Duane & Reade and CVS Pharmacy, were like my second homes in Manhattan. And I haven’t figured out why both chains sell Advil, but only one sells Clorox. I digress, as I want to talk about the photo above.
With over 150 products and more than 15 brands, I thought I’d walked into sunscreen heaven and not a CVS pharmacy. So many sticks, lotions and sprays…
Despite endless choices available to Americans, some data shows “regular sunscreen use”, is prevalent in higher socio-economic groups. Middle and lower income groups are put off by price, which brings me to today’s blog.
Today’s blog
I get that some folks like sprays over lotion, but seriously, no-one should be paying US$ 19/oz for sunscreen. So, here are my top tips for buying cheaper sunscreen without comprising on sun protection.
A) How to pay the LOWEST price per oz for your sunscreen.
I will use Neutrogena as an example. Neutrogena knows that if you prefer STICKS, you’ll only compare the price/oz with other sticks. In fact, they are counting on it as you can see from the price/oz of all Neutrogena sticks.
The children’s range sticks are a whopping US$ 19.13/oz, even though you pay US$ 9 for the product itself. The adult range, in comparison is a steal at US$11 per stick or US$ 7.33/oz.
But here is the thing: you are buying SUN PROTECTION – a specific SPF product depending on your activity (daywear, beach or sport). You should be comparing the price of sticks, lotions, sprays within a specific range. Let me use Ultra Sheer SPF 70 to demonstrate this.
An actual like for like comparison is this…
So the price/oz varies according to format – stick, lotion, spray – and not sun protection: the Active Ingredients on each product, and they are almost identical.
BUT, you pay US$ 9.28/oz or 257% more for the “cosmetically elegant” and “easy to use” Ultra Shield liquid, when you can pay US$ 2.60/oz for an SPF 70 product (the Ultra Sheer Body Mist SPF 70).
Other brands do it too…
Some brands like Coppertone kids make like for like comparison difficult. So they change the SPF value because who really has the time to look at the ingredient list?
Well, I do and the SPF 55 product has a higher concentration of Active Ingredients than the SPF 70 product (links attached in the note).
The stick at US$ 14.8/oz is 1,380% more than the US$ 1.00/oz lotion
The bottom line is brands are making more money on some products (sticks especially) AND and then they make it difficult for you to compare the actual price of what it is you are really buying. But now, you know!
And yes, the largest price differences are with kid’s products and special ranges (e.g., oil free sun care)
2) How increasing SPFs are not worth the price
I’ve done the math. You pay more – anywhere between 7% to 35% – for higher SPF products, within the same range. E.g., within the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch range, SPF 30 is US$ 10.99 and the SPF 100+ is US$ 12.99.
My personal preference is to avoid higher SPF products and stick to either SPF 30 or SPF 50 – and not just because of the price – but also as:
- To get higher SPFs, many brands will add or increase the quantity of Oxybenzone. CVS Health, Coppertone and Neutrogena all do it. Even if Oxybenzone is not present in SPF 30 /50 it all of a sudden makes an appearance in higher SPF products.
- While you may think higher SPF offers better UVB protection, you still need to reapply it in 2 hours. Also, studies show higher SPF products give folks a false sense of security. All of a sudden they think that their skin is immune to UVB and skin cancer. Its not.
That’s it for today. Please let me know if you have any queries or would prefer more such price comparison blogs.
See also Myths About Sun Protection, Zinc Oxide – everything you need to know
Notes
Neutrogena information is from brand’s website, at this link
Coppertone information is from brand’s website, at this link
Data is accurate as possible at the date of publication.