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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Sunscreen Review: Thinkbaby, Episencial, Burnout Eco-Sensitive

Burnout Eco-Sensitive

My HG sunscreen, Burnout Eco-Sensitive got a reformulation and now I am afraid to use it. According to Amazon reviews, the new one has a terrible consistency and is now full of "bad" ingredients.

New ingredients (according to Amazon):

Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide (non-nano) 18.9% Other Ingredints: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Polysorbate 60, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Stearate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Stearyl Alcohol, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Polyglyceryl-3 Ricinoleate, Isostearic Acid, Lecithin, Phenoxyethanol, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenan, Helionori, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Ethylhexylglycerin.

Old ingredients (according to my bottle from last year):

Zinc Oxide (non-nano) 18.6% Other Ingredients: Deionized Water, Capric/Caprylic Triglycerides, Vegetable Glycerin, Sorbitol, Imperata Cylindrica (Root) Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Lecithin, Arabidopsis Extract, Plankton Extract, Aloe Vera, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Citric Acid

It is upsetting that Burnout reformulated it, because this sunscreen has protected me even in 90 degree weather for over 6 hours with no reapplication. I got no burns at all, only a very slight tan.

Episencial

My former favorite body sunscreen also got a reformulation and is now sticky and difficult to spread. It definitely leaves a white cast that you need to rub in. The only good part is that it still provides good protection (read: slight tan despite no reapplication for several hours). It also got smaller and more expensive!

Thinkbaby spf 50+

I bought this sunscreen to replace my HG sunscreen, but unfortunately it does not live up to the raving reviews on Amazon. Yes it is a nice scent and has a lotion like consistency. It is also dry to the touch once absorbed, but does get oily on my combination skin after around 3-4 hours. However, I was burned and heavily tanned in 80 degree weather for 5 hours. I also got spots on my skin from the sun damage. As with my usual use of sunscreen, I did not reapply, but it was ridiculous how tanned and burned I got. I use a lot of sunscreen on my nose, forehead, and cheeks, because that's usually where the sun hits. Surprisingly, that was also where I got burned! I was red and peeling for a week! I cannot believe that this sunscreen is the #3 bestseller and has such high reviews.
I was also slightly burned and tanned in 4 hours in the sun playing handball and again developed spots. I started peeling on my arms, which is also where I apply sunscreen heavily. I don't believe it is waterproof and sweatproof at all. I cannot believe that ThinkBaby has such poor performance.

In short: Thinkbaby has a wonderful lotion like consistency, and does become dry to touch. It should be applied to moisturized skin, or else it will be difficult to spread. However, you will get burned and tanned if you use this under the sun without reapplication. It is also not waterproof.

The search for a new sunscreen continues.