The right sunscreen for a child has very high protection, SPF 50 or 50+, with UVA protection shown on the pack, in a format you can apply well to a child who would rather be playing: a lotion or cream for careful cover, a spray for speed, a stick for faces and top-ups. Choose a water-resistant formula for the beach and the pool, apply it generously and reapply often. One rule comes before any product: keep babies under six months out of direct sun and ask your pharmacist or doctor about sun protection for them.
What Should You Look For on the Pack?
Three things. First the SPF, the sun protection factor, which measures protection from UVB, the rays mainly responsible for sunburn. In Europe, SPF 50+ is labelled very high protection, and every sunscreen in this guide is SPF 50 or 50+. Second, UVA protection, shown as the letters UVA in a circle or described as broad spectrum; some packs also give a PA rating, a Japanese UVA scale on which PA++++ is the highest grade. Third, who it is made for: every sunscreen we have chosen here is made for babies or children, and we give each one's protection, format and water resistance exactly as its record states.
Lotions and Creams: For Careful, Even Cover
A lotion or cream takes a moment longer to apply, and in return you can see exactly where it has gone. It suits babies and toddlers, small faces, and the places a quick spray tends to miss: the ears, the back of the neck and the tops of the feet.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Dermo-Pediatrics Baby Lotion is an SPF 50+ lotion for babies, formulated for delicate skin and made for indirect sun exposure, which is how a baby's time outdoors should be spent. E'lifexir Baby Care Mineral Sun Cream SPF 50+ is built on mineral filters and made for babies and children with sensitive skin. Rilastil Sun System Baby Velvet Lotion SPF 50+ has a soft, velvet texture and is very water resistant, for children's sensitive skin. A-derma's Avoine Rhealba SPF 50+ Children's Lotion is a water-resistant lotion in a tube for fragile children's skin, made for the face and the body.
- Anthelios Dermo-Pediatrics Baby Lotion Sunscreen
- Baby Care Mineral Sun Cream SPF 50+
- Sun System Baby Velvet Lotion SPF 50+ Sunscreen
- Avoine Rhealba SPF 50+ Children’s Lotion
Sprays: For Quick Cover on Active Days
A spray covers arms, legs and backs in seconds, which matters when a child is already halfway to the water. Hold it close to the skin and rub the product in. For the face, spray into your hands first and smooth it on, keeping clear of the eyes.
Avène Children's Very High Protection SPF 50+ Sunscreen Spray is made for children's sensitive skin and is very water resistant, with resistance to sweat and sand as well. Isdin Pediatrics Transparent Spray Wet Skin is an SPF 50+ spray for children that goes on wet or dry skin with a transparent finish and a cooling feel, and is very water resistant. Heliocare 360° Pediatrics Transparent Spray lists SPF 50+ with PA++++, is water and sand resistant, and has a wet skin formula for reapplying between swims. Denenes Children's Sensitive and Atopic Skin Sun Milk SPF 50+ is a water-resistant sun milk in a continuous spray, for children whose skin is sensitive or atopic-prone.
- Children's Very High Protection SPF 50+ Sunscreen Spray
- Pediatrics Transparent Spray WET SKIN Sunscreen
- 360° Pediatrics Transparent Spray Sunscreen
- Children's Sensitive and Atopic Skin Sun Milk SPF 50+
Gel-Creams and Wet Skin Formulas
A gel-cream sinks in quickly and leaves less of a film on the skin, which many children accept more readily than a rich cream. A wet skin formula is made to go on straight after a swim, without drying off first, and so makes the reapplication that matters most far easier.
Eucerin Kids Sensitive Protect Dry Touch Sun Gel-Cream is SPF 50+ and extra water-resistant, with a dry-touch texture that absorbs quickly and helps stop sand from sticking. Isdin Pediatrics Gel Cream 50+ SPF has a refreshing gel-cream texture for children's delicate skin, and is very water resistant and rubproof. La Roche-Posay Anthelios Dermo-Pediatrics Wet Skin Lotion SPF 50+ is very water resistant and made to go on even very wet skin, for sensitive skin and active family days.
- Kids Sensitive Protect Advanced Spectral Technology Dry Touch Sun Gel-Cream
- Pediatrics Gel Cream 50+ SPF Sunscreen
- Anthelios Dermo-Pediatrics Very High Protection Wet Skin Lotion SPF 50+ Sunscreen
Sticks and Small Tubes: For Faces and Top-Ups
A stick twists up like a lip balm and glides over the nose, cheeks and ears, and it is easy to keep away from the eyes. Many children like to apply it themselves. A small tube lives in a bag for the top-up you might otherwise skip.
Heliocare 360° Pediatrics Stick is SPF 50+, water and sweat resistant, with an invisible finish, and is designed so that children can use it themselves. Sophieskin Kids Facial Protection SPF 50 is a moisturising face sunscreen for children's sensitive skin, with mineral filters and aloe vera. Avène Reflexe Solaire SPF 50+ comes in a compact 30 ml bottle and is made for babies, children and adults, so one bottle can come along for the whole family.
- 360° Pediatrics Stick Sunscreen Protector
- Kids Facial Protection SPF 50 Sunscreen
- Reflexe Solaire SPF 50+ Sunscreen
How Much, and How Often?
More than most of us use. Sunscreen is tested at a generous layer, and a thin smear gives much less protection than the number on the pack. Apply it before your child goes outside, to all the skin clothing will not cover, and remember the ears, the back of the neck, the tops of the feet and the backs of the hands. Reapply roughly every two hours outdoors, and always after swimming, towelling dry or a lot of running about.
In Europe, water resistant and very water resistant are tested claims; the second means the protection held up through a longer time in water. Both are worth having for the beach and the pool, and neither replaces reapplying once your child is out of the water and dried off.
Shade, Hats and Clothing
Sunscreen is one layer of protection, not the only one. Keep to the shade in the middle of the day, when the sun is strongest. A wide-brimmed hat that shades the face, ears and neck, and light clothing that covers the shoulders and arms, protect without ever needing to be reapplied. For a baby, shade, a hat and covering clothing do most of the work, and a sunscreen made for babies is there for the skin that stays uncovered.
Trying a New Sunscreen
Young skin can be particular. Try a new sunscreen on a small patch of the inner arm a day or two before a holiday, and keep every sunscreen away from the eyes. If the skin is broken, sore or a rash does not settle, ask your pharmacist or doctor. For the rest of the day's care, Baby Skincare: A Gentle Daily Routine sets out the simple steps around it.
How to Choose
- Babies and toddlers: a lotion or cream made for babies, applied by hand, with shade doing most of the work.
- Beach and pool days: a very water-resistant spray or a wet skin formula.
- Children who dislike the feel of cream: a dry-touch gel-cream.
- Faces and top-ups: a stick, or a small tube kept in the bag.
If you are choosing one sunscreen for the summer, begin with an SPF 50+ lotion made for children: easy to apply with care, and simple to carry from the garden to the beach.
