Which sun cream for cycling?

[Polar Bear]

Inspired by this thread.

My favourite used to be Banana Boat in a tube, factor 30 or 50 dependant upon conditions.   It was also 'waterproof' and indeed did work to a great extent.   On a day like today I could slather up with factor 50, go for a bimble for a few hours with a lunch stop, and still not be pink.  For an albino that is rather fantastic I can tell you.

Banana Boat have unhelpfully switched to spray on, or should that be spray in hope, waste loads and still miss bits!     I need a suitable, practical replacement.

Any suggestions please?

[delthebike]

I hardly ever use sun creams, I just limit my time in the sun and build up gradually. This year I've missed the early sun and am pondering the same as the OP.
I shall see if my local Aldi has any of this left tomorrow, Clicky.

[peliroja]

We use Soltan 'Once'  cream - slap it on once, and it lasts a long time (OK, not all day, but a long time nonetheless). It has the texture of cement, but works.  

[mattc]

I've got some of the expensive, sweatproof, lasts 2010 hour type.

Called RP20 or similar. I've also used a different but verrry similar brand, so I think there are a few around. EDIT: Daylong 16 was the previous stuff - it was more reassuring, being a white cream. P20 is a clear oil - not as nice! The P20 mentions UVB as well as A on the packaging.

They really do the job. I have had heatstroke on rides and still not got burned. Worth the money for us pale-skins on longer rides.

[Hot Flatus]

P20

[Polar Bear]

I hardly ever use sun creams, I just limit my time in the sun and build up gradually.

That unfortunately is just not an option for one without even a smidgen of pigment  

We use Soltan 'Once'  cream - slap it on once, and it lasts a long time ...

A worthwhile recommendations for me to investigate - thanks   

I've got some of the expensive, sweatproof, lasts 20 hour type.

Called R20 or similar ...  I have had heatstroke on a ride and still not got burned.

P20

Unfortunately, regardless of the claims, a factor 20 just aint gonna cut it for me.     Thanks anyway.   

[Sergeant Pluck]

Reimann P20 is very very effective, but (I recall from previous threads on here, IIRR) it only blocks UVB, not UVA. I'm slightly dubious about these sunscreens that filter by means of some kind of chemical reaction rather than a physical block.

Still, due to last year's non-Summer, I still have two bottles of P20 to use up.

Query for any P20 users: I have 2 unused bottles, no use-by date on either. I presume the date is on the outer box (binned). If any of you have the box to go with yours, how far hence is the use-by date?

[Chris S]

I just use bog standard Nivea Factor 30 - one application seems effective for a whole day on the bike; in that I don't burn.  Instead, I turn darker and darker through the summer, but as a family, we are fairly well pigmented - even the blondies. Mrs S is the exception (the original blondie¹ in the family) - who wilts like a flower when the temperature gets above 22c, and when exposed to the sun, only ever burns, peels and goes white again.

-----
¹ No, not that one.

[Jaded]

I use Boots Factor 30. and a cap.

[Jurek]

Ambre Solaire factor 30.

*Claims to do UVA and UVB.
*Non sticky / creamy.
*Has loads of solvent of some sort in it so dries quickly.
*Doesn't pong.

[Hot Flatus]

Reimann P20 is very very effective, but (I recall from previous threads on here, IIRR) it only blocks UVB, not UVA.

They say it blocks both

[Sergeant Pluck]

Reimann P20 is very very effective, but (I recall from previous threads on here, IIRR) it only blocks UVB, not UVA.

They say it blocks both

So they do, sorry. Anyhoo, I think the only issue with this type of sun stuff is that its action produces potentially harmful ions in the skin surface.

The good thing about the P20 is that you can put it on in the morning and it can genuinely last for an entire day out. So perhaps the benefits of a once-only thoroughly applied coating, as compared with stuff that needs topped up during the day, outweigh the risks of free radicals in the skin - I don't know.

But IANAE.

[simonp]

I uses this, factor 18, 8h protection.

Travelsafe - Assortment-group - Ts71

There are also SPF 8 and SPF 30 versions.

[Rhys W]

I've just come back from a 184km ride over the Gospel Pass - Riemann P20 on my face and neck, Piz Buin factor 30 on my arms and legs. It takes some willpower to not be tempted to wipe a glove over my sweaty face on a day like this. I have a small patch of red on one calf, must have rubbed off at some point because I was very generous putting it on.

[rogerzilla]

I just wear a Buff.  My arms and legs can generally take care of themselves.

I would never use sun cream above eye level after a nasty experience a few years ago.  When it mixes with sweat and runs into your eyes, it's like Agent Orange, Purple and Blue rolled into one lachrymating, burning cocktail.

[hellymedic]

I just wear a Buff.  My arms and legs can generally take care of themselves.

I would never use sun cream above eye level after a nasty experience a few years ago.  When it mixes with sweat and runs into your eyes, it's like Agent Orange, Purple and Blue rolled into one lachrymating, burning cocktail.

I don't think PB,, as an albino, can do this; I have no up-to-date knowledge of sun creams so I've not previously posted on this thread.
Most sun creams have left me sticky, which I hate, and I've usually preferred to wear shady clothes. A sweat band can help stop stuff running into the eyes and a peaked cap can keep the sun off.

Make sure any clothing has an adequate SPF though.

[Hot Flatus]

I would never use sun cream above eye level after a nasty experience a few years ago.  When it mixes with sweat and runs into your eyes, it's like Agent Orange, Purple and Blue rolled into one lachrymating, burning cocktail.

I can imagine you would build up quite a residue up there

[Jurek]

Is that a Rizla?

[Ian H]

P20

This worked perfectly in two weeks of sizzling Corsican sun, and it doesn't dissolve into your eyes.

[andygates]

Prosport SPF44 8 hour waterproof sunscreen - 2XS® Online Windsurfing and Kitesurfing Shop

Good and robust in case you decide to, er, go for a swim mid-ride.   

[GruB]

I wear one that contains zinc and it makes it more difficult to rub in, but then it is better at blocking for longer and does not rub off so easily.  It is marketed for children / toddler types.

[hatler]

Another vote for Riemann's P20 here. Phenomenal stuff. Put it on before you go out in to the sun (they say half an hour before) and not worry for the rest of the day. Sorted me out in Alpine skiing style sun in early April.

I've used it for cycling for years as well.

I'm not sure that the '20' refers to its factor by the way.

[Rhys W]

P20

This worked perfectly in two weeks of sizzling Corsican sun, and it doesn't dissolve into your eyes.

I used on my face today, most of the time it was ok (maybe because I avoided wiping my face en route), but as soon as I got home it ran into my eyes which resulted in a sprint to the bathroom to rinse it off. Ouchy. Generally pretty good though, and practically equivalent to factor 30 creams in my experience (blond and pale-skinned).

[tiermat]

hatler, it does, iirc they do a p20, p40 etc etc.

i personally use some we bought in aus, sold by the cancer foundation, in a handy little bottle with a caribiner clip, ideal for clipping to a backpack.

[nutkin]

P20 is great. You only have to apply it once, it doesn't wash or wear off easily and it really does seem to work. I tend to burn quite easily (even through Soltan factor 30, sometimes) but with P20 the only bits that get burnt are the bits that I miss out when applying it.

One word of warning though - it stains clothing easily. So make sure it's fully dry before you get dressed, otherwise you end up with a brownish/orangey mark round the edge of your clothes.  


Edit: Seems as though the '20' bit in P20 is the spf, but according to the info on their website the numbers don't seem to work as I thought they did.

P10 has a SPF of 10, meaning it excludes 90% of the sun's burning rays. P20 has a SPF of 20, meaning it excludes 95%. A sun protection product with a SPF of 50 excludes 98%, demonstrating that the additional protection of higher SPF is marginal.