Growing up, I was a lifeguard and a swimmer. In the summer, I spent almost all day, every day in the sun. Thankfully, I take after my dad and my skin browns and rarely burns. My brother, however, took after my mom with his light skin. His body does not like the sun. However, this doesn't mean that I don't still think about sun safety. If anything, as I age (just shy of turning 35 at the end of the month), I am more and more mindful of what I put in and on my body.
Because of my active lifestyle, I'm always on the hunt for a sunscreen that protects my skin and is free from chemicals. While there are products out there that meet my criteria, the biggest struggle is finding one that is tolerable for sweating, isn't sticky and actually lasts for a long workout or race.
Since mid-April, I have been trying out the following products:
Protect Stick Sunscreen BodyProtect All over SFP 30
Protect Stick Sunscreen Face
I used each of these products on separate occasions, but exclusively during workouts (and in St. George for the half Ironman - 5-ish hour event) so that I could really put them to the ultimate test.
My first impression was the nice smell, which was almost taffy-smelling like. It's very refreshing and has a hint of citrus. Since I have never been fond of cream-based sunscreens for training because it feels like I am sweating through layers of cream, I first tried the stick sunscreen (for face and body). Despite the stick telling me that I needed to reapply every 2 hours, I used the stick for face and body for a few long workouts and was pleasantly surprised that I didn't feel like I was wearing any sunscreen and I didn't get any negative exposure by the sun. The stick made sunscreen application very easy with no messy hands (which is a good thing when you re about to ride your bike!). I also liked the size of the face stick, which is small and compact - perfect for traveling or keeping in your jersey or pool bag if you do need to reapply.
The broad spectrum all over lotion was quick to disappear after rubbing on my exposed body parts (arms and knees). As I mentioned above, I may not be the best tester for sunscreen as I tend to get darker, and not redder, in the summer, but I still care about protecting my skin from sun damage. I will say that I had no signs of sun damage after my long rides and even when racing in hot and dry St. George. For those with light skin (or freckles), Katrine feels you on your sun exposure concerns! But she was confident that the sunscreen works on her and her light-skinned kiddos.If you are interested in trying out any of the Beautycounter sunscreen products, Katrine would like to offer you a free protect lip balm with any sunscreen purchase of $50 or more. This free gift is great because I know how much athletes love their lip balm!
After placing your order, please contact Katrine HERE to receive your free lip balm.
Any questions, Katrine will be happy to help you out.
Oh, one more thing!
For the ingredient-conscious athletes out there, Beauty Counter has The Never List which is made up of more than 1,500 questionable or harmful chemicals that are never used in their products. This includes the 1,400+ chemicals banned or restricted in personal care products by the European Union, plus additional chemicals screened by Beautycounter and found to be of concern.