Johnson's Ultra Sun Cream

Well it’s that time of year again and I thought I should write another opinion on something I really know about – sun cream!

I live on the Costa del Sol (and it’s lovely, thankyou. The pool is 22C today although I can’t face a swim as I’ve just cleaned the thing. See my Spain ops if you need to know more). I also have the whitest of white sensitive skin and sometimes can’t go out in the day – ...
...summer as sitting next to me makes anyone look like they have a tan.

I never ever tan. I’ve tried a few times – once I lay in the garden all day, turned beetroot, couldn’t sleep for a week and then turned white again, other times I’ve tried the “gradual build-up approach” – but I simply don’t tan. If I really tried I could probably create a few more freckles, but I’m not sure that ... more

Well it’s that time of year again and I thought I should write another opinion on something I really know about – sun cream!

I live on the Costa del Sol (and it’s lovely, thankyou. The pool is 22C today although I can’t face a swim as I’ve just cleaned the thing. See my Spain ops if you need to know more). I also have the whitest of white sensitive skin and sometimes can’t go out in the day – hence the title. In fact I am very popular in summer as sitting next to me makes anyone look like they have a tan.

I never ever tan. I’ve tried a few times – once I lay in the garden all day, turned beetroot, couldn’t sleep for a week and then turned white again, other times I’ve tried the “gradual build-up approach” – but I simply don’t tan. If I really tried I could probably create a few more freckles, but I’m not sure that would be very attractive.

So like I say, I know a few things about sun cream – especially high factor sun cream and Johnson’s “ultra” sun block is nothing to write home about. My favourite all-time sun cream is Vichy Capital Soleil, factor 60. But that’s not listed, so I’ll compare and contrast the two under this product heading. I hope there’s something for all you sun-worshippers out there too!

~~~The Science ~~~

As everyone knows by now, sunbathing for hours on end without protection is not good for you. The sun’s light contains two damaging forms of ultraviolet rays – UVA and UVB. UVB rays are the ones that cause most sunburn (and tanning) and skin cancer: the Sun protection factor quoted on sun cream refers to its UVB protection.
The Johnson’s cream is SPF30, which theoretically means that it gives you can stay out in the sun for 30 times as long as you normally could without burning, but these factors become a bit meaningless after 15. The Vichy cream is SPF 60, but I don’t think it is actually double the strength of the Johnson’s – factor 30 is enough for anyone really, although you do get a bit more protection from higher factors.

UVA on the other hand is thought to cause some ageing and also some types of skin cancer, so you need to look at a cream’s UVA protection as well as it’s SPF. Johnson’s sun cream does protect against UVA, as does the Vichy cream, although there is as yet no international standard for rating it, so I can’t compare the two.

Everyone should also know that you should reapply sun cream frequently, especially after swimming (or more to the point, after rubbing it all off with the towel). Apparantly, also you should apply the cream liberally for better protection against UVA, regardless of the sun protection factor, or how much you want to tan! Finally sun-creams deteriorate with age – I read once that the protection factor halves for every year, so presumably year-old factor 12 is as good as factor 6 – so don’t keep them too long. I use so much that I don’t really have a problem with that though!

While I'm on the science - if you are also sun sensitive you should avoid the sun between 12 and 4pm and wear proper UV protection sunglasses and a hat. A burnt scalp really hurts!

~~~The Sun Cream~~~

A good suncream, for me, should be not too runny and not too thick, easily absorbed by the skin (so I don’t leave the house looking like a zombie) and it must be either perfume-free, or with a perfume that I’m not allergic to. I’m not allergic to much, or to a great extent (Oil of Olay brings me out in spots), but as I have to wear sun-cream on my face all the time, I have to be a little bit careful.

I bought the Johnson’s cream because it specifically says that it can be used by those with sensitive skin. Crucially though, it isn’t hypoallergenic (where the Vichy cream is) and it turns out I am mildly allergic to it. My face itches when I use it, and I start to get spots if I use it for too many days running – I now only use it in emergencies.

It is a good consistency and easy to apply though and acheives top marks along with the Vichy cream for that. It is thicker than the Vichy cream, which means that the Vichy seems to go further, but both creams are absobed well. In fact both creams are almost too easily-absorbed for kids – with fidgety children it can be better to get a really gloopy cream so you can see where you’ve missed!

My last complaint about the Johnson’s cream is the packaging. It is a oblong-ish squeezy bottle, which loses it’s shape and ceases to be able to squeeze out the cream properly after you’ve used two thirds of it. The Vichy cream on the other hand is a normal squeezy tube which works perfectly.

So, Johnson’s Ultra sun block works and is easy to apply, but has some weird perfume in it and has very very inconvenient packaging. It also doesn’t seem to last as long as my Vichy cream due to its thickness. It is one of the cheaper high factor sun creams though (and none are very cheap!), so if you need sun protection and don’t have sensitive skin, try it. If on the other hand you need to wear sun cream all the time and/or you have sensitive skin, try Vichy Capital Soleil. It’s more expensive, but lasts longer and gives a little more protection.
 

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