I reviewed a previous iteration of Banana Boat sunscreens and they were to put it mildly, awful.
These formulas had Parabes, PEGs and Oxybenzone – all of which are very much avoidable in sunscreen’s for kids.
I dread reviewing sunscreens that have such questionable ingredients.
But alll sunscreens deserve a second chance: Banana Boat has certainly cleaned up its act.
FAST FORWARD TO WHITE BOTTLES
I had to buy the actual sunscreens to check the Ingredient labels (do vary by country) and to check whether they left a whitecast.
In applying sunscreen, what damage are we trying to prevent?
Q1) What are the harmful chemicals present?
For kids I refer to this checklist
Optional “dirty dozen chemicals?”
I have mentioned this is entirely optional for parents – if you want a very clean product, you want to avoid PEG compounds. Both sunscreens have PEG compounds.
That is a personal call for you as a parent – personally, I do purchase PEG compound containing sunscreens for young people in my family – I could not cope with the insanity of looking for PEG free sunscreens.
Q2) Is this an SPF 30?
Yes
Q3) What are the UV Filters present?
Both have TiO2 and ZnO, which are photostable UV filters providing protection against both UVA and UVB radiation. TiO2 provides better protection against UVB radiation and ZnO offers better protection against UVA.
The product leaves a whitecast and is difficult to blend – this indicates that both are non-nano forms of ZnO and TiO2
Q4) Would I NOW buy these sunscreens for young people I care about?
Happily