How to prevent Sunscreen Stains

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

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.