Wallet Friendly Sun Protection Products

Left is Ajuste UV Spray Non Fragrance SPF50+ PA++++, right is Biore UV Perfect Spay SPF50+ PA++++. 

Like many people who live in humid year round sunny places, sun protection in beautiful Singapore is a must for me. The sun can get to you, even if you have a desk job. Walking around during lunch time, commuting in the morning, all these daily exposures can cause skin damage. 

As an avid hiker and hobby cyclist, it's even more vital to pay attention to sun care.

It's a must, not an indulgence, whether you're the first kind of person or the latter. 

Use it to prevent skin cancer, to prevent hyper pigmentation and wrinkles, to avoid unpredictable medical bills. 

As we explore different brands, we all find hits and misses, forced hate panning can cause more mental distress than swapping quickly. If you already struggle with your mental health, attempting to finish products you hate is an added burden you do not need.

Make space for your priorities instead. 

When I started swapping each month, I got to try new products at no additional cost, someone else can also get what they like, also at no additional cost to them.

People often get caught up in the money already spent, they end up keeping it unused at home, leaving it to expire or to deteriorate in quality.

This can cause them to lose trust in effective value for money products, making beauty a stressful tiresome chore instead of the fun exploration that it should be. 

We all have different skin types, different expectations when it comes to a specific product. What doesn't work for you, might jolly well work wonders for someone else, passing it on immediately means some else enjoy it the way you never will. 

Swapping is such a great community building endeavour, it's part of zero waste, avoiding burning a hole in your pocket is an added bonus. I do host regular private swap parties over tens of years and everyone is happy to declutter what they once loved but don't currently use. 

I tried everything, from oily sun creams with white cast that made me look like a mid day oily ghost to ineffective expensive sun sticks to end up in the spray category.

From luxury brands like Shiseido to Clarins to Supergoop! to Caudalie to budget drugstore brands like Biore, Banana Boat, Nivea and much more, I tried an exhausting amount of products. 

My pain is now your gain. 

I will list all the ones I axed at the bottom, the focus will be on a few important ones here.   

They came in so many forms, from stick to bottle to spray, it was still spray that gave the most even spread, I no longer have mid day shine, sun spots have said goodbye as well.

Hyper pigmentation is notoriously hard to remove, once they appear, they don't go away unless you spend a ton of money to get rid of them. 

I fell in love with Supergoop! 100% Mineral Sunscreen Mist a few years ago, besides the mineral formula, I think the spray nozzle has a lot to do with it. 

Trying to find a smaller alternative canister wise, I started with Sunplay Ultra Shield UV Body Mist SPF130, it was great for hiking retouches.

It was way heavier than SuperGoop!, not surprising since it's more than double the SPF 50. I also tried the cream version of Sunplay, white cast.......yet again.

Creams in general are less spreadable, they're oily and tend to clog pores. I had this mistaken idea that they stayed on longer because they're thicker, only to realise that it doesn't work like that.

I was lulled into a false sense of security, I didn't reapply as often as I should. It isn't so obvious in the cosmopolitan concrete jungle, we can travel under air conditioned shelter most of the time, yet sun spots can still occur. 

If you have enlarged pores, a spray is a much better alternative, having to spread out thick cream can push them into your pores, causing more blackheads. Since switching to sprays, that problem has been resolved for me as well. 

I no longer need to go for facials, visit the dermatologist or get a basketful of pore reduction products, I reduced my consumption drastically. 

Sprays are generally far lighter than the cream versions, my gripe is that Sunplay wasn't light enough for day wear, it worked great when I was biking make up free. My dermatologist recommended SPF 30 to SPF 50, my search for the prefect spray went on.

I tried Ajuste UV Spray Non Fragrance SPF50+ PA++++ next, it was less heavy than Sunplay, still nothing close to SuperGoop!'s fine mist. 

Biore UV Perfect Spray's ad boasted it's quick dry, power like properties. A fan of their foam series, they definitely got the lightness part down so I decided to give it a shot. 

Both are water resistant, which is what I was looking for. 

The spray quality is indeed the same as Supergoop! When they said powdery and quick dry, they meant it, it went on fast and dried immediately.

It's a relief when products aren't hero worshipped, it does exactly what it's advertised to do. 

Buyer's remorse can cause so much angst about wasted dollars, people hoard in an attempt to self soothe, "just in case" they will use it but almost never finish them.

Only to feel more guilty when they have to throw out expired products, after their "better safe than sorry" scarcity limiting mindset destroy their mental health. 

Time to quit this cycle! 

As for SPF factor, it's a common misconception that SPF 30 is twice as good as SPF 15. SPF 15 blocks about 94 percent of the sun’s dangerous ray, SPF 30 blocks about 97 percent of rays, and SPF 45 sunscreen shields against about 98 percent of rays.

SPF measures UVB rays and PA measures UVA rays. To truly be board spectrum, a product needs to have both UVB and UVA protection. 

The Japanese measurement ranking which is now widely used, is based on the Persistent Pigment Darkening (PPD) reaction reading at 2-4 hours of sun exposure. Labelled as PA+, PA++, PA+++, with more plus signs the better. 

Don't be fooled by products that advertise as board spectrum, check out the details instead.

It's UVA that causes permanent aging of the skin and is linked to skin cancer, UVB causes sun burn, you need protection from both to get complete sun care. 

The way we consume shapes societies, unless brands get feedback and consumers stay informed, we will not have ethical clean beauty products.

As consumers, we have the power to make a difference, starting from the way we buy! 

Here is the list of axed products as promised. 

Shiseido Clear Suncare Stick SPF 50+ PA++++

Caudalie Anti-Wrinkle Face Suncare