Posts Tagged sunscreen
REI Multi-level Protection SPF 30 Sunblock
Oh, the joys of finding a sunblock the entire family adores! My husband came home from the Outdoor Retailer show this summer with a peculiar looking tube of sunscreen. The simple black-and-yellow label reminded me of generic cereal boxes you might see on grocery-store shelves. The utilitarian packaging led me to believe this might be a ho-hum product. Nope — the REI Multi-level Protection SPF 30 Sunblock is my new favorite.
The feature that I (and my picky children) like most about the REI sunblock is its consistency. It’s silky smooth — not goopy or greasy in the least. It has a dry finish. This is a sunscreen that adheres to the skin quickly; it’s one that I forget I’m wearing, since it blends into the skin quickly (no evident white layer) and allows the skin to “breathe.” Truly, I think it’s the most comfortable sunscreen I’ve ever worn.
This sunscreen is water and sweat resistant — but you’ll want to reapply after prolonged swimming. The entire family used this product for afternoon at the family pond and kayaking on the Colorado River in August and didn’t get burned at all. I am confident it will protect me when I’m lounging by the pool or on the beach on Oahu this week.
I think the price of the REI sunblock is reasonable, too: it’s $12 for an 8 oz. container, $6.50 for the carry-on size. Sure, that might be a bit more expensive than the Coppertone bottles you’ll find at your local grocery store. But I’m willing to pay a little more for a sunblock that my entire family likes and won’t complain about when I announce it’s time to do the full-body lube before days spent in bathing suits outdoors.
Now this product does have octinoxate, oxybenzone and other chemicals that help protect skin from the sun. It’s PABA-free, but it’s certainly not “all natural” or “additive-free”; however, this sunscreen does the job well. Its excellent consistency and staying power are clinchers for me.
Get the 8-ounce version or travel-friendly 2-ounce version at REI.com.
Other sun-protection products I like:
Posted by Kara in General Gear, Kids and Family on September 20th, 2011
Eco-Friendly Lip Balm & All-Around Healing Balm from Elemental Herbs
While I don’t often base my purchasing decisions around whether or not products are made from organic or recycled materials, I know there are a whole lot of you out there who will pay a little more for environmentally friendly items and who do shop with Mother Nature top of mind.
For you, I present Elemental Herbs, a company founded by Caroline Duell, who has a background in herbal medicine and wilderness education, and who just happened to grow up a stone’s throw from my home in the Colorado mountains. Today she lives and runs her company on an organic farm on the Central Coast of California. There, she and her Elemental Herbs colleagues drive vehicles that run on bio-diesel (produced with waste oil). Elemental Herbs product packaging is always recyclable and recycled when possible, ingredients are organically grown and/or sustainably sourced, and marketing materials are always printed on post consumer recycled paper.
One Elemental Herbs product that I’ve been using in the past couple weeks is the All Good Goop organic healing balm. Key ingredients are organic calendula, comfrey and lavender, all infused in organic olive oil with pure beeswax, lavender essential oil and Vitamin E. If that’s not all wholesome goodness, I don’t know what is!
It’s called “goop,” but the substance is really closer to a solid lip balm texture, which is good, because I think you use less of it (saving money) than if it were more of a liquid consistency. I’ve used the goop as lip balm at night (when I didn’t care about having SPF on my lips), and I’ve used it to soothe a small burn on my finger (from the hotel coffeemaker of all things) and tiny cuts. It’s also great for smoothing rough heels and raw cuticles.
When I chatted with Caroline at the Outdoor Retailer trade show this summer, she noted that some travelers have rubbed the lavender-scented All Good Goop under their nostrils when they are in a stinky situation, say, on public transportation in a third-world country. Indeed, this is an amazing product for backpackers since it does pull double and triple duty. (Caroline says it makes a great diaper rash ointment, as well, though, thankfully I’m well past the diapering stage of motherhood and pleased I haven’t had the chance to test that type of use firsthand.) The All Good Goop retails for $8.50 for a 1-oz jar.
Another product I’ve had on my lips this week during the daylight hours is All Good Lips SPF 12. Ingredients here are similar to the All Good Goop, but also includes octinoxate and zinc oxide for protection against the sun’s harmful UV rays. (This makes the lip balm “made with organic ingredients,” unlike the certified organic original Elemental Herbs All Good Lips with no SPF.) Also to note: these SPF lip balms are free of oxybenzone, a chemical that the skin absorbs with potentially toxic lasting effects.
I like that the zinc oxide in the lip balm does not turn my lips white. I’m also partial to the original flavor (i.e. no flavor I taste), but you can also get the SPF version of All Good Lips in Sweet Tangerine and Cool Spearmint. This lip balm goes on smooth and keeps my lips moist. Perfect! Lip balms retail for $3.50.
Sample both of these products, along with Herbal Cool (a muscle pain relief spray) and a 1-oz tube of sunscreen in the large Herbal Healing Kit. All the small items are well under the TSA’s 3-oz requirements, and would make a great gift for an environmentally savvy traveler, as they are packaged in an organic cotton drawstring bag.
Elemental Herbs Camping Organic Healing Set at Backcountry.com
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on September 28th, 2010
O’Neill Rash Guard Shirts for Sun Protection
Even when I’m not using difficult natural sunscreen, I find slathering lotion all over my body about as much fun as repeatedly pulling weeds in the garden. So I wear a sun hat while walking around and will slip into a rash guard shirt if I’m boogie boarding or snorkeling on the coast.
In a moment that made me realize why I like shopping at REI in person sometimes, I asked the sales rep what the difference was between the Body Glove rash guard shirt I was holding in one hand and the less expensive O’Neill one I was holding in the other. “Nothing really,” he replied. “Just buy the one that fits better and looks better.”
This is the third one of these things I’ve owned (see my Body Glove review here) and I was glad to hear that my hunch was the reality. Any brand you pick will do a good job of keeping you from getting sunburned and keeping you from rubbing your skin raw if you surf or ride a boogie board for hours. The Body Glove one I reviewed in the past did the job and looked good; so does this O’Neill version.
These cost a bit more than a regular wicking t-shirt, but not much. This one had a list price of $34 on it and I got it a bit cheaper on sale. Sometimes you can find various models for less than $20 on close-out sales at Sierra Trading Post or Campmor.
So what are you getting exactly? A very stretchy, strong, and fast-drying Nylon/Spandex shirt that feels like a second skin. It offers an SPF sun protection of 50+ for UV rays, so you can spend all day in the water and just have to reapply lotion to the arms and legs. (Or you can buy a long-sleeve version and have even less skin to worry about.) You can’t see it in the photos, but there’s a little tab at the bottom to help you pull it off when it’s wet and clingy.
Naturally these rash guard shirts are lightweight and easy to pack, but be advised that every curve and love handle will show up when you’re wearing one of these, so they’re meant for people in decent physical shape—as in six-pack abs, not a big Joe six-pack gut. (Of course all your kids will care about is the color, so get one for them regardless.)
If you’ve got a really fast connection and lots of time to wait for pages to load, see the whole collection at Oneill.com. Or get your sun protection swim shirt (at what may be a late-summer discount) at your local surf shop or at one of the following:
Search O’Neill swim shirt prices online
Search for rash guard swim shirts at Campmor or Sierra Trading Post
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on August 11th, 2010
Natural Outdoor Products From All Terrain
I had to wait until the heat of summer to try out an array of product samples I got earlier in the year from All Terrain. Most of what they produce is meant to protect you from two menaces: the sun and biting bugs. They do both in an all natural way though, with no DEET in the insect repellent and no wide array of tough-to-pronounce chemicals in the sunscreen.
Some of these products I liked more than others. If the stuff works as well as its chemical counterpart—or close at least—then naturally I’d rather go natural. When there are performance issues, however, using the natural variation is more of a moral or health choice than anything.
Lip Armour Balm – This lip balm was my favorite of the bunch, and a bargain at a list price of $2.59. In this case the product feels (and tastes) better on the lips than the usual petroleum-based alternatives. It’s made of Shea Butter, Vitamin E, hemp seed oil and All Terrain’s proprietary Z-Cote zinc oxide for SPF 25 sun blocking. Great stuff!
Herbal Armour Insect Repellent – My past experience with natural insect repellents has mostly been disappointing, with the results ranging from “not bad if you reapply every half hour” to “bugs thought I was breakfast.” This All Terrain version is the first one I’ve tried that I would consider a fairly good alternative to DEET. The company claims it stays 100% effective for two hours (and 95% for another hour) and while I didn’t scientifically test those claims, the 5-oils repellent didn’t require frequent reapplication to keep the mozzies at bay. Especially if you have kids or sensitive skin, Herbal Armour offers natural protection without a lot of trade-offs. At $7.99 for four ounces or $4.99 for a two-ounce travel size, this is a great value too.
Biodegradable Sunscreen -Unfortunately, it wasn’t a three out of three with the all natural products. “I absolutely hate this sunscreen” was my wife’s reaction after a couple of days using it at the beaches of Puerto Vallarta and I had zebra stripes on my belly after not rubbing it in uniformly enough one day. I tried all three versions (Terra Sport, Aqua Sport, and Kid Sport) and the results were similar. All were tough to apply without a lot of elbow grease, streaky on the skin, and quick to leave white streaky stains on all three of our bathing suits. These problems aren’t unique to this company, but are issues that plague nearly every brand of natural sunscreen. Without all the binding agents and nanotech wonderstuffs you get with the more popular kinds, and with the tendency of any zinc oxide product to be less-than-transparent, natural sunscreens have a tough comparison battle with the chemical alternatives.
Having said all that, I would still use this in sensitive areas like Yucatan cenotes or when snorkeling around protected coral reefs. It’s worth it to put up with a little inconvenience to protect our planet mates. In a swimming pool though? Unless you have sensitive skin, bring on the Banana Boat.
See the full line of All Terrain Natural products and order direct.
All Terrain Herbal Armor Spray Insect Repellent at REI.
Kid’s Herbal Armour at Amazon
Related review:
Beyond Coastal Sun Care Products
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on August 5th, 2010
5 Things I Always Pack – Janna Graber
This month’s guest post of “5 things I always pack” is from Janna Graber, editor of international travel site www.goworldtravel.com and the Colorado uber-site, www.goColorado.com. A travel journalist and video producer, Janna has worked in some 38 countries. She feels completely at home on the road.
1. My “airplane sleeping gear”
Over the years, I’ve developed a routine for sleeping on airplanes, and I always bring the same items with me. First, I travel in comfy clothes (my friends call them my “travel pants,” but they are really just nice looking sweatpants). Then I have a stuffed neck pillow (leopard print, it was all they had on sale at the time), and two inflatable neck pillows. I put one half-inflated pillow behind the small of my back (no back ache then!), and use the two other pillows to keep my head in place while I sleep. Then I have my usual ear plugs, eye mask and lightweight blanket. Sure, I may look ridiculous, but at least I’m fast asleep.
2. My book.
Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, and traveling gives me the opportunity to catch up on my favorite authors. I always have a good paperback with me. 
They’re easy to stick in my backpack, and I can get some good reading in whenever I have to sit and wait.
3. My Rhonda Allison sunscreen
Since it comes in 1 oz bottles, this Rhonda Allison sunscreen is perfect for my carry-on. It’s not greasy and is formulated specifically for faces, which means I actually wear it every day. This sunscreen is usually only sold in high-end salons or dermatologists’ offices, but you can find it online for a good price.
4. My cameras
Photographs are the best souvenirs, and they’re also a huge part of our reader experience at Go World Travel and Go Colorado. I always have a good digital camera with me. Right now, I use the Nikon Coolpix S630. I like the 7x zoom it has, as well as its light weight.
If I have the space, I also have my Canon HV20 3MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder and tripod. (The newer version of this is the Canon VIXIA HV40.) These days, we produce video stories whenever we can.
5. My Samsonite carry-on suitcase
The zipper is on its last legs and one of the wheels is starting to wobble, but I still cling to my favorite Samsonite carry-on suitcase. It has my faded “I love Canada” handle protector, so I can easily locate the suitcase on the luggage belt, and has traveled with me across the world. Someday, I’ll have to break down and buy a new suitcase, but I’m keeping this one as long as I can.
See other 5 Things guest posts
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Travel Light on April 22nd, 2010
