Expert tips: Sun safety for kids by Solero (& fab giveaway!)

We’ve had an exceptionally busy few months travelling!  In May my youngest son and I went on a week cruise to Portugal and Spain with Royal Caribbean, a couple of weeks later I packed our bulging suitcases again for a family holiday in Brittany followed by five days in the Isles of Scilly.  It’s been a fun couple of months and also the perfect time to work with LloydsPharmacy to test out their award winning suncream range, Solero. Below I’ve shared my thoughts and also Solero’s expert tips to ensure sun safety for kids.

(Edited: 25th July – If you fancy your chances at winning a Solero sun care hamper worth £29 check out our latest giveaway – 5 x Solero sun care hampers up for grabs!) 

I’m really fussy about the suncream I use on my boys and on myself.  As you’ll see from my photos, both of my boys have pale skin and my youngest son is particularly fair so I’m always very conscious of making sure they are both well covered in sun cream when we’re out and about.  I also have sensitive skin and eyes that irritate easily so I have to be careful about what I put on my face.  I’ve tried lots of suncreams over the years, especially facial suncreams, and have thrown many away because they’ve either been too greasy or they’ve been excessively perfumed and made my eyes sting and water making me very uncomfortable.

We’ve tried out the new products in Solero suncream range over the last couple of months.  This is how we got on…

Reviewed: Solero suncream

Following the sun care tips and advice by Lloyds Pharmacy I’ve been liberally applying suncream on my boys and myself at least 30 minutes before we’ve gone out in the sun so that it’s had time to properly absorb into our skin. On my boys I’ve been using a SPF 50+ baby sun lotion for ultra sensitive skin, which provides high UVB and UVA protection.  I’ve done it before they’ve got dressed to avoid it going all over their clothes.

I’ve topped it up if we’ve been on the beach or around the pool with the kids sun spray SPF 30  which has genuinely been brilliant. Paediatrician approved, it is water resistant and fragrance free, so even suitable for people suffering from eczema.  My boys are typical kids, once they are playing they hate it when I stop the fun to reapply suncream so it’s been much easier to pull them to one side for a few minutes and cover their bodies in spray.  They even enjoyed applying it themselves, which was useful as it gave me chance to quickly reapply sun cream to their faces before they got bored and scarpered off to dig more trenches and continue crabbing!

I’ve found that the spray in particular sinks in really quickly which prevents sand from sticking all over their bodies which is a huge bonus too.

I’ve been using the kids sun spray and also the anti age facial sun cream factor 30+ which I can thoroughly recommend.  It comes in a small tube so after applying over the top of my foundation I’ve popped it into my handbag and reapplied throughout the day.  It’s water resistant so perfect for all the boat trips we’ve been on recently and has triple defence protection with the highest level of UVA, UVB and IR-A.  If like me you’re wondering what the heck IR-A (Infrared-A) is, (I had no idea and had to go and look it up!), they are the sun rays which penetrate into the deep layers of the skin and can cause long term collagen damage.  (If only I had known this 20 years ago, I may then still look like I am in my twenties!)

I’ve also found the factor 30 lip protection stick very handy, again particularly for the boat trips we’ve been on.  I’ve failed to protect my lips on boat trips in the past and really regretted it when they blistered from the extra sun rays reflecting off the water and onto my face.

After sun exposure I’ve been using Solero aftersun lotion which I really like as it absorbs quickly and cools you down due containing concentrated Aloe Vera.  It also smells lush!  I’ve actually used the after sun even when I haven’t been in the sun as it’s a great moisturiser, my skin feels great after so I’ll be buying some more when my bottle runs out.

All of the products I’ve mentioned above and more can be found both in LloydsPharmacy stores and online.   They offer sun protection for everyone from oily to dry and even spot-prone to eczema-prone.  I’ve purposefully not listed prices as they frequently run deals such as the ‘buy 2 for £9’ they are currently running until the 17th July.  So you’ve got some time to pick some up before the kids summer hols!

I’m not a sun protection expert but LloydsPharmacy are so I’ve shared below their expert advice.

Top tips by LloydsPharmacy: Sun safety for kids 

1. Reapply sun cream a minimum of every one to two hours and make sure you always reapply after swimming, exercise, sweating and towelling.
2. If you have moles or freckles, make sure you wear a minimum SPF30.
3. Wear water resistant sun cream while swimming and don’t forget to apply sun protection under your swim wear as the garments can move around.
4. Use a golf-ball sized (or six teaspoons) amount of sun cream to cover your entire bod.y
5. People tend to burn their nose more than any other body part, so don’t forget to apply sun cream there, as well as to the tops of your ears and the delicate skin on your lips.
6. Seek shade wherever possible especially between the hours of 11am and 3pm
7. Wear protective loose fitting clothing and a sun hat.
8. Don’t forget to protect your eyes! Choose sunglasses that protect your eyes against UV rays.
9. Drink plenty of water. Dehydrated skin is more prone to sun damage.
10. If you have a history of sun damage you should always wear the highest sun protection factor and seek shade where and whenever possible.

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 Disclosure – This post is in collaboration with LloydsPharmacy, all opinions are, as always, my own.