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How to prevent Sunscreen Stains

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How to Prevent Sunscreen Stains – B.B. Titanium Dioxide Sunscreen – $25.99 for Three

The proof is in the Maytag.
The proof is in the Maytag.

Avobenzone and Iron don’t mix.  Well… that’s not quite true.  They do mix, and the reaction between that common chemical sunscreen and high-iron tap water creates rust.  Which is precisely why you’ve got orange and brown stains all over your white clothes.  And you thought you had just developed a nasty case of ring around the collar.

Don’t believe me?  Take a look at that sock to your right.  That’s an experiment done by a mom (which you can read all about here) and the top three sunscreens left no stains after a wash.  Why?  No Avobenzone.

Avobenzone goes by a bunch of different names, so check to make sure you’re not using a sunscreen with any of these common active ingredients:

Avobenzone
Butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane
Parsol 1789
Eusolex 9020
Escalol 517

If you live in an area with lots of iron in the water, use a sunscreen that has Titanium Dixoide or Zinc Oxide as the main active ingredient.  Avobenzone absorbs into your skin and then soaks up the rays before they start doing damage.  Titanium Dixoide, even though it rubs in, sits on top of your skin and bounces the rays off.  It works just as well, and feels less greasy going on.

Don’t assume that more expensive sunscreens will do less staining.  I was on a hike with my wife last week, needed some sunscreen, and borrowed my wife’s fancy pants bottle of Arbonne. It destroyed the shirt that I was wearing once it went through the wash. I loved that shirt. And now its been reduced to a car wash rag. Stick with this: Banana Boat Kids Hypoallergenic SPF 30.  That uses Titanium Dioxide and goes on easily.  It’ll help you prevent the slow destruction of your skin, and the quick destruction of your clothes… all at once.

Now that you know why your whites are stained, do you need new ones?  Try this Mossimo Polo for only $7.99.

Mossimo at ShopStyle

Comments

  2. Thanks for the recommendation. Also note that those who might be taken back by the SPF 30 on that, 30 is just fine. The effectiveness of SPF is almost on a negative exponential curve, meaning the higher you go the less of a difference it makes. Take this quote from skincancer.org for instance:

    “Another way to look at it is in terms of percentages: SPF 15 blocks approximately 93 percent of all incoming UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97 percent; and SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. They may seem like negligible differences, but if you are light-sensitive, or have a history of skin cancer, those extra percentages will make a difference. And as you can see, no sunscreen can block all UV rays.”

    So there is a sizable jump from 15 to 30, but only 1% difference from 30 to 50. Above that it is even less of a difference in effectiveness.

    Also, the SPF determines how long you can be exposed before needing to re-apply. So if you can last 20 minutes normally before seeing red/pinkness an SPF 30 will last 30 times that long, so 600 minutes or 10 hours! However, due to normal sweating, clothes, and other wear and tear all sunscreen regardless of SPF should be re-applied every 2 hours or so.

    So in the end, if you are really concerned by the sun the SPF 50 might be ok for you, but 30 is fine for most people. Those expensive “Ultra Protection” SPF 80’s you can get are really just a waste of money because the amount of protection they give over 50 really is miniscule. (Note it is impossible to get 100% protection).

  3. Another way to avoid stains on your white clothes: don’t let your girlfriend or spouse wear them. My girlfriend used to like to wear my t-shirts and over the course of a day her makeup would wear off on it around the neck area. Had to throw away all my bad ones and hide my good ones.