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NOW CLOSED: Share your top stories and tips for applying sun lotion to yourself and your children with Garnier Ambre Solaire. You could win £100 worth of free Garnier products.

110 replies

KatieBMumsnet · 27/04/2012 17:40

You may recall we recently recruited three mumsnetters to to be filmed and learn all about applying the correct amount of sun lotion, on themselves and on their children . The video will be coming soon as well as a giveaway and lots of advice (including a Q&A with Ambre Solaire's expert) so please do keep your eyes peeled for this.

Garnier say "we are really excited to be working with MN to to take part in our sun care challenge to help mums enjoy their summer safely with their families."

In the meantime everyone is invited to share their tips for getting suncream on their children as well as their stories about how easy or difficult you find this...do you worry about your children being exposed to the sun at home or abroad or you confident you know how much cream to apply and how often?

Everyone who adds a tips, story or comment to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one person will win a Garnier goody bag worth up to £100.

If you were one of the MNers who attended the day with your child, please share with the rest of the community your experiences of the day, what you learnt and if you were surprised by anything.

Please note comments added to this thread may be used on the forthcoming Ambre Solaire pages on MN.

Thanks MNHQ

OP posts:
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FauxFox · 27/04/2012 17:46

Sometimes I squirt a smiley face on their tummies then rub it in, I also chase them about shrieking that i'm going to make them all slimy Grin

On hot days I always make sure I get a good coating on them before we leave the house as when you are out it's harder to do it properly!

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mrscumberbatch · 27/04/2012 17:56

On our first family holiday to spain we managed to liberally douse dd in suncream at every opportunity and were rather pleased with ourselves....

Until we noticed that we hadn't been doing her feet as they were mostly covered in sandals. She had little brown triangles all over her feet and brown toes!!!

Thank goodness we noticed when we did, we now whip sandals off and do feet too

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NoKnownAllergies · 27/04/2012 18:27

We put it on in the apartment after our morning shower whilst naked. We make sure everywhere is covered thoroughly. I also use a factor 50 pen across DD's parting and on the tops of ears. We reapply after lunch. Both DCs wear hats, glasses and t-shirts when it's really hot.

We travel abroad a fair bit and I hate seeing little ones who are red or sore :(

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weirdscience · 27/04/2012 19:24

Top tip - Don't try to top up sun cream on the beach when your kids are a bit sandy, they will hate you as it apparently hurts although I preferred to think of it as exfoliating

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mamij · 27/04/2012 19:30

I usually spray the sun cream on myself at the same time too. "Look, you can be just like mummy" usually works Grin. Although this doesn't apply for daddies. A bribe with an ice lolly does the trick Hmm

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CMOTDibbler · 27/04/2012 20:23

I use an anywayup aerosol of once a day fac 50, and we all have a really good spray naked first thing, then dance around till dry. That way, nothing gets missed.
Hats (either with neck flap or big enough to shade all round) and tops with sleeves are de rigeur here - I am so pale and burn at a rate of knots that I have to be very careful. So ds thinks this is the only way to go.
We have hats and sunscreen that lives in the cars in case of suprise sun, and a small sunscreen lives in my handbag, so we are never caught out

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NorbertDentressangle · 27/04/2012 20:34

We've always found that its best to apply it before leaving home (and preferably whilst naked too) as otherwise there are just too many distractions. Trying to get your child to come and have suncream put on rather than paddle in the sea/play on the swings/feed the goats/go off and kick a ball around etc is nigh on impossible!

We usually keep a small bottle of cream in the glove-box of the car too as its there if you have a change of plan or the weather turns surprisingly sunny.

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LaVitaBellissima · 27/04/2012 20:48

I'll be watching this thread with interest. Last Summer we were in Italy and I was obsessed with putting factor 50 on my 7 month olds and keeping them out of the sun. DP who is Italian kept trying to put them in the sun and I was being ridiculously PFB about it all.
I found the factor 50 too thick and uncomfortable too

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LillianGish · 27/04/2012 21:17

I find the clear spray ones are the easiest to apply - no rubbing in required and it doesn't matter if you spray clothes by mistake. Also the no rubbing in bit is especially useful on the beach when they might be covered with sand.

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whomovedmychocolate · 27/04/2012 21:33

I chase them round at a gazillion miles around yelling 'come here you little bugger you are NOT GOING OUT TILL YOU HAVE THIS ONE' and when that doesn't work I bribe them with chocolate.

Wel it's honest at least Grin

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AliceInordnung · 27/04/2012 21:34

I wonder if I've overdone the high spf with dd over the years - I've been careful as both dh and I burn very easily. But I think possibly dd is at risk of Vit D deficiency as she doesn't like being outside much and when she is, her skin isn't able to manufacture vit D as much as perhaps she should because of the sun cream. Her health has always been a bit fragile so I'm now encouraging her to "get some sun" (to a sensible degree), hoping it might buck up her immune system. I actually now think she isn't as sensitive to sun as we are, but I wasn't to know that as I've smothered her in cream all these years!

I did encourage her to wear it on the ski slopes this year and bought a very handy small bottle that was shaped flat to fit comfortably into a pocket for reapplication, and also a high spf lip protector, (having had a colleague who unfortunately has permanent goggle rings round her eyes as that was the only part of her face that wasn't severely burned while skiing. Lesson learned).

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Katz · 27/04/2012 22:00

We have one DD that can wear suncream and one that is just totally allergic. The one who can we put it on before clothes and let it dry and soak in before getting her fully dresses. My DD who can't wear the stuff we put long sleaved cotton tops, trousers and hats. I recommend buying these in the winter as long sleeved cotton tops are hard to come by in the summer.

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FrankWippery · 27/04/2012 22:12

Just plonking myself in here. Will report tomorrow on our day with Ambre Solaire et al.

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ICutMyFootOnOccamsRazor · 27/04/2012 22:28

I try always to get it on them before we leave the house, as I reckon it needs a bit of time to soak in and work properly. It's also easier to get them to stand still at home than it is during the wild excitement of a beach trip, for example.

I generally use more than I think I need to, although it does leave them looking a bit weird as I use a mineral block which tends to leave a white residue. Luckily they're not old enough to realise yet and I don't care much what they look like as long as they don't burn.

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zipzap · 27/04/2012 22:55

I buy up sunhats and sunglasses for the dc at the end of the summer when they are going cheap so I have plenty to have in the cars/my handbag/by the back door/etc so there are always plenty around to use even if you forget to pick one as you race out of the door late for school again. Last couple of years, Sainsbury's have had some lovely sun glasses for kids that have neoprene bands to go around the head rather than being standard sun glasses. Both ds's loved them and found them much more comfortable to wear than sunglasses, which meant they wore them more.

DS2 has hardly any hair - and he's 4 now - so come the summer he tends to wear hats a lot - trick is to have several the same so he can't get fussy about which one he wants to wear and to find one that is comfy so he just tends to wear it all the time and forget about it.

Despite being very fair skinned, I do let the dc play in the garden with relatively low levels of suncream on - spf 15 or spf 30 - and first half of the morning I will let them go out without it or not top it up in the late afternoon, so they don't get caught out by not having enough vitamin D. We have several trees that shade the garden nicely with dappled shade though so it's not as bad as it sounds and they don't tend to be out in the heat of the midday sun (mostly because there wasn't any last summer).

I also make sure that I am wearing my sunglasses as I have one pair in particular that you can see that you are turning red before you actually can without them - so they act as a good early warning system in case the sun does come out and you find yourself in it unexpectedly.

My mother is a sun worshipper who has always used suntan oil - maybe spf 8 if she wants to protect herself or spf 2 if she wants to go a bit browner (or a splash of olive oil if she'd run out Hmm[frazzled brown smiley]) who can't understand why we haven't cut all the trees right down so we could have a lovely sunny garden - but all of us are much happier having lots of dappled shade so we can play outdoors without having to worry so much about the sun.

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stressheaderic · 27/04/2012 23:27

My DP is of Greek heritage and DD has inherited his olive skin which seems to tan easily and never go red or burn.
Because of this, I'm never sure whether to slather her in the highest factor or let her get some sun.
Abroad, we are strict about wearing it all over, but at home in the rainy north of England when even our sunny days are a bit hazy we don't bother. Bad, I know, but we don't.

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CheeryCherry · 28/04/2012 00:10

I also keep suncream in the car, in my bag, along with a small bottle of mozzie spray. But I mainly use the long lasting creams now, they aim to last 7 hours so I smother my dcs before school so they are covered for the day. They also keep some at school. They all witnessed their cousin being burnt after a day in the sun together, so are happy to avoid it themselves.

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HateBeingCantDoUpMyJeans · 28/04/2012 05:29

I find the spray bottles the best as it can be spread out so much and it not too thick to rub in. Tge coloured ones are good.

My trick for getting it done? Sorry to admit but peppa pig - dd is a massive fan so I say we are having cream in just like peppa pig does. Then ask her all about what peppe pig does when she has the cream on extra.

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inmysparetime · 28/04/2012 08:03

I do DHs sun cream at the same time as the DCs' as he's the most likely to burnGrin
I work in a day nursery, so apply a lot of sun cream over a season.
I like the squeezy ones over the sprays, as you can control where it goes (I always end up spraying clothes, myself or other children!), but do not like them too runny. The cream needs to remain on my hand until applied to the child.

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heliumballoon · 28/04/2012 10:13

I always keep a bottle of suncream in the pocket of the buggy, and woe betide anyone who moves it. This helps with the UK's erm... changeable weather... Cold and overcast in the morning (so I wouldn't have thought to pack sunscreen) but roasting in the afternoon.
Not at the moment obviously.

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Backinthebox · 28/04/2012 10:15

I use the highest factor once-a-day stuff I can as a base - my safety back up (for me I like to use P20,) put it on whilst naked before leaving the house. Then I periodically top up with factor 50 clear spray. The spray is also good for reaching the bits you can't rub on, like the middle of your back.

DD and I and white skinned redheads, and frazzle in the sun, and I work a lot in East Africa. I'm trying to make sure for me I don't add to the damage done over years of burning when I was small, and that DCs don't have years of burning when they are small!

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SkinnyVanillaLatte · 28/04/2012 10:19

I do my kids sun cream with no problems,but I let them do under their chins themselves as they're so tickly there!

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SkinnyVanillaLatte · 28/04/2012 10:20

Oh,and I always have some suncream wipes in my handbag.

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ListenToYourHeart · 28/04/2012 11:33

I find it easier to apply a good layer of a factor 50 liquid sun cream all over DD before she gets dressed, then once dressed top up her face, arms (any areas without clothing) then keep a spray factor 50 with me throughout the day to top up Smile

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asuwere · 28/04/2012 11:52

I usually use clear spray stuff that doesn't need rubbed in as quicker and easier. None of my kids mind getting it on and they assume it's just normal before leaving the house. Always have hats on too, again, my kids never go out without a hat (either cosy hat in winter or sun hat in summer!)

I have used the coloured cream in the past which the kids did enjoy rubbing in but still find the spray on stuff much easier and I know that they are fully covered and haven't missed any bits.

I also have an extra bottle of suncream in car, one in the pram basket and small one in my bag just in case! :)

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