Protecting the Face/Skin

[KnottedYet]

Neutrogena makes a lotion that is only zinc and ti. I have several bottles of it. It's ok, but it doesn't "disappear" like the Dermatone paste. I end up quite ghostly-pale!

Someone posted last summer that the newest version of the Neutrogena DOES disappear, so I might have to get a bottle this year.

I think I got my paste at an independent camping store. Or maybe it was a drug store. Looks like it can be ordered directly from the Dermatone website, too.

[RolliePollie]

I'm pretty happy with a new Neutrogena product called Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock...but it's the chemical kind of sunblock, not zinc oxide. It's SPF 55 and blocks UVA & UVB rays. I think it comes in SPF 70 too. It's not greasy at all, which I like a lot, and it says "gentle enough for even sensitive skin" on the tube.

I have brown blotches on my face, which is called Melasma or Chloasma (aka "the mask of pregnancy" except I'm not pregnant...it's from the Pill). Anyway, these brown marks typically get really dark from sun exposure even when I'm wearing lots of sunscreen. But so far, this Neutrogena stuff is doing a pretty good job at keeping the brown spots under control...better than anything else I've tried. But I want to try Dermatone too...it sounds even better!

[KnottedYet]

The Dermatone paste I use is only spf 15, but it is a physical block which has some definite advantages.

It's my "uh-oh" or extra back-up block. Usually I wear Hawaiian Tropic or Banana Boat kids' sunscreens (low irritant levels, mix of physical and chemical blocks). I can put paste over my usual sunscreen for a little extra physical boost, or just wear the paste alone if I forget the sunscreen. If you smear the paste on REALLY thick, it is more than spf 15. Works ok on lips, too.

The paste is very handy, nice sized little tin, and no worry about spilling.

[Thorn]

Zinc and Titanium Oxide.....if you can find them or order online.

While everyone reacts differently and my experience is not indicative of anyone else's, I also was using the Nuetragena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch--the chemical sunscreen. Never, ever again. I ended up with a bad sunburn.

In trying to figure out why something that I'd really liked let me down, I came up with a few answers....first, that sunscreen dries very quickly. If you rub it too much, it actually peels back off. So it is very easy to accidentally unapply your sunscreen. On that fact, I tended to be very careful

More likely, I tend not to re-apply and I was out for 5 hours (Note: I rarely reapply--how can you do that when you're so sweaty?). I've since discovered that the chemical make up of that sunscreen is one that you *must* reapply every 2 hours. If you don't, the chemical will react with the top layer of skin setting up an environment where you be more senstive to a burn than if you hadn't applied (actually, I believe that it is not technically sunburn, but it is skin damage and acts like a burn).

Not all chemical sunscreens fall into the *must* reapply or risk greater risk. I wish I'd kept the article link. The gist of the story is--physical sunblocks like Zn and Ti are the best for sensitive skins. If they don't blend completely and you look like a ghost? Well, at least you know they're there