It’s
been a few weeks since my last post and this particular one was meant to be
written a few weeks ago. However, there are times when life gets a little crazy
and blogging has to wait a while until it all calms down again. Some of us are
now heading towards the summer holidays with the kids and my youngest finishes
nursery today so I know that my writing will be a nightly activity from this
point until September time. I’ll be burning that midnight oil a bit more over
the coming weeks.
I’m
very much looking forward to spending some quality time with them this holiday.
Now that my youngest is 2 ½ it is making getting out and doing things without taking
everything bar the kitchen sink possible again. She’s recently mastered the
transition from nappies to pants and is really revelling in this new found
freedom. I can pack a little lighter now when we go to places so I’m keen to
get out and about with them in the coming weeks.
We
are blessed that we live only 10 minutes from the beach. We also have a short
break booked in Cornwall later in the holidays so making sure they are
protected from the sun will be important particularly on those days when the beach calls. I
have always used free-from sun creams on the girls. It was a “no brainer” for
me. I transitioned myself across too after suffering badly with prickly heat
every year and since that transition I haven’t suffered since. We normally use
Green People but I have branched out since writing this blog and have come
across a few more that I have enjoyed using both on myself and the girls.
I
therefore want to share with you 4 sun creams I have used (the sun’s daily appearance
has helped this testing phase) which I really like. There are
others I also wish to try out but I’m going to focus on the 4 I have used thus
far. Like anything, it’s all about preference and what your needs are with
skincare and this is often a key factor in what makes one person buy one brand
over another. I’m lucky in that as a family we do not suffer with allergies but
I know from reading other blogs like Sugarpuffish, that for some this is a real
consideration when looking at which products are a “green” light and which are definitely
a “no go” zone.
In
this post I will also share with you the fabulous sun shirts I use for the
girls from Tatty Bumpkin. I wouldn't be without them now. They are a life saver
at the end of a hot day on the beach when the kids still want to play, play,
play!
Initially
for us as a family, the main sun cream we have used over the past 7 years has
been Green People. This was the first free-from sun cream I used on myself,
hubby and the girls. I am fair skinned so have to be mindful of creams and
burning. I've used the factor 15 & 25 and have never burned with it. I no
longer get prickly heat and know I can trust this brand to work for us as a
family. Green People uses Titanium Dioxide as its mineral filter for UV rays
along with Isoamyl P-Methoxycinnamate which is produced from Cinnamic acid found
in the leaves of the cinnamon tree. Together these give the cream it’s UVA and
UVB filter protection. This sun cream is suitable for vegetarians rather than
vegans due to the beeswax content. It comes in adult SPF15 and 25 and children’s
SPF 25.
For
those of you who are interested in ingredients, below is what this cream has:
Aqua
(spring water), helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil*, isoamyl
p-methoxycinnamate (naturally occurring uv-filter), olea europaea (olive) fruit
oil*, cetearyl alcohol (emulsifying plant wax), elaeis guineensis (palm) oil*^,
titanium dioxide (mineral uv-filter), rhus verniciflua peel cera (berry wax),
glyceryl stearate (plant derived emulsifier), cetearyl glucoside (plant derived
emulsifier), leontopodium alpinum (edelweiss) leaf extract*, aloe barbadensis
(aloe vera) leaf juice powder*, sodium stearoyl glutamate (plant derived
emulsifier), fucus vesiculosus (seaweed) extract, chamomilla recutita
(chamomile) flower extract*, althaea officinalis (marshmallow) root extract*,
persea gratissima (avocado) oil*, camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract*,
inositol (from carob fruits), commiphora myrrha (myrrh) oil^, rosmarinus
officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract*, aroma [lavandula hybrida (lavandin) herb
oil*], benzyl alcohol, sorbic acid, glycerin (vegetable derived), salicylic
acid, citric acid, linalool*, limonene*. *82.2% organic, fairly traded
Back
in April this year, I went off to the Natural and Organic Products Europe
Exhibition at Olympia and I came across Naturally Cool Kids. I chatted to Fiona
the founder and really connected with her as a person. She is passionate about
her range of products for kids and one of them is their sun cream. I have been
using this on the girls in recent weeks and I like it a lot. Their formulation uses
Zinc Oxide as their mineral filter for UV rays. This makes the cream a little
more white in its appearance on the skin and you need slightly less of it than those
with Titanium Dioxide. Once rubbed into the skin the white effect lessens. It
is unscented and goes onto the skin well. It is SPF 25 and suitable for vegans.
The
ingredients for this cream are:
Aqua,
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Zinc Oxide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl
Glucoside, Glycerin, Rosa Moschata Seed Oil, Dicaprylyl Maleate, Prunus
Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Butyrospermum
Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Glycyrrhiza
Glabra (Licorice) Extract*, Boswellia Carterii Extract*, Chondrus Crispus
(Carageenan), Parfum, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Tocopherol, Cinnamal**,
Coumarin**, Eugenol**, Limonene**, Linalool.
*Organic Ingredients **Natural component of essential oils
(This product is made in a factory where there are nuts)
*Organic Ingredients **Natural component of essential oils
(This product is made in a factory where there are nuts)
In
January time, I was lucky enough to win a lovely bundle of Original Sprout
goodies and one of the items I bought was their sun cream. It is suitable for
vegans and SPF 27. It has Zinc Oxide as its UV filter. This cream is much more
like a lotion/cream. It rubs well into the skin and doesn’t leave a white film
on the skin like other creams can do. It has a lovely aroma of coconut from the
coconut oil in the cream.
The
ingredients in this cream are:
Active
Ingredients: Zinc Oxide 10%
Inactive Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vegetable Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Fruit Extracts of Pyrus Malus (Apple), Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot), (Vanilla) Planifolia, Dipteryx Odorata Seed, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple), Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry), Organic (Basil) Ocimum Basilcum, Organic (Rosemary) Rosmarinus Officinalis, Lonicera Caprifolium & Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle), Extracts of Organic Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf, Organic (Arnica) Montana Flower, Organic Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit, Organic (Calendula) Officinalis Flower, Organic Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit, Polysilicone-15, Stearyl Dimethicone, Glyceryl Isostearate, Polyhydroxy Stearic Acid, Sodium Phytate, Xanthan Gum.
Inactive Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vegetable Glycerin, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Fruit Extracts of Pyrus Malus (Apple), Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot), (Vanilla) Planifolia, Dipteryx Odorata Seed, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple), Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry), Organic (Basil) Ocimum Basilcum, Organic (Rosemary) Rosmarinus Officinalis, Lonicera Caprifolium & Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle), Extracts of Organic Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf, Organic (Arnica) Montana Flower, Organic Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit, Organic (Calendula) Officinalis Flower, Organic Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit, Polysilicone-15, Stearyl Dimethicone, Glyceryl Isostearate, Polyhydroxy Stearic Acid, Sodium Phytate, Xanthan Gum.
My
last offering is Neal’s Yard Remedies Sun cream SPF 30. This is their newest
formulation. They changed the formulation and re-launched very recently to make
the cream “non-nano”. I will talk about this subject in another post but for
those of you wanting a sun cream which is non-nano then Original Sprout and Neal’s’
Yard Remedies are the two in this post which are completely non-nano. Naturally Cool
Kids are looking at making changes in their formulation but at this time have a small amount of
nano in their cream as do Green People, although the nano ingredient is inert. Green People do now have 2 new SPF products offering non-nano ingredients which are 'Oy Face the Sun SPF15' and 'Men's Skin Guard Face Defence Lotion No.4'.
Neal's Yard Remedies' sun cream has lovely lemony overtones and I like it a lot particularly for me. The
cream is a different texture again to the others and leaves a slight sheen to
the skin. It rubs in well and doesn't leave a white residue behind.
The ingredients
of this cream are:
Aqua
(Water), Glycine soja (Soybean) oil*, Titanium dioxide, Caprylic/Capric
triglyceride, Polyglceryl-2 dipolyhydroxstearate,Polyglyceryl-3 disostearate,
Butyrospermum parkii (Shea) butter*, Glycerin, Olea europaea (Olive) fruit oil*,
Olea europaea (Olive) leaf extract*, Punica granatum extract*, Glyceryl oleate,
Canola oil, Hippophae rhamnoides oil*, Rosa moschata oil*, Simmondsia chinesis
(Jojoba) oil*, Oenothera blennis (Evening primrose) oil*, Oryza sativa (Rice)
bran oil, Macadamia ternifolia seed oil, Glycyrrhiza glabra (Liquorice)
extract, Lecithin, Tocopherol, Bisabolol, Magnesium sulfate, Mica, Tocopheryl
acetate, Alcohol, Stearic acid, Aluminium hydroxide, Parfum (Pure Essential
Oils),Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool. *Organically produced.
Natural constituent of essential oil listed.
All
the above creams have been extremely effective at protecting the skin from
burning. I let my girls go out for about 10 mins without cream so they can get
their necessary quota of vitamin D after which they are creamed up. Both have a
lovely sun kissed glow to their skin and no burning at all. I’m impressed with
all four creams and like them all for slightly different reasons. It pleases me
as a Mum that there is lots of choice for parents to use a free-from sun cream
that works and isn't loaded with unnecessary chemicals that can really aggravate
the skin.
So
on to my second sun essential; the fabulous sun shirts from Tatty Bumpkin.
Tatty Bumpkin is mainly known for the yoga inspired classes they do for
children aged 0 – 7 years but they also do some lovely clothing and their 100%
bamboo sun shirts are in my opinion a “must-have”. I bought one for Sophia when
she was about 18 months old and have been buying her the next size, as and when
needed, ever since. They are knee length, hooded and as they are made from
bamboo they are naturally anti-UVA and take perspiration away from the skin
keeping your child cool and dry. These sun shirts are SPF50 but have been
tested as UPF79 which is greater than SPF 50. They come in 3 colours; pale pink,
pale blue and pale green and in sizes 6-12 months, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4
years, 4-5 years, 5-6 years.
I
can’t big these sun shirts up enough. I know that during a morning or afternoon
on the beach or when the girls are playing in the garden, that when they’ve had
enough sun but still want to play out, I can pop one of these sun shirts on
them and I know they are protected. And because they are lightweight and cool
they make a perfect sun essential for kids. A definite recommendation from me.
So
there you are; my current free-from sun cream finds and my “must-have” sun
shirts. Have any of you used the above sun creams or the Tatty Bumpkin sun-shirts? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Make sure you enjoy that sunshine everyone. It’s so lovely to have it continuously at
the moment. Fingers crossed it will last throughout the summer holidays. Until next time xx
********
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Perfect post for this weather we've been having! I love Green People suncream - we use this a lot also. And those sun shirts are fab! I am gutted we are leaving on Thursday for our hols, I would have ordered 3! maybe I will get them anyway in the hope that the weather here will still be hot when we return! How lucky for you to live 10mins from the beach, must have been pretty useful last few weeks xx
ReplyDeleteHi Xandi - Thanks for stopping by xx Glad to come across someone else who has enjoyed using Green People's sun cream. I'm generally impressed with all the ones I have shared - they are all slightly different but all give excellent protection. The Tatty Bumpkin Sun Shirts are Ace! I just wish they made them for older kids too. My eldest is 7 and her 5-6 yr one still fits but probably only for this year xx
DeleteThanks for the share! When buying sunscreen for your kids you need to make sure what ingredients are going into it! Things such as Oxybenzone, Avobezone, Octisalate, and Homosalate tend to dry out your child's skin making them uncomfortable.
ReplyDelete