June 7, 2016 Dana

Sunscreen review: Acure SPF 30 Sunscreen – Continuous Spray

Pale parents, I feel your pain! Not only do you have to carefully safeguard your little ones from sunburn, but your own skin requires daily vigilance. As someone who turns bright red in less than half an hour of noontime sunshine, I’ve had two choices for most of my life: slather myself in gross, greasy drugstore sunscreen, or stay indoors. (There was also an experiment with a gigantic, showy sun hat, but it had a tendency to blow off of my head. But that’s a story for another day.)

So I’ve been eager to try out the higher-quality sunscreens we have here at Magic Beans, and this past Saturday was a great opportunity: my mother was visiting from out of town, and there was an art fair right by our Brookline store. It was very bright outside, the perfect time to road-test sunscreen out in the real world! I’ve been wanting to try out the MD Moms Babysafe Sunscreen Towelettes for years (I first heard of them back when I worked for the National Parenting Publications Awards – they won a Gold!), but there weren’t any in stock, so I decided to try out the Acure SPF 30 Spray-On Sunscreen instead.

Here’s what I loved about Acure sunscreen:

It doesn’t feel greasy! For those of us who have dealt with a lifetime of low-quality sunscreen, this is a genuine godsend – usually, every sunny day, I spend all day wishing I could just wash my face. If you’re like me, this will CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
It’s not chalky! Zinc oxide used to be the stuff that gave lifeguards and surfers that clichéd white nose, but that was then, and this is now: Acure spray-on sunscreen rubs right in with zero effort. Add in the convenience of spray-on, and you have something that goes on fast and doesn’t leave you looking goofy.
It’s scentless! I know some folks love the typical sunscreen smell, but I associate it with the unpleasant feel it had on my skin, so I was delighted to find that this stuff smells like nothing at all.
The lid locks securely closed when you’re not using it, which means that I can carry this lightweight canister around everywhere without worrying about it spilling in my bag.

Most importantly: IT WORKS! Part of the effectiveness is how easy it is to put on: you’re less likely to miss a spot and wind up with a sore, red patch behind your knee, on the back of your neck, or on your ankle. This is going to be a huge help for you when you reach the beach or the pool and the kids are impatient to go into the water – even if you’re just using this sunscreen on yourself and not on them, it will save you precious minutes.

The other thing that makes Acure Spray-On Sunscreen super effective is the top-notch ingredients – yes, zinc oxide is super-effective, since it sits on top of your skin, starts working instantly, and protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Plus, it’s waterproof-tested up to 80 minutes, and contains nice moisturizing argan oil.

Finally, the most important question: is sunscreen spray safe for kids? Consumer Reports released a report in 2014 advising against using sprays on kids, but their concern isn’t about whether the ingredients are safe to use on their skin – the concern is whether spray application might cause kids to accidentally inhale some of the spray. So, while you should probably use a towelette, stick, or lotion on kids who are too young to be instructed not to inhale while you put it on, you still can use this spray in a pinch: just spray it onto your hand and apply that way. (This is also how you should put it on your own face.) One way or another, kids are better off wearing sunscreen than not wearing it.

Have fun in the sun, everyone!