood test.

What brand are you using? I use the Coppertone Water Babies SPF 50 spray.

Sunscreen works by providing a phsical barrier – if gets removed then it won’t work. Sweating and physical contact will easily remove the stuff – which I expect would explain the streaks and hand prints you saw on your kids. Even waterproof suncreen will need reapplying after swimming.

Sunscreen does not stop you from getting burned. It only increases the length of time you can be in the sun without getting burned. Some people burn very, very quickly and even with sunscreen they can’t stay out in the sun that long.

Maybe do a test. Draw three boxes with white first aid tape on your back across horizontally (upper back generally gets more sun than lower back so you need to make it as fair as possible. Try three different lotions inside the three boxes. Go out for an hour. Go ahead and put lotion outside of the boxes so you don’t burn like crazy. Then you will know which lotion is working best, and you can stick with that. You will also see no sun exposure where the tape was, so you can gauge that also.

Don’t rub it in and you don’t have to let it dry. Only SOME sunscreens work with a physical barrier, like those containing titanium oxide. Those are the ones that look a bit opaque on the skin. This is the type I use on my son and they are highly effective. I don’t care if he looks like a white little ghost. I only put it on him when I’m not supervising him for outdoor activity, like the tour days and outside school days they have. When he’s running around home, I let him get sunshine, but I can make sure he’s got a hat on to protect his eyes and face and a long sleeve shirt on, or shirtless for only short periods. We love our Vitamin D up here in the 60’s latitudes.

Lotion is NOT an excuse to expose skin, unprotected by clothing, all day. It should NOT be used as a substitute for a hat, shirt or shade all day.

I think your lesson here isn’t to buy a different brand, but to absolutely do not just rely on sunscreen to protect you long term in the sun. The companies make very dubious claims about sunscreen effectiveness, not to mention the number of preservatives and perfumes they put in it.

I’m a cosmetics formulator and I look at these ingredients all day. Please listen to the people who talk about skin cancer prevention and not the people who are trying to sell you their product.

@cazzie I blame titanium dioxide for all of those photos of me looking stark, ghost white, in photos. I desperately look for foundation with no SPF for parties when I know my photo will be taken. I absolutely hate it is in foundation. Almost every woman uses lotion below their foundation, that in my opinion, is the only product that really needs the SPF.

from The Skin Cancer Foundation’s website: Since its inception in 1979, The Skin Cancer Foundation has always recommended using a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher as one (one) important part of a complete sun protection regimen which includes seeking shade, covering up with clothing including a wide-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses and avoiding tanning and UV tanning booths.
For more information:

@JLeslie you’d be surprised how many products have titanium (di)oxide in them. That horrible scum that chalks up your bath or shower from commercial bar soap is titanium (di)oxide. I think those soap companies and the people who make bath and shower cleaner have an evil collusion deal going on.

@cazzie Interesting. I use liquid soap, so I escape that one I guess.I used to super
protect my skin, not any more. I rather sit in the shade and use clothing, and when in the sun get some exposure. My D is soooo very low, I already take mega perscription stregnth, and it was probably dificient for many many years until a doctor tested me. My biggest regret regarding the sun, is over tanning myself when I was young, especially a teen, too often burning. If I had been more moderate then, I could be less careful now without dreading the possibilities of skin cancer or worse more wrinkles.

@JLeslie liquid ‘soap’ or liquid detergent.? ;o)

@cazzie, does this mean I need to read soap labels as well as food labels? Just kill me now and get it over with.

Soap scum is not titanium dioxide, although the ingredient is often added to make soap opaque.

@laureth, Yes, the titanium oxide sticks to that creating what I described as a chalky build up. The actual scum that develops depends on the hardness of your water, something you can’t always control and don’t really want to because you also drink it, but the oxides used to colour soaps is a pointless addition, although a very skin- safe ingredient, even for leave-on products like sunscreen.

@BarnacleBill if you don’t have allergies or skin problems, you probably don’t need or want to read ingredients lists. As for me and mine.. we have to.

Thanks to everyone for a very educational discussion!