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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Physical Sunscreen Review

Since it's close to summer now, I decided to review the 3 physical suncreens I have bought and used. By physical I mean that it has zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as the active ingredients, not chemical agents.
These are the three:
Trukids Sunny Days Sunscreen SPF 30+, Episencial Sunny Sunscreen SPF 35, Burnout Clean and Clear SPF 32
Texture
Their textures are quite different. Trukids is stiffer, has a slightly grainy texture and takes longer to rub in. Episencial is like a lotion, so it rubs in pretty well. Burnout is a bit more watery than Episencial so it is the easiest of the three to rub in.
Trukids, Episencial, Burnout
White-cast + Feel
They all leave virtually no white-cast, but a slight sheen:

Trukids left my skin the smoothest, Episencial and Burnout were a little tacky.

Waterpoof?
They all claim to be waterproof/ water resistant and/or sweatproof, so I decided to run my arm under the faucet and rub my skin a little.
The water came out a little milky from the Episencial sunscreen! The other two were okay, but Trukids and Episencial became "oily" to the touch, while Burnout remained tacky. 
Sunburn/ Tan Prevention
I was out on a cloudy day for 6 hours wearing Trukids and came back slightly tanned. Not pleased.
Episencial and Burnout work really well in keeping me pale, but Episencial rubs off too easily and is not waterproof like they claim. Burnout left me pale throughout the summer, as if I had never gone outside.

Overall Summary: 

Trukids
Texture: 7/10 A bit hard to rub in.
Feel on skin: 10/10 Smooth.
Matte/oily: 8.5/10 Definitely matte, but it became oily on my face in about 7 hours.
Scent: Nice orange smell, but is a bit overwhelming. It fades in about 10-15 minutes.
White-cast: 10/10 Virtually none
Waterproof: 9/10 A point off for becoming a bit oily in the water.
Tan prevention: Not good at all. If it gets me tanned on a cloudy day, it'll probably leave me sunburnt on a sunny day.
Cleaning it off: It was very difficult to wash it off. Even after using a makeup remover, I could still smell the sunscreen on my skin.
Cost: ~$16 a bottle.

Episencial
Texture: 9/10 Like lotion
Feel on skin: 8/10 A bit tacky
Matte/oily: 7/10: Starts out matte, but quickly became oily on not only my face, but my body.
Scent: Heavy sunscreen smell.
White-cast: Virtually none.
Waterproof:  0/10 Clearly ran off my arm for a sunscreen that claims to be waterproof!
Tan Prevention: 8/10: Good until I sweat or come in contact with water.
Cleaning it off: Very easy, considering it is not waterproof.
Cost: ~$13 a bottle.

Burnout

Texture: 10/10 Like watery lotion
Feel on skin: 8/10 A bit tacky
Matte/oily: 9/10 Very matte, and becomes oily on my face only after ~10 hours of wearing.
Scent: Slight sunscreen smell.
White-cast: Virtually none.
Waterproof: 10/10 Very.
Tan Prevention: 10/10: Excellent. I'm sometimes told I look like a vampire because of how pale I am!
Cleaning it off: Comes right off with a makeup remover facial wash.
Cost: ~$17 a bottle

Conclusion:
Episencial is a cheap physical sunscreen that works quite well if you don't come in contact with water. I often use it on my body because it is easy to spread and cheap. Burnout is my favorite, because it keeps my face matte throughout the day and is the easiest of the three to spread. Because it is so expensive, I use it only for my face.

This review was not endorsed by any of the companies that make this sunscreen. All products were bought with my own money and all pictures were taken by me.







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