It’s sad to say, but I used to worship the sun growing up. Now I fear it. One too many sunburns as a kid while playing ball or going to the beach with friends made me a prime candidate for a dermatological intervention later in life. It only took three or four skin biopsies for me to finally realize how much damage I had done to myself as a teen and that there were better ways of getting vitamin D than soaking in rays. Now I’m one of those guys you see at the pool or beach wearing a shirt in the water. It’s not because I’m embarrassed about my midsection which truthfully could use some firming up, but it’s from wanting to make sure that my back, which used to get the worst burns, doesn’t see the light of day again. But unless I plan on wrapping myself in cloth from head to toe during the spring and summer months, I need to make sure that I religiously use sunscreen on the rest of my body to avoid the doctor’s scalpel.
Although I have never been loyal to a particular sunscreen brand, I always used one with a minimum SPF of 30 and tried to avoid using spray bottles whenever possible. I really still don’t understand how those help when less than half of the spray gets to your skin. But that’s another story. As I became more educated about the risks associated with UV rays, I learned the importance of being more selective in choosing a sunscreen besides just relying just on the SPF number. Unfortunately, the SPF number only measures how effective the sunscreen is for UVB protection, but not against UVA rays. In order to adequately protect yourself from both, you need sunscreen that is labeled as broad or full spectrum sunscreen. These sunscreens can only use this label if it offers broad UV coverage to the satisfaction of the FDA. You would be surprised at how much the list of choices for sunscreen whittles down once you make broad spectrum as part of your criteria. However, I recently discovered a great name in the sunscreen world that not only satisfies that criteria, but does a whole lot more. It is called Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen Don’t let the name fool you. It is manufactured here in the U.S., but still complies with the more rigorous standards for sunscreen protection mandated by Australia relative to the U.S.
Admittedly, I do love reptiles so the name of the sunscreen itself was appealing. It certainly doesn’t hurt that my son has a 2 year old bearded dragon in his room named Guapo that I think shares a striking resemblance to the blue lizard logo on each of the company’s bottles. But the more practical reason I like the sunscreen and in particular, the bottles they come in, is that the cap turns color when it is exposed to UV light. I’m usually good about putting the sunscreen on when I first arrive somewhere, but I easily forget when I’m engaged in activity. So the color change on the cap or the bottle itself for all Blue Lizard products is a great reminder for someone like that me that it is time to reapply lotion.
The company has 5 different sunscreens to choose from including Baby, Sensitive, Face, Sport and Regular. Most of the bottles come in 3 oz, 5 oz and 8.75 oz sizes, ranging in price from $14.99 to $28.99. While this is definitely on the more expensive side of available sunscreen products, it’s worth it for someone like me that truly needs protection from the sun. The money I will save in dermatologist visits is enough justification for me for the few extra dollars I will spend each year on my Blue Lizard sunscreen. And the coolest part is that Blue Lizard’s patented PBA-free Smart Bottle™ changes color from white to blue (or pink for Baby formula) when it is exposed to harmful UV rays reminding you to put on sunscreen.
It’s very difficult for me to even think about the use of sunscreen right now given how brutal the winter has been here in New York. But the warmer days seem to be sneaking up on us and before I know it, I will be back on the field with my son for the spring baseball season. While I have great memories of playing baseball as a kid, it was also the time when I had some really bad sunburns because I ran out of the house and didn’t think about applying anything to my skin. But these days, sunscreen is a necessity for kids who spend their days on the ball field or even outdoors in the playground.
So why not use a sunscreen that actually lets you know when it’s time to apply some more. Check out Blue Lizard today and if you’d like to enter to win a one month supply of Blue Lizard sunscreen for your family, enter the rafflecopter sweepstakes below!
The prize giveaway contains a 5oz Face bottle, 5oz Sensitive bottle, 5oz Sport bottle and two Baby sachets with a color-change bracelet.
Plus, save 20% off orders over $35 by visiting the Blue Lizard website and entering the promo code: P20ROLMY
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Blue Lizard Sunscreen
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