Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

I came across a new sunscreen in Anaconda the other day. It is called DRI screen http://www.afn.com.au/dri-screen/ . It is touted as 'does not repel fish", but what interested me is that it also claims to be non-greasy. I'm interested to see how it goes when cycle commuting and going to meet someone. It also is labelled as SPF50 with 4 hours water resistance.

I'll let you all know what I think of it cycling wise. In the meantime does anyone have any sunscreens they recommend for the above situation (cycle commuting and going to meet someone) when you don't want to show up looking all greasy?

Cancer Council Active, SPF 30+, 4 hours water resistant. Not very oily, I don't notice its on.

Red Rider wrote:Cancer Council Active, SPF 30+, 4 hours water resistant. Not very oily, I don't notice its on.

+1 to the active version. Can even get a small refillable bottle for the jersey pocket

Coles branded sunscreen SPF 30+
Works a treat.

The Cancer Council one is better than some of the others, but still has that slightly greasy feel that you get with nearly all sunscreens.
The two that I have come across that are almost completely non-greasy are Neutrogena Ultimate Sport and Sun Sense Daily Face.
Both kind of pricey though.

Banana Boat makes a spray-on SPF30. I've been using it since about September and have not burned once. It goes on very easily, lasts about 4-5 hours and is not at all oily or greasy. The only complaint I have is that the newer cans have a different top and they are harder to use.
My wife gave up using it because she could not physically operate the pump.

Pay attention everyone : If it says to reapply every two hours and you don't reapply it, you are likely INCREASING your chances of getting skin cancer. The sunscreen gets absorbed into the skin and releases free radicals & "reactive oxygen species" that damage DNA. To stop this you need to reapply after two hours to block the UV again, regardless of statements about "4 hours protection". No - I don't carry a bottle with me and reapply after two hours, I'm a risk taker in that regard, but don't say you haven't been warned.

If anyone knows of a "blockout"/"reflective" sunscreen (as opposed to "chemical") which doesn't need to be reapplied, I'd be very interested in knowing.

twizzle wrote:Pay attention everyone : If it says to reapply every two hours and you don't reapply it, you are likely INCREASING your chances of getting skin cancer. The sunscreen gets absorbed into the skin and releases free radicals & "reactive oxygen species" that damage DNA. To stop this you need to reapply after two hours to block the UV again, regardless of statements about "4 hours protection". .

Do you have a reference for this? I've never heard it before (and I work in a related area).

I tried one of the mineral silica spray cancer council ones while I was out horse-riding every day during the peak sun periods over Christmas/New Year. It didn't seem greasy at all (and it was weird as it felt like I was applying water).

However I think I had an allergic reaction to it (I had been using it everyday on my face and neck for a week and had developed very itchy, very sore red parts on my neck that were getting worse and worse until I stopped using it and applied some dermal cream for about 7 days). You may not get the same reaction though.

I switched to Banana Boat sport 30+ and the allergic reaction didn't come back. Banana Boat is very greasy though so won't suit your purpose. I had some lovely non-greasy sunscreen that I used when playing water polo outdoors (they don't allow you to wear greasy sunscreen) and that was very good but I ran out and can't see that brand in the shops anymore (they may have re-badged their products).

hannos wrote:Coles branded sunscreen SPF 30+
Works a treat.

I know a guy involved in the production of sunscreen (the company he works for makes a large % of sunscreens on the market in Australia, regardless of brand).

This is his recommendation as well.

Venus62 wrote:

twizzle wrote:Pay attention everyone : If it says to reapply every two hours and you don't reapply it, you are likely INCREASING your chances of getting skin cancer. The sunscreen gets absorbed into the skin and releases free radicals & "reactive oxygen species" that damage DNA. To stop this you need to reapply after two hours to block the UV again, regardless of statements about "4 hours protection". .

Do you have a reference for this? I've never heard it before (and I work in a related area).

An example. The wikipedia article on sunscreen also goes into a lot of detail.

twizzle wrote:

Venus62 wrote:

twizzle wrote:Pay attention everyone : If it says to reapply every two hours and you don't reapply it, you are likely INCREASING your chances of getting skin cancer. The sunscreen gets absorbed into the skin and releases free radicals & "reactive oxygen species" that damage DNA. To stop this you need to reapply after two hours to block the UV again, regardless of statements about "4 hours protection". .

Do you have a reference for this? I've never heard it before (and I work in a related area).

An example. The wikipedia article on sunscreen also goes into a lot of detail.

Thanks for that. I'll have to do some more reading.

I came across "Pharmacy choice dry touch" suncream in a chemist up in Townsville.. I'd been searching for it ever since. And finally found it online, which I ordered 5 tubes of.. not the cheapest cream out there, but the best I've come across. It dries on your skin in seconds!

http://www.pharmacydirect.com.au/produc ... pid=024674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here I was thinking I was the only person looking for non-greasy suncream?? The number of times I've gone looking for quick dry suncream and the chemist tries to sell me a bottle of olive oil

vbplease wrote:I came across "Pharmacy choice dry touch" suncream in a chemist up in Townsville.. I'd been searching for it ever since. And finally found it online, which I ordered 5 tubes of.. not the cheapest cream out there, but the best I've come across. It dries on your skin in seconds!

http://www.pharmacydirect.com.au/produc ... pid=024674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here I was thinking I was the only person looking for non-greasy suncream?? The number of times I've gone looking for quick dry suncream and the chemist tries to sell me a bottle of olive oil

Sounds good, nice price too

Banana Boat has one it only available in a small tube. Its called faces and its non greasy.I use it all the time mainly for work and you cant tell its on and my glassese dont slip over my nose like with other sunscreens

I use the Neutrogena Sports Spray Sunscreen, smells awesome and dry as hell!

Scarfy96 wrote:

hannos wrote:Coles branded sunscreen SPF 30+
Works a treat.

I know a guy involved in the production of sunscreen (the company he works for makes a large % of sunscreens on the market in Australia, regardless of brand).

This is his recommendation as well.

Up until December last year I would have agreed with this. When my previous pack of Coles sunscreen ran out, the replacement I bought was "runny", and I was getting a little mild sunburn after a couple of hours in the sun. I've since switched to Banana Boat Sports sunscreen and, while as Summernight notes it is a bit greasy, I'm more than happy with it.

Scarfy - you wouldn't be able to ask the sunscreen production guy if Coles changed their formula?

Cheers,
Simon.

I've recently been using le tan coconut 30+ and am pretty happy with it, I hate greasy sunscreens

The store brand sunscreens are often manufactured by the same companies that manufacture the branded sunscreens and for general purpose applications I use the Woolie's Home Brand ones.

For cycling, where I'm sweating my things off, I use the Banana Boat Sports since I can sweat like a pig (i.e. like normal) and it stays put.

twowheels wrote:

vbplease wrote:I came across "Pharmacy choice dry touch" suncream in a chemist up in Townsville.. I'd been searching for it ever since. And finally found it online, which I ordered 5 tubes of.. not the cheapest cream out there, but the best I've come across. It dries on your skin in seconds!

http://www.pharmacydirect.com.au/produc ... pid=024674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here I was thinking I was the only person looking for non-greasy suncream?? The number of times I've gone looking for quick dry suncream and the chemist tries to sell me a bottle of olive oil

Sounds good, nice price too

I bought a tube of "Pharmacy choice dry touch" sunscreen from a local pharmacy today. Just checked and active ingredients (including mg/g) and preservatives are all exactly the same as the Cancer Council Active sunscreen, Pharmacy Choice option much cheaper. Perhaps from same producer?

I did try the DRI Screen sunscreen on a ride the other day. It is dry as claimed, but $10 for 75ml, so I'll keep that one for fishing.

Aldi pump pack cheap as chips bulk bottle. I just smear it on and get out there. Haven't really thought about whether its greasy or not. It goes on quickly and easily and is not too viscous. That and the price is good enough for me.
I assume it works, I'm not getting burnt. Other than that FIIK.

My biggest gripe with sunscreen is, it makes me sweat even more.

Foo

twowheels wrote:I bought a tube of "Pharmacy choice dry touch" sunscreen from a local pharmacy today. Just checked and active ingredients (including mg/g) and preservatives are all exactly the same as the Cancer Council Active sunscreen, Pharmacy Choice option much cheaper. Perhaps from same producer?

All proceeds from Cancer Council sunscreen sales stay in Australia to fund cancer research, prevention and support programs. That's worth the extra price.

kunalraiker wrote:I use the Neutrogena Sports Spray Sunscreen, smells awesome and dry as hell!

+1

I'm a redhead so burn easily, and find a spray of this stuff and you don't know you've got it on and I've never come home from whatever I was doing burnt.

I also have very sensitive 'allergy eyes' so any hint of oils (ie from sunscreens on my forehead), sweat etc in my eyes and they sting like hell, but I've had no problems with this sunscreen at all.

Would never use anything else!

Red Rider wrote:

twowheels wrote:I bought a tube of "Pharmacy choice dry touch" sunscreen from a local pharmacy today. Just checked and active ingredients (including mg/g) and preservatives are all exactly the same as the Cancer Council Active sunscreen, Pharmacy Choice option much cheaper. Perhaps from same producer?

All proceeds from Cancer Council sunscreen sales stay in Australia to fund cancer research, prevention and support programs. That's worth the extra price.

AHM gives a rebate on Cancer Council goodies, so I use their sunscreen cos it works and its free!