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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Aussie or Euro vs US sunscreen

ricitosdeplata

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
09/2015: Via de la Plata
Is it true that Australian and the European sunscreens are more effective than ones from US? My daughter just cautioned me to try to get some Australian sunscreen because ours isn't as good. I found an article on the internet saying the same thing. Has anybody else heard about this? What brand would you buy in Spain?
 
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Is it true that Australian and the European sunscreens are more effective than ones from US? My daughter just cautioned me to try to get some Australian sunscreen because ours isn't as good. I found an article on the internet saying the same thing. Has anybody else heard about this? What brand would you buy in Spain?
It is super expensive in Spain, a 50 ml tube cost me 12€, and it wasn't even the good stuff. If what you have at home has always worked for you, why change?
 
Cover up and wear long sleeves and long trousers for walking during the day, you don't want to have to slather it on everyday, fine for the beach but not on a daily basis. You can get by with a regular tube of sunscreen for just your hands/face/neck.
 
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I'm a fan of the aerosol sunscreens as I am more likely to use them as they feel cold. I bought a Spanish one which is SPF50. The only thing is that it has a slightly brown tinge (no, it's not a tan in a can!) rather than clear.
 
Is it true that Australian and the European sunscreens are more effective than ones from US? My daughter just cautioned me to try to get some Australian sunscreen because ours isn't as good. I found an article on the internet saying the same thing. Has anybody else heard about this? What brand would you buy in Spain?
Hi , as already stated in Spain is it very expensive . I paid 7 euro for a small tube . Wish you all Well , Peter .
 
Yes. I read about this and researched it a few years ago. There is an ingredient that is not approved by the U.S. that is in European sunscreens. I ordered a French brand through a Canadian pharmacy for one of my caminos. It was much more expensive plus additional shipping. On subsequent caminos I just bought one available in US under the same name (Anthelios) which I got at the local pharmacy - CVS (more expensive than your basic Sunscreen). It was SPF 50. It worked just as good as the imported brand. The most important thing is too use an adequate amount of sunscreen. Most people do not follow instructions and don't put enough on to begin with. I agree with other posters...use sunscreen but wearing a long sleeve light weight shirt and pants with hat is the best preventative. They sell some good SPF blocking shirts at sporting goods stores as well.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Thank you for all of your responses. I've got some biker sleeves to cover my arms but I still have exposed parts of my body that I would like to cover while I spend hours outside every day for almost 2 months on VDLP. I don't burn easily but it's the skin cancer that I'm trying to avoid and I'd like to have the best sunscreen available instead of paying for medical care later.
LauraK, thanks for the brand name. I'll look for it before I leave.
 
It is super expensive in Spain, a 50 ml tube cost me 12€, and it wasn't even the good stuff. If what you have at home has always worked for you, why change?

Small tubes like that are going to be "travel" format aimed at the airport carry on limits. You can buy much bigger bottles for less. Obviously different brands will have different prices. No names will be a fraction then the brands aimed at the higher end. But even the more expensive brands go on sale. That's actually a problem for those traveling. Last week Loreal was on sale 200ml for less then €7 in one local shop. Every day price is almost €15. The same product brought in a pharmacy will be even more expensive.

Then you have the new and improved stuff. Sticking to Loreal they have the normal stuff and the new quick dry stuff. The quick dry costs more.
 
Talk about an uneven suntan. We met the owner of these hands in Viana mid-April; he had left Berlin two months earlier.
Camino 113.jpg
 
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I'm not sure this applies to Spain, but in the UK the price of sun screen varies quite significantly. Here's a little tip we have found, when buying sunscreen (we always go for Factor 50) then get the one for children, you will find that this can be half the price of the adult version, and strange as it seems they both contain the same ingredients.
 
Thank you for all of your responses. I've got some biker sleeves to cover my arms but I still have exposed parts of my body that I would like to cover while I spend hours outside every day for almost 2 months on VDLP. I don't burn easily but it's the skin cancer that I'm trying to avoid and I'd like to have the best sunscreen available instead of paying for medical care later.
LauraK, thanks for the brand name. I'll look for it before I leave.
 
Have you considered one of those silver umbrellas? Will protect you from direct sunlight and take care of a few degrees.
 
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Not at all well-informed on sunscreens. But have read that some incorporate nano particles which I'm not super comfortable about.
 
All too often the euro stuff has more perfume than an elevator full of grandmothers. We use US made scentless stuff on our faces! SPF 50 seems plenty strong and effective.
 
Anemone, I do plan to use an umbrella but I find that part of my arm, my hands using poles and lower legs are exposed.

The reason I started this thread is because I'm not sure how you can tell that the sunscreen is really working. I thought it was if you're not getting burned. But then I read that US sunscreen doesn't have the UVA protection that Australia has. Laws requiring certain standards, as I understand it, we're passed in Australia and the US doesn't have such laws.
 
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I found any of the major brands of sunscreen sold in the US with an SPF of about 30 to 40 to work just fine. Also a good hat helps.
I wouldn't give it too much thought.
 
The best sun screen is to cover up.

In fact by wearing quick dry UV protected clothing not only will you protect yourself from the sun, you will cooler.

There is a reason why most people in tropical climates wear long sleeve tops and pants
 
Hi , as already stated in Spain is it very expensive . I paid 7 euro for a small tube . Wish you all Well , Peter .
Ah, yes. But you only have to apply it to the left side of your body, so it lasts twice as long :D
(For Camino newbies, this is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the "Camino tan" caused by walking westward toward Santiago every day on the CF. This means the sun shines mainly on your left leg, left arm, left cheek, left ear, etc, resulting in an uneven tan -- or for some of us, uneven sunburn -- on the left side of our bodies.)
 
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€60,-
Living in the "melanoma (skin cancer) capital of the world"- (virtually anywhere in Oz) and being anglo-celtic in origin it's cover-up when outdoors for half the year. For me - a SPF50 (which blocks both UVA & UVB - ultra violet light) are essentials. So given the cost in Spain I will be bringing mind from home. Thanks for the tip!!
 
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
I agree with the posts regarding the fact that I found sunscreen to be expensive in Spain. Next time I will take two, carry on sized tubes of sunscreen. I went through one quite quickly.

I also strongly recommend that you wear a pair of padded bike gloves on the Camino. The gloves protected my hands from sunburn. A number of pilgrims commented to me in April and May when I was on the CF that they wished they had carried bike gloves.

I would also carry a long sleeved shirt to protect your arms from the sun. If the shirt is quick dry, then you can wash it out every night and wear it the next day.
 
Anemone,...But then I read that US sunscreen doesn't have the UVA protection that Australia has. Laws requiring certain standards, as I understand it, we're passed in Australia and the US doesn't have such laws.
I certainly am not expert on the matter, but I would think that it is not because something is not mandatory that it might not be included in the product. Also, what about buying a French brand in the US, might give you the quality you are after but at a lower cost?

Perhapss this can help? :

http://dermatology.about.com/cs/skincancers/a/uvaabsorb.htm :
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/best-sunscreen/art-20045110 :
"Only sunscreens that offer protection from both UVA and UVB rays can advertise broad-spectrum coverage on the label." And it gives the list of active ingredients to look for.

Hope you find a product you feel confident in.
 
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I agree with the posts regarding the fact that I found sunscreen to be expensive in Spain. Next time I will take two, carry on sized tubes of sunscreen. I went through one quite quickly.

I also strongly recommend that you wear a pair of padded bike gloves on the Camino. The gloves protected my hands from sunburn. A number of pilgrims commented to me in April and May when I was on the CF that they wished they had carried bike gloves.

I would also carry a long sleeved shirt to protect your arms from the sun. If the shirt is quick dry, then you can wash it out every night and wear it the next day.
Joe G: I completely agree. I used sunscreen but forgot to put it on my hands and, since I was using trekking poles with straps, ended up with a sunburn across half of my hand. It hurt....and looked weird :(! Fortunately, I had some light weight liner gloves that I used for the rest of the camino.
 
Yep, I'm taking my bike gloves with the last digit exposed. That will make for a funny tan line, too.

Anemone, thanks for the links. Looks like l'oreal and anthelios sx art 2 mentioned in the a article and by others in this thread. Will look try to find them.
 
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What about those white cotton gloves that are worn so that hand cream super penetrates? Quite inexpensive (when bought in a dollar store) and light weight. I've seen them in buff colour as well, or the white could be dyed with tea to more of a flesh tone. Incidentally, they are sold in both women's and men's sizing.
31Ua98tIXEL._AA160_.jpg
 
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New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Is it true that Australian and the European sunscreens are more effective than ones from US? My daughter just cautioned me to try to get some Australian sunscreen because ours isn't as good. I found an article on the internet saying the same thing. Has anybody else heard about this? What brand would you buy in Spain?
Sun screen is sun screen. Pick one with a high SPF that you like and use it. Try to get one that resists sweating off and even then apply several times a day.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Ah, yes. But you only have to apply it to the left side of your body, so it lasts twice as long :D
(For Camino newbies, this is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the "Camino tan" caused by walking westward toward Santiago every day on the CF. This means the sun shines mainly on your left leg, left arm, left cheek, left ear, etc, resulting in an uneven tan -- or for some of us, uneven sunburn -- on the left side of our bodies.)
The solution to the Camino Tan is easy. Walk backwards every other day. You won't make very good time, but your tan will be even.
 

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