Sponsored by Woolworths Select Sunscreen
If you’re a regular around these parts you know how much of a sun care advocate I am.
Growing up a pale-skinned, freckled-face girl in Queensland, I am so incredibly grateful that my mum was ahead of her time in the slip, slap and slopping sun care department.
The “you can’t go in the water until you’ve got sunscreen on” message was hammered in to us. And since we were more than a little fond of spending hours and hours in the pool or surf, we dutifully accepted this ritual as part and parcel of endless summer days.
So much so, that I can’t remember I time that I never intentionally forgot to wear sunscreen. Even as a teenager.
It wasn’t so much that I was concerned about getting melanomas in my advancing years. Teenagers don’t think that far ahead. But this teen thought far enough ahead to know that it damn well hurts a lot if you get burned.
See, despite the childhood sunscreen ritual, sunscreens were not all they are now.
Effectiveness was average at best and I remember more than a few evenings when mum had us lie down across the Formica table in the beach shack she rented every December while she applied a liberal amount of aloe vera to our burned backs.
When it came to MY kids and sun care, times, they very much {thankfully} had a changed.
Kids wear rashies {rash vests} as a matter of course; the no-hat-no-play rule is firmly in place at day care centres and school; and sunscreens have improved OUT OF SIGHT.
And those improvements just keep coming.
Late last year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved new sunscreen standards for Australia. In a nutshell, it meant that companies could now produces and label sunscreens as SPF 50+ and all sunscreens now have to offer a great UVA protection as part of their formulation.
SPF protection is the stuff that stops UVB rays from burning us. A higher SPF gives you a higher {but not total} protection from this. UVA rays are the silent assassins. You don’t know they’re getting you but they are the ones responsible for long-term damage to skin cells, causing wrinkles at best, skin cancer at worst.
I made the decision on behalf of our family that we would indeed move on up to SPF 50+.
So, when the good people at Woolworths Select offered us a trial of their re-launched and upgraded sun care range, I did not even hesitate to get on board.
Especially as we had a very real opportunity to be sunscreen guinea pigs for this new range on our recent holiday in Bali, where the tropical sun had a bite bigger than my seven-year-old tucking into a chocolate-chip cookie.
Now, there’s a 1L pump pack available – which, of course, doesn’t suit for travelling but if you’re a beach-going family – or have a pool in your backyard – this would definitely be the way to go. Position it somewhere that’s easily accessible and you are good to go.
For our beach bag, we pack the Kids Trigger Sunscreen (250ml), Sports Trigger Sunscreen (250ml) and Baby Roll On Sunscreen (75ml, available soon).
{I not ashamed to admit that I do have a sunscreen “wardrobe”}
On the Baby Sunscreen note, no I don’t have a baby in the house but my skin errs on the sensitive side so I tend to go for baby and kids formulations for my face and décolletage.
And I’m actually a big fan of the Kids Suncreen for all the family as it comes out as a pale purple in colour and rubs in clear. Good for not missing bits when applying. Because goodness knows, it’s those missed bits that I pay for later.
The Sports Sunscreen is bonus in this family as we’ve got two surfers and a nipper on board. Pretty essential really.
The low-down
I know that sun care is not just about having sunscreen in your skincare arsenal.
It’s about keeping out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, it’s about covering up and it’s about applying and re-applying that sunscreen effectively and regularly.
I’m pleased to say that we did this for our week in Bali and all came out the other side sun-kissed but not sunburned.
The formulations are not thick and greasy. They are light enough that even if we were going out for afternoon cocktails, I could still apply, be protected and not feel like I was basting myself.
I didn’t have any reaction to the formula – that’s not to say you won’t – but for me this is always a big test when trying a new sunscreen. And it doesn’t matter if that sunscreen is a chemical {like these ones} or physical-blocking sunscreen, I’ve had my fair share of reactions to both types.
In a nutshell, I’ll definitely be buying these products again. They’ve earned their spot in my sunscreen wardrobe.
Try for yourself
You can only buy these Woolworths Select Sun Care products at Woolworths stores or with your online delivery or click and collect order. But you know how I love a supermarket purchase, don’t you? So easy to work into the family budget.
But I know you want more …
Win
I’ve got TWO Woolworths Select Sun Care packs for you to win. Each pack is valued at a total of $47.95 and will include:
- Woolworths Select Sunscreen Pump SPF 50+ 1L $19.99
- Woolworths Select Sports Trigger Sunscreen SPF 50+ 250ml $10.99
- Woolworths Select Kids Trigger Sunscreen SPF 50+ 250ml $10.99
- Woolworths Select Baby Roll On Sunscreen SPF 50+ 75ml $5.99
Entering is simple. Leave a comment below (make sure your fill in your email address on the comment form – no email address, sorry you’re not eligible to win because I can’t contact you). It will be a game of skill and your answer to this question will be judged based on creativity and originality:
What’s your earliest sunscreen memory?
Entries open on Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 6am (AEST) and close on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 5pm (AEST). The two winners will be notified via email and his or her names published here.
Special offer
Click here or on the image below to download your special 30% off coupon. No excuses not to get screened up for this weekend!
Coordinated by The Remarkables Group
