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Factor 50 sunscreen

(33 Posts)
Kiwiqueen123 Mon 03-Jun-24 20:38:12

Just wondered if anyone else has this problem. I've tried three different sorts of Factor 50 sunscreen for sensitive skin and everytime I've applied it (yesterday the most recent) the next day I've ended up with itching that wants me want to scratch. Its the neck area which is affected, fine when I apply, its only the next day the itching starts.

I have very fair skin, was auburn many years ago and have never tanned, always burned.

The latest I've tried is La Roche-Posay invisible spray. Maybe I need to give up and just ensure I wear a scarf around my neck whenever the sun makes an appearance.

25Avalon Mon 03-Jun-24 20:42:49

You Don need above 30F. That is the maximum protection you will get. Anything higher provides no more protection.

Shinamae Mon 03-Jun-24 20:48:29

I use Nivea factor 50 for face I’ve used it for years..

RosiesMaw Mon 03-Jun-24 20:55:41

I use Ultrasun tinted factor 50 as a daily “undercoat” - or on its own if I’m not bothering with make up.
DH had serious eczema and the most sensitive AND photosensitive skin ever and used the untinted version without problem.

Marydoll Mon 03-Jun-24 21:20:14

RosiesMaw

I use Ultrasun tinted factor 50 as a daily “undercoat” - or on its own if I’m not bothering with make up.
DH had serious eczema and the most sensitive AND photosensitive skin ever and used the untinted version without problem.

I was also going to recommend Ultrasun.

Germanshepherdsmum Mon 03-Jun-24 21:35:15

Clinique City Block factor 50 suits my skin. Any Nivea product always gives me spots.

keepingquiet Mon 03-Jun-24 22:32:08

I don't use sunscreen at all, except in my daily moisturiser. I wear a hat and cover up or stay in the shade.

There is nothing wrong with sunshine in moderation, especially here in the UK, in fact it is healthy.

Whiff Mon 03-Jun-24 22:45:34

Please everyone wear factor 50 sun cream . My husband died from grade 4 malignant melanoma. He was given 5 years to live he only live 3. You do not want to watch the person who is your other half of yourself died from skin cancer. He had 6 secondary tumours 3 in his right lung 1 in his chest and 2 in his brain by the optical nerve. He was going blind near the end . He never smoked. But in the end he was on full oxygen and still couldn't breath . I told him to stop fighting and we would be ok . He died a few minutes later.

The winter sun is as dangerous as the summer sun. My husband died in 2004 aged 47. In those days 2,000 people a month where dieing of sun cancer the figures are higher now.

Keepingquiet I hope you never have to watch love of your life die from skin cancer . If you did you wouldn't have written your last paragraph.

Marydoll Mon 03-Jun-24 22:52:44

I agree with you Whiff.
My mother died of skin cancer. As a nurse, in the late forties, she and her colleagues use to sit out in the sun in their break. The cancer ate away the area around her eye.
They didn't know any better.

I am a fair skinned redhead and wear factor 50. At the moment due to medication, I am super sensitive to sunshine at the moment. It is certainly not healthy for me.

NotSpaghetti Mon 03-Jun-24 23:22:02

Sister-in-law died at 28 with skin cancer. She hadn't been married long. Such a loss.
Please wear sunscreen.

annodomini Mon 03-Jun-24 23:39:21

A wide-brimmed hat is the best protection for face and neck. If you want to look 'healthily' tanned, there are plenty of make-up brands to create the illusion. My sister probably saved my life by pointing out a suspicious 'mole' on the back of my neck which I'd never have noticed myself. The melanoma was detected early and excised painlessly in the outpatients department of the Christie Hospital. It has never recurred.

maddyone Tue 04-Jun-24 00:13:42

Sun screen is so very important.
Wear it, especially when on holiday or out in the sun.

Farmor15 Tue 04-Jun-24 07:52:53

Not everyone needs to wear sunscreen all year round. Tim Spector was criticised recently for suggesting this but today's Guardian has a letter supporting this view from a dermatologist.

www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jun/03/sunscreen-advice-should-factor-in-ethnicity-and-skin-colour?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
My mother enjoyed the sun and an active outdoor life in her garden. I don't think she ever used sunscreen (hadn't been invented). She got a malignant melanoma behind her eye in her early 70s and had to have eye removed. But she lived to 88 - active and independent till near the end. Her sister was a nun so covered up most of her adult life and developed osteoporosis which disabled her and gave her a lot of pain and killed her in the end. There may be no connection but I think the Vit D my mother got from the sun may have protected her from the osteoporosis her sister got and also helped her fight the cancer.

People are concerned about chemicals yet are prepared to put sunscreen on all year round whether they need to or not. Other advice about avoiding too much sun exposure like hats, clothing and could be emphasised a bit more.

vegansrock Tue 04-Jun-24 07:55:18

Heliocare is a Spanish brand which comes in a gel form, can be tinted.

Urmstongran Tue 04-Jun-24 07:59:06

Remember when we were kids and our mums sent us out to play all day long in the summer school holidays without a smear of suncream? 😱

Then in the late 60’s/early 70’s a tan was fashionable. People used to come back from holidays and judge a good holiday by their mahogany arms and legs! Strange ideas when you think back.

Then in the 80’s sunbeds became super popular.

No wonder skin cancer cases rose exponentially. Mind you as my stepfather (92) said “when serving in Kenya we were never given suncream”. True enough - no choice out there or similar. Think Bridge on the River Kwai….

I suppose some of us just have a predisposition to skin cancer - Celtic skin for example.

GrannyGravy13 Tue 04-Jun-24 08:56:35

Ultrasun Face Factor 50

Or Clinique City Block Factor 50

I have sensitive skin both of these are gentle and I have never had a reaction.

NotSpaghetti Tue 04-Jun-24 09:13:14

I had to endure sunscreen as a child Urmstongran - but I expect it was a very low "factor".

shysal Tue 04-Jun-24 09:27:01

L'Oreal Revitalift 50+
I have spent years trying to find a gentle factor 50 which doesn't sting the eyes. This one fits the bill, so might be worth a try.

ExDancer Tue 04-Jun-24 09:35:41

In the 1940s when I was little, my mum used to smear us with calomine (?) lotion, and we went out to play looking like little clowns with this white paste over our faces and arms.
The friends I played with were similarly anointed with the stuff. I have no idea if it worked or even helped, I rather doubt it.

maddyone Tue 04-Jun-24 10:15:59

NotSpaghetti

I had to endure sunscreen as a child Urmstongran - but I expect it was a very low "factor".

My mother put sunscreen on me too, but only ever when we were on holiday and on the beach. She used Nivea but I don’t recall there being any spf factor written on the bottle. Even when my own children were small, you could only buy spf factor 10 in this country. The first time we came across high factor sunscreen was when we went to Florida on holiday and by then our children were 14, 13, and 9 years old.

maddyone Tue 04-Jun-24 10:23:20

shysal I use CeraVe moisturising facial lotion spf 50 in the summer and on holiday. supposed to be a purer product and doesn’t make my skin itch, which many face creams do, nor does it irritate my eyes which some creams do. It’s available in Superdrug and on Amazon.

henetha Tue 04-Jun-24 10:27:48

Following 4 skin cancers and my mother dying of Melanoma, I now obey the doctor and wear factor 50 all year round.
Boots Soltan SPF 50 brightening moisturiser is good, and also Superdrugs Solait Face Fluid SPF50.
If you want a tinted one, the best I have found is L'Oreal Age Perfect BB cover SPF 50. I use the light beige shade.
Also Cetaphil Day Cream SPF30 tinted moisturiser.
All the above are in tubes not pots.

Glorianny Tue 04-Jun-24 10:40:17

I can't use any of the sunscreens that are described as "water resistant". They are OK on most of me but I get a rash around my neck. I believe it's because they block the pores and stop me sweating.
Have you tried cleaning the skin thoroughly to remove the sunscreen?
The heat does sometimes make me itch as well. I sometimes cover with a scarf, but I do use a fan as well.

Blackwit Tue 04-Jun-24 11:04:49

I wear sunscreen all year, mainly I’m fair-skinned and my mother had basal cell carcinoma on her hands and face. It may not kill, but it can be horribly disfiguring requiring removal and may result in plastic surgery. It’s not called a rodent ulcer for no reason. I’d suggest keep trying until you can find a product that suits your skin.

I remember watching a programme a few years ago looking into claims made for moisturisers. Dermatologists commented that facial wrinkles and lines are caused by UV light and the best thing to use to keep the skin ‘young’ was any suntan lotion, and in fact one of them used nivea suntan cream for faces every day.

shysal Tue 04-Jun-24 11:55:19

Thank you maddyone, I will try it next time I need more.