Advice on Ultrasun usage

Never used it before but because we're taking our 12 year old on his first abroad beach holiday I'm really paranoid about burning and not having enough suncream. We're in Scotland and haven't seen much of the sun the past few years here or on hols south of the border. We can tan but our 12 year old is very pale although he plays out all the time with just some suncream on his cheeks and nose.
SO... have I gone mad buying too much of this stuff or tell me if I might not have enough.
Ultrasun QVC purchases:-
100ml SPF50 face
TSV inc
100ml SPF30 face
125ml SPF20 glimmer
OTO inc
100ml SPF30 family
125ml SPF50

I have a kids soltanSPF50 water play and we have a soltan SPF25 ONCE transparent spray.

We're away 1 week.
Much appreciate any advice!

I would think you have enough suntan creams but you are still going to have to limit your son's exposure to the sun at the hottest parts of the day. It is not possible to rely solely on suntan creams. Don't forget his ears either.
I am fair and was 19 when I first went to the south of France and my dad insisted I stayed covered up and with a sunhat and we stayed in the shade alot. All I burnt was the tips of my toes that were exposed and not in the shade.
If your son swims in the pool even with a T-shirt he can still burn.
Try googling preparing for a holiday in the sun with children and see what comes up. Perhaps the British consulate website has advice.
On a different note don't forget to make copies of your passports and place separately. Also your ticket numbers and insurance documents and those E111 or whatever they are called.
You can put scanned copies of your passports in the cloud or on hotmail or Google mail.
Have a good holiday.

Thanks for the reply, it's difficult to judge if we never get the sun. appreciate the tips. It's a EHC now and we bought him one of those sun protection tops but I agree to limit exposure.

The only time I ever burnt was when playing frisbee as a student in Paris after summer exams 7 years ago. I woke up next morning with face raw and burning with orange blisters. I swore from that day never to go out in the sun unprotected. So now I use Boots Soltan Face Once. Have used Ultrasun Face 30 in the past and found it very good. I would say there is virtually no difference between a factor 30 and a 50, the only difference being that if you don't apply enough of a 50 you will get more protection than if you don't apply enough 30. Be sure to apply it at LEAST 2-3 times a day even if weather is overcast or hot sun not apparent. If you go on a boat trip apply more frequently as water reflects UV rays up. I was out in Brighton in hot sun recently all day and did not burn thanks to wonderful Soltan.

I use Soltan Once Face 30. It's very good and a lot cheaper that Ultrasun but it is greasier. Not that I'll be wearing makeup on the beach but even with a primer I find that with daily use here the Soltan melts make up very badly. The Ultrasun face formula is surprisingly matte.

Very sound advice from iloveshopping, it's so tempting to rely too heavily on sun protection. Best to keep out of the sun at first between 11.00 and 3.00, so a perfect time to go for lunch. Don't forget to put suntan lotion on the tops of your feet and toes and also your ears. Also, don't be lulled into a false sense of security if it's a cloudy day or it doesn't feel very hot because there's a breeze - you can still burn really badly! Reapply often, especially after swimming if it's normal suntan lotion and I even do over once a day at the beginning of a holiday. Most importantly, limit sun exposure and only increase gradually over the week. Sorry if this is all stating the obvious!

Hi Etoile, you don't need to use an expensive Ultrasun SPF face cream on a younger skin. They are also used as a face moisturiser for a more mature skin. I just use Ultrasun SPF 50 then SPF 30 on my pale teenage children!

Enjoy your holiday. :coo2l:

Like yourself my poor body never sees sun until my annual holidays! Not sure where you are going but when I go to Italy or Spain I note that the shops seem to stock brands which have very very low factors (highest usually 8) and seem to favour the oily coconut oil ones so whilst if you run out they would be better than nothing I wouldn't depend on getting exactly what you want there. I use Gariner invisible factor 30 or 50 the liquid one) and personally find it very good, my OH burns easily and never has a problem now and it leaves no white residue. As everyone else has said, limit the exposure and remember all the tender bits as it is so easy to just lather it on arms and legs. I always pay particular attention to my chest area as I think too much sun can make this wrinkle and often use a high factor stick on moles so that they get special attention.

All in all have a lovely holiday.

Hi Etoile!

I am a redhead in Scotland too and my two teenage boys are both redheads and for about the last few years I have relied on Ultrasun both at home and on holiday in the canaries. My boys have never got burnt abroad but they have got burnt here at home because of not wearing sun cream. You do sound like you have enough cream to take with you for a week. I would use the factor 50 on your son until it runs out then use the 30. You do use a lot more on a whole body than you would imagine and of course it depends on the size of the body. With my H and two boys all being quite tall I do get through a fair amount. You can trust the Ultrasun to be effective with just one application, my own experience of Soltan is that it's not as effective but that's just my opinion. I use only Ultrasun now and even Hubby who used to use Hawian tropic factor 2 now uses Ultrasun Sports 20. I agree with Ruby that there's no need to use the face 50 on a youngster, it's got anti-ageing ingredients so would be wasted on him, keep it for yourself. I use it myself and it is a good make up base.

Have a fabulous holiday:sun:

Just bear in mind that Ultrasun isn't necessarily a once a day application, even on their own website they admit that: "Please note: extreme conditions may compromise the ‘once-a-day’ application and you may wish to re-apply. Extreme conditions include exceeding your ‘sun account’ (please see reverse for time you can safely be in the sun), extreme water exposure, extreme temperatures or exfoliation."

When I bought Ultrasun for the first time and read their accompanying leaflet which explained the 'sun account' I felt misled, because if I need to reapply several times I may as well have stuck with a regular suncream (which I now do, M&S Formula SPF30). Based on Ultrasun's sun account table for SPF 30, as skin type 2 (pale skinned, burns easily, tans lightly), not used to sun (don't get much in N.E. Scotland), and holiday in the tropics, my sun account would be 2 hours 15 minutes. I never lie in full sun anyway, you'll always find me under the shade of a tree or under huge parasol, but I did feel QVC and Ultrasun had misrepresented the product and never bought it again.