Empties continued. Clarins and Hampton Sun.

Unexpected bonus of having small children and their luggage allowance: we literally took 20/25 bottles of suncream/sun products with us on holiday. I figured 'now's a good a time as any to trial everything' - and we did. 

However, predictably there were some stand-alone winners.

Face:

When your teenage son says 'Mum where's that yellow face stuff?' you know you're on to a winner. The entire family used this day in day out. It lasted almost the full 2 weeks being used on 6 faces. 4 big people, 2 little people. I should have taken 2.

Kids - Body:

Full disclosure: Hampton Sun were one of my first clients. I love them like I love SLB* (well, almost). 

One day over lunch in NYC with the founders Grant and Sal (this is about as name-droppy as I get, stay tuned), I said 'I really LOVE using the 55 on the kids. It's so easy. Ooh! I know what you should do - you should make one JUST for kids. Literally whack the SPF to a 70 or something and write 'for kids' on the front. It'll be a sellout. Trust in the Hirons.'

And that dear readers leads us to the easiest SPF to use and with a whacking high SPF to boot.

If you've never been a fan of the thick, white, gloopy kids SPF's - this could be up your street. 

Trying to apply sunscreen to small, mobile people is like trying to herd cats. This is perfect. You just chase them down, say 'Make like Jesus on the cross' (apologies for the potentially offensive, politically incorrect instruction), and spray them back and forth, across the body and up and down. 'Turn around'. Repeat the action and the best part if you have boys, you can spray the entirety of their neck and the tops of their ears - the most forgotten about part on people's bodies. No need to rub in. You can literally spray them as they are trying to run away from you.

Perfect, genius. We used all of ours up the first week. I should've taken more.

Then the kids moved on to the same as their brothers and Dad:

Exactly the same concept, continuous mist, no CFC's (thus no ozone problems) - and comes in 15/35/55 so you can adjust downwards if you wish. 

The grown-ups moved down to the more traditional SPF30 in a lotion form by week 2 (the kids stayed with sprays):

And we finished up with the aloe mist - perfect for post-sunbathing instantaneous cooling off and the traditional after sun. Both lush.

All were used up, all were binned before we came home.

Moral of the story? 

Take more than you think you need.

Leave it behind, forcing you to buy fresh each trip. SPF degrades.

Reapply regularly - especially on small, very active children that are in and out of water. At least once an hour for us.

Don't forget the ears!

*SLB is Simon Le Bon. Obvs.

Clarins SPF30 is £18.00 and available on Clarins.co.uk and all Clarins counters.

Hampton Sun prices start at £30.00 and it is available at SpaceNK, Beauty Works West, and Net-a-Porter in the UK and Sephora, Skinstore.com, Space NK, Net-a-Porter and Blue Mercury in the USA.

Clarins was a PR sample (this year, but I've used it for the last 20 years).

Hampton Sun, as mentioned, are friends - but I wouldn't recommend them (much less work with them) if they didn't work. Honest. Bible. No payment made for the post and no affiliate links.

Post Holiday Empties - things that actually worked.

So we're back. And rather than doing posts about 'What to take away with you' - I thought it made sense to mention what I took and what actually got used up - by both myself and the family.

First up: Suncare

ME!

£42.50

Edited July 2015:

I do not recommend this brand. I used it on myself in 2013 and yes, got a deep, brown, long-lasting tan. Since then I have spent too much time talking to people that have suffered melanoma and dermatologists that are openly aghast at the claims that Institut Esthederm make. I am dark olive-skinned genetically. I dread to think of Type 1 (fair, red-headed, freckled etc) people using this as their only protection from the sun.

It would have been easy for me to leave this post as it was and pretend it was fine, but I would rather say 'Actually, I've changed my thinking and won't use it.' The fact that I had no intention of using it on my children should have been a big enough clue to me that it wasn't safe, but I went ahead and used it. Yes I tanned, but my thinking is now 'A tan is a sign of DNA damage.'

I only use Broad Spectrum SPF. 

I'd been asked about Esthederm a lot on the blog - and hadn't used it before this holiday. Seeing as I had a rather large testing panel to hand I figured this was as good a time as any.

I used the tanning cream above - and the aftersuns below...

£38.00

Institut Esthederm works differently from other sun products in that while it does contain titanium dioxide, it does not have a traditional SPF rating. There is definitely a differing opinion amongst dermatologists/skin experts about its efficacy. 

Edited July 2015 - I have not managed to speak to one dermatologist that recommends this brand. 

I've been thinking a lot about SPF and skin cancer lately.

I recently tweeted a lot of facts about melanoma including:

• In the 1920's your chances of contracting skin cancer was around 1 in 1500. In 2013 its closer to 1 in 50. We had no SPF in the 1920's - and every availability of SPF in the 21st Century. 
• 6 people a day die from malignant melanoma in the UK.
• You are more at risk from melanoma if you have a close relative who has suffered from it (My Mum is a skin cancer survivor).

My take? SPF can definitely give you a false sense of security. I'm half-American - my Grandfather never sunbathed in Mississippi. EVER. If it was hot, he sat on the porch or went inside. He used to laugh at me when I got excited about being tanned. Thought I was insane. No SPF used. Ever.

These days we apply a 'once-a-day' SPF and think we're good to go. And our cancer rates have quadrupled in the last 30 years. Quadrupled.

Knowing that info made me think about what SPF to use while on holiday - on me - I'm not using my kids as guinea pigs just yet.

The result?

£39.50

I would not recommend IE for children - my kids were covered in SPF 70/55 from top-to-toe and I reapplied it every time they walked past me. It may seem hypocritical but they have virgin skin - I wasn't willing to risk anything at this stage.

Tomorrow. The rest of the family and Hampton Sun.

*Purchases. No affiliate links.