Ultimate Sun Protection Products For Travellers

Converting the description of this Japanese brand to English is a mouthful and does nothing to make it sound appealing.  However, the Biore Aqua Rich Sunscreen is the best face sunscreen I have found and I’ve been using it consistently for over 8 years now.

Not only does it give top-notch protection to your skin against the sun it feels amazingly good on the skin.

You can apply a good coverage, it dries quickly and feels like there is nothing there while giving 50+ protection against both UVA and UVB rays.  No stickiness, no white cast, no shine, no irritation and your makeup sits perfectly on top of it.  The price is very reasonable too, I normally pay around A$18 and get fast and free delivery when I buy a couple of tubes.

The one thing I don’t like about it and wish they would change is the fragrance, I opt for fragrance-free where I can but to be honest, I use this daily and it has never caused irritation on my super sensitive, reaction-prone skin.

If you want something you can pick up locally, this is another facial sunscreen that offers great protection at a reasonable price.  This French brand is widely available in Australia through Priceline.  It goes on easily for good coverage and protection with 50+ SPF.

It seems gentle on the skin and I never get any irritation or breakouts using this product.  The finish isn’t quite as invisible as the Biore one but is still very nice to wear and sits well under makeup with no greasy feeling or shine.

The Banana Boat Sport is a great everyday sunscreen and being waterproof it’s especially good when you are off to the beach or heading out to exercise.

I always have it in a variety of sizes, the pump in the bathroom, the tube in the beach bag and usually one stashed in the car or Drews’s golf bag too.

I like the light fragrance, it goes on easily, dries down to a natural skin finish very quickly  and doesn’t have any greasy or sticky residue.  It’s also very affordable so no excuses for not reapplying it regularly.  It’s broad spectrum and gives you 4 hours water resistance.  It also seems to resist sweating off while exercising.

This one has no SPF protection so don’t forget to layer up but it gives a gradual light tanning effect.  Why I rate this as one of my top sun protection products is that it broke my long standing tanning bed habit.  Social norms are changing slowly but I’m happier with a light ‘tan’ that makes me feel more confident and look healthier, especially on my arms and legs.

There so many other really good self tanners on the market now but I stick with this one because its also a great daily moisturizer, it builds gradually, and you don’t get transfer, orange tones or visible mistakes as I often do with a more intense single application tanning product.

I’ve got a bit of a sunhat collection but I’ve also got a very small head and until recently was always frustrated trying to buy hats in Australia where they ignore hat sizing and insist one size fits all – yeah right!  It appears neither my butt nor my head were designed to fit that one-size norm.

I did get a great tip a few years ago thought that has worked well.  It came from an ex-dancer in New Zealand who let me into the industry secret of sticking foam on the inside of a hat to keep it in place while performing.  I picked up a length of foam tape from Clark Rubber when I got back, stuck it to the inner band of my looser hats and it works perfectly.

While I do acknowledge the benefits of a big floppy hat for fuller protection I personally prefer a small brim because it stays on my head and doesn’t get in the way.  I figure my sun protection is far better if I’m actually wearing a smaller brimmed hat than chasing a one down the beach in the wind or just leaving it off because it restricts my vision too much.  I also have a number of caps that are super convenient and again much better than not wearing one at all, just remember to give your ears a really good coverage of the sunscreen.