Sunblock questions...not sure where to post this...

[Marriedladytara]

My son is 13.5 months old and has VERY sensitive skin. I need a great sunblock for him - any advice? TIA!

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

you might try blue lizard sunblock, or just plain zinc. Both are kind of pricey. With DD's eczema we've had the best luck with water babies sunscreen since we can't afford the blue lizard stuff. The ped dermatologist also said that elta block,neutrogena uva/uvb sunblock lotion, ombrelle sunscreen lotion, banana boat kids sunblock spray lotion spf 48 were all good. That's pretty much all the handout said about sunscreen. Let me know if you have any other questions. HTH

[shilo]

my DS is a super-fair strawberry blonde with moderately sensative skin. our family derm and pedi both had a similar list to that the pp listed. most important is getting one that does UVA _and_ UVB. my DS did seem to get a mild reaction to the banana boat, so we've stayed away from that. i've also tried the blue lizzard, but we've had good luck with the neutrogena as well and it's more easily available in my area. we've tried the 'body mist' spray-on which is great for arms and legs - goes on super fast and doesn't have to be rubbed in. the 45 can be hard to find, so if you try it and it works for you, stock up when you find it - there was definitely a supply chain problem in our area last year - it was sold out _everywhere_. for his face, we've used mostly the neutrogena ultra sheer 45 and 55 with no reactions and in a pinch, i've used my healthy defense 45 daily moisturizer on him and he's also done fine with that. i'd try the neutrogena first and if he reacts to that, then pony up for the blue lizzard 'sensative' if needed. also, b/c the blue lizzard is micronized zinc, i think it only goes up to spf 30, but there are arguments that that is the highest number you can benefit from anyway and that reapplication/limiting exposure is more important than the actual spf #.

hth, lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[writermama]

I like California Baby for my DD (and me, too -- she gets her sensitive skin from me)
http://tinyurl.com/2unwcl

And I haven't tried it yet, but I just got a bottle of SPF 30 from Paula's choice, which is usually great for my sensitive skin and I've used the 15 on DD in a pinch - fragrance free and generally good with sensitive skin.
http://tinyurl.com/37xbkf

[hillview]

Mustela and California Baby seem to work well. DS seems good with just about anything on his body but very sensitive on his face so just because we do a test on his leg doesn't mean it will be ok on his face. We have also used Blue Lizard (not on face, just not tried it). Coopertone waterbabies is BAD (DS and his cousin have bad reactions to it). The California baby comes in a stick and if you put it can melt but goes on very well if not melted -- we put in fridge before using it when we were in Mexico. Mustela is my favorite.
HTH
/hillary

[denna]

I have to 3rd the nomination for California Baby. You can find it on Amazon, Baby Center, Drugstore.com and in Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

HTH

[DrSally]

I am allergic to chemical sunscreen (break out in hives), so I've learned to read the ingred carefully. Nonchemical (physical block) sunscreens are the only ones that don't cause a reaction--i.e., zinc and titanium dioxide. Neutrogena (sensitive) and Paula's Choice (pure mineral) are sunscreens that have only these ingred. I once bought a nuetrogena sunscreen by accident that had other ingred and broke out.

[hudsonam]

If you're worried about his sensitivity to the lotion itself, you should try Arbonne's sunscreen. Their body lotion for babies is the only thing that works on my son other then a prescription, for his exzema. HTH!