Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 70

3 Reviews

1. 

   wakefulWidgeon5

   Reply

   I bought a pack of this stuff on sale at Costco, and I regret it. I feel obligated to use it up because it was more expensive than most drugstore sunscreens, and I got stuck with 3 tubes instead of just 1! This stuff reminds me of medicated ointment due to its smell and its thick, white texture. It leaves difficult-to-remove white residue all over my skin and everything that I touch, sit on, or brush up against (clothes, car, purse…). I also feel like it clogs my pores because after a weekend of slathering myself with this stuff, I develop painful and lingering pimple-like bumps in weird places, like behind my ears. I looked it up and sounds like cystic acne, which totally baffled me at first- I have dry skin, no history of acne, and no hormonal reason to break out. This is honestly the worst sunscreen ever, and that’s including the cheapo no-name stuff that my mom used to buy when I was a kid that made my face feel like it was on fire.

2. 

   unhappyRuffs9

   Reply

   I, like many others, was attracted to this sunscreen because of the high spf. I think that’s the main selling point of this sunscreen. I got it last fall. I have since learned a little more about sunscreen and I think this sunscreen’s spf is too high, for me at least. Here’s what I’ve heard about spf: the spf number doesn’t tell you how complete the protection is, only how long it will last. You take the number of minutes it would normally take you to turn pink(burn or begin to tan) normally without any sunscreen and multiply that number by the spf number. Let’s say it takes me about ten minutes in the sun to start tanning/burning sans sunscreen. 10 times 70 spf equals 700. I would theoretically be able to spend seven-hundred minutes in the sun while wearing this sunscreen and not tan. Seven hundred minutes equals more than eleven hours! That may sound great, but notice I said theoretically. The truth is that I would probably sweat most of the sunscreen off in less than two hours. In the real world there is no way a sunscreen is going to last on skin for eleven hours. It needs to be reapplied every few hours regardless of spf. Furthermore, I don’t know about you, but I have NEVER spent eleven consecutive hours in the sun in my life. I need a good sunscreen because I get a lot of sun walking to and from work. But I’m only out in the sun for at most 20 minutes at a time. Unless you are a life guard, a beach bum, or a laborer I’m guessing you probably don’t spend more than a couple hours in sun at a time on an average day. And if you spend more than that, you absolutely need to reapply your sunscreen. Even if it’s spf 70. Even if it’s spf 100. So even if there isn’t a huge benefit to high spf sunscreen, can it hurt? Better safe than sorry, right? Well actually, this isn’t neccesarily the case. If you have sensitive or breakout prone skin, the higher the spf means the greater the risk of irritation or exacerbating acne. In my experience, higher spf sunscreens are more likely to be greasy, heavy and leave a whitish cast. The texture of this sunscreen is no different; greasy, heavy and occlusive. I think for the price it’s a pretty small tube as well. Especially for a product meant to be used on the body. I’ve heard that a very common problem with high spf sunscreens is that people think because the spf is so high, it’s ok to apply sparingly. I’m sure you know better, but the average consumer may not. And don’t you think selling an all-over sunscreen in such a small amount would seem to bolster or encourage such notions? “It’s pricey for such a small tube, but it’s ok, a little goes a long way.” Anyway, believe it or not, none of these things are the deal breaker for me. The deal breaker is the smell. The scent of this stuff represents everything I hate about “sunscreen-ey” smells, but amplified. I find it much too strong to ignore. I’m not against all fragrance in sunscreen, I just hate that typical fragrance associated with sunscreen. I’m not sure why, but a lot of sunscreens have this scent, or slight variations of it. It’s as though all the huge corporations that own most DS skincare and suncare lines got together and decided how sunscreen is supposed to smell. I hope you know what I’m talking about. This fragrance is potent and cloying and clashes with all of my perfumes. Actually it totally overpowers them. Lastly, I should mention that because this product is thick and doesn’t have much slip, it’s not the easiest to apply, and more importantly reapply. It takes a good amount of rubbing in to get even coverage and avoid streaking. You cannot just smooth this on in a hurry or touch it up on your face without a mirror. For all these reasons I won’t use this stuff. I much prefer my Trader Joe’s Enrich Moisturizer, plain old spf 15. It has a light silky texture that glides on so easily, it’s not greasy, and no white cast. I can pretty much just slather it on without carefully rubbing it in. I can reapply in public with no mirror. It’s completely fragrance free and very gentle on my face. Best of all it’s $4 for four oz. so I can use it all over my body for only a few cents per use. And the spf is adequate for the amount of sun I get on a daily basis.

3. 

   thriftyCoati0

   Reply

   I usually use the dry-touch SPF 30 formula, which I like a lot. I got a few little sample bottles of this SPF 70 version and threw one into my bag before heading to the coast one day.

   It did protect my skin from the sun, but I wouldn’t recommend this. It doesn’t absorb into the skin, but sits on top in white swirls and crumbles. It’s actually even sort of tough it wash off in the shower. Makes skin feel icky.

   Stick to the SPF 30 version of this and you’ll be happy.