Benefits Of Using Baby Sunscreen

Sun can be a boon and a bane. While little bit of exposure to sun is good but too much is bad. It has adverse effects on the skin. It can cause diseases like skin cancer, sun burns, early ageing of skin, dark circles under the eye, etc. The effect of exposure to sun without protection may not be felt immediately but might occur later. For example, kids who are over exposed to sun run a risk of skin cancer as an adult.

To avoid all this, use of sunscreen is essential. Since kids have very sensitive skin they should use sunscreen. But sunscreen should be applied to kids below 6 months and they should not be exposed too much sun either. Due to some reason if the infants would need to be under the sun for long hours, then the parents must contact the paediatrician for the necessary precautions.

For the sunscreens to be effective it should contain the following ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or avobenzone. They offer protection from 80%-90% of UVA radiation. There are some leading brands like Coppertone (Water Babies), Mustela, Origins which offer various products in this category. Whatever is the brand it must contain minimum 15 SPF.

Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in sunscreens is child friendly. They both don’t irritate if they get into the eyes. But they are a little hard to rub in as they contain lots of white pigments.

Sunscreens come in various easy to use packages such as pump sprays, tubes, sticks and foams. They come in attractive colours as well. Each of these packages has their own merits.  For example, tubes are easier to control the flow as compared to others, pump sprays would be preferred to foams or lotion bottles as they are easier to handle. Sticks are the best means of applying sunscreens for under eye, nose, cheeks, ears and shoulders.