The best sunscreen for kids and babies

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Alicia BetzAug 24, 2020, 20:23 IST
The best sunscreen for kids and babies
  • Sunscreen is a must to protect kids' skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays, but not all sunscreens are created equal.
  • We consulted three dermatologists and tested more than 30 different kids' sunscreens, including physical and chemical options, to come up with our top picks.
  • All Good Kids' Sunscreen is the best one we tested because it's easy to rub in, sensitive on delicate young skin, and even has ingredients that help repair skin.
  • This article was medically reviewed by Sharleen St. Surin-Lord, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Visage Dermatology and assistant professor of dermatology at Howard University.

My least favorite part of any summer outing with my daughter is applying and reapplying sunscreen, and I know many parents agree. As annoying as it can be, we all know that it's necessary to protect our kids' skin.

Choosing the right sunscreen is almost as frustrating as applying sunscreen — with so many options and potentially harmful ingredients, it's hard to know which one to choose.

To help you find the best sunscreen for children, we researched and tested a variety of options and consulted three board-certified dermatologists: Dr. Tsippora Shainhouse, MD, Dr. David Fieleke, MD, and Dr. Debra Jaliman, MD.

What makes a good sunscreen?
  • Broad spectrum: A good sunscreen should protect your child from both UVA and UVB rays, according to all three dermatologists we spoke to. Both types of rays can lead to skin aging and the development of skin cancer, so it's crucial you protect skin from both.
  • Sun protection factor (SPF): SPF is used to measure protection against UVB but not UVA rays. According to Shainhouse and Jaliman, a good kids' sunscreen should be SPF 30 or higher.
  • Water resistance: Even if your child isn't getting in the water, they are still sweating, so a water-resistant sunscreen is always ideal. Don't let a water-resistant sunscreen fool you, though. Fieleke warned that you still need to reapply water-resistant sunscreens often.
  • Scent and fragrance: Some people love that summery smell of sunscreen, while others would rather do without the scent. Fragrances are usually made of chemicals that don't need to be specifically disclosed on the ingredient list. Some dermatologists, like Jaliman, advise against scent and fragrance. On the other hand, Fieleke noted that an appealing scent can make kids more likely to actually apply the sunscreen. Ultimately, it comes down to preference, and we've included scented and unscented products in this guide.
  • Reef-safe: Many people look for reef-safe products, but that term is not regulated. A product can claim to be reef-safe without backing up the claim. Learn more about this in our reef-safe category.
How we tested

For this guide, I tested more than 30 different sunscreens. I used each sunscreen multiple times on myself and my two-year-old daughter — we both have very fair, sensitive skin. For each sunscreen, I evaluated smell, consistency, how easy it was to rub in, whether it left a white residue, and how it felt once rubbed in. With the exception of Blue Lizard, which I used all last summer with my daughter, we tested editorial review samples provided by each brand.

Here are the best sunscreens for kids and babies:
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The best kids' sunscreen overall

The best kids' sunscreen overall
All good kids sunscreen; Business Insider
Unlike many physical sunscreens, All Good Kids' Sunscreen rubs in quickly and easily and includes ingredients that soothe your child's skin.

All Good Kids' Sunscreen is a mineral-based sunscreen with non-nano zinc as the active ingredient, and it checks all of our boxes for a good kids' sunscreen. One of the first things that stood out with this sunscreen was how easily it rubbed into my daughter's skin.

Some of the physical sunscreens require a lot of rubbing and tugging on her skin, but this one just glides on so smoothly. I even tried it alongside a chemical sunscreen, and they took the same amount of time to rub in. Once it's rubbed in, it does remain slightly white, but after a few minutes, the white faded.

It feels smooth and not greasy, and I feel good putting it on my daughter knowing it contains ingredients like organic aloe, calendula, and chamomile that help soothe and repair her skin. The sunscreen is broad spectrum SPF 30, and it's water-resistant for 80 minutes.

Jaliman recommends All Good Kids' Sunscreen. She said that it doesn't have harmful chemicals that could cause skin irritation and that it contains chamomile, which is soothing for the skin.

The only major downside I've found is that it only comes in a 3-ounce tube, so if you have a lot of kids, or if you're spending the whole day outside, you'll go through a tube very quickly.

Pros: Smooth and rubs in well, includes ingredients that soothe skin, uses non-nano zinc

Cons: Small tube size

The best kids' stick sunscreen

The best kids' stick sunscreen
California baby kids sunscreen; Business Insider
California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen Stick is concentrated to provide excellent coverage of sensitive and high-exposure areas yet goes on almost clear.

Of all the stick sunscreens we tested, the SPF 30+ broad spectrum California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen Stick rubbed in the easiest. This stick goes on almost clear and doesn't require much rubbing. It's a physical sunscreen that uses non-nano titanium dioxide as the active ingredient.

Once I have the sunscreen rubbed in, it's not greasy or sticky at all, and there's no scent since it's fragrance-free. It's also water-resistant for 80 minutes. The super sensitive formula is tear-free, which is why we love the stick form for getting to those sensitive areas on the face, especially around the eyes.

Shainhouse recommends California Baby sunscreens. The sunscreen stick is more concentrated than its other products, helping ensure vulnerable areas like the face and tops of the ears are well protected. It never leaves my daughter's skin irritated or red, and the sensitive formula is also gluten, soy, oat, dairy, and fragrance free.

The only major con I've found with this stick is that parts of the tube are made of cardboard, which can get soggy from contact with water.

Pros: Concentrated formula for high-exposure areas, tear-free sensitive formula, doesn't require a lot of rubbing, non-nano titanium dioxide

Cons: Comes in a cardboard tube

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The best sunscreen for babies

The best sunscreen for babies
Blue lizard kids sunscreen; Business Insider
Blue Lizard Baby sunscreen is a gentle physical sunscreen with a color-changing bottle to remind you to reapply.

If your mind is in a fog thanks to the sleepless of nights of new parenthood, Blue Lizard Baby Mineral Sunscreen is a great option because the cap (or the bottle, depending on the packing you choose) changes color when it's exposed to UV rays. Last summer, when my daughter was a baby, this was so helpful to me, especially because it was the first time in my life I had to remember to apply sunscreen to someone other than myself.

This broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen rubs in well for a physical sunscreen, and I found that the consistency was perfect for my daughter's skin when she was a baby. It wasn't too thick, and I didn't have to tug too much at her delicate skin to rub it in. The active ingredients include both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, as nano particles.

Blue Lizard Baby is fragrance-free and water-resistant for up to 40 minutes. While it rubs in smoothly and doesn't leave my daughter's skin greasy, it does leave skin a bit more moist than some of our other top picks.

"It is safe to apply sunscreen once babies are 6 months old. However, sunscreen can be applied to local areas — cheeks, hands — in younger infants," Shainhouse said. When protecting your baby from the sun, it's always a good idea to opt for shade and sun-protective clothing as a first line of defense.

Pros: Cap changes color to remind you to reapply, easy to rub in on delicate skin, not greasy

Cons: Contains nano particles, leaves skin slightly damp

The best kids' reef-safe sunscreen

The best kids' reef-safe sunscreen
Thinksport kids sunscreen; Business Insider
Thinksport Kids Safe Sunscreen is a soothing physical sunscreen that excludes a long list of ingredients that are potentially harmful to coral reefs.

Thinksport Kids Safe Sunscreen is an SPF 50+ broad-spectrum physical sunscreen that does not contain any chemicals known to be harmful to coral reefs and is water-resistant for 80 minutes.

In 2018, Hawaii began banning sunscreen containing two chemicals known to be harmful to coral reefs: oxybenzone and octinoxate. In 2021, Key West will follow suit. In addition to those chemicals, there are other ingredients in both chemical and mineral sunscreens that may be harmful to coral reefs, but there is no official definition of "reef-safe" or "reef-friendly," so companies don't need to prove their reef-safe claims. Thinksport Kids Safe Sunscreen, however, is free of oxybenzone, octinoxate, and many other ingredients that might potentially be harmful to coral reefs.

The active ingredient in Thinksport Kids Safe Sunscreen is non-nano zinc oxide. While it doesn't have added fragrance, the company told me that they use essential oils, specifically papaya lychee in the kids' sunscreen. This gives it a light, pleasant scent. They also use ingredients that are soothing to skin, such as aloe and jojoba oil, so I feel good about putting this sunscreen on my daughter.

This sunscreen was on the thicker side, so it does take some more rubbing in than the others in our guide. Once the sunscreen was rubbed in, it did not leave my skin greasy where I applied it.

Pros: Uses non-nano minerals, free of all known ingredients that are potentially harmful to coral reefs, includes skin-soothing ingredients

Cons: Leaves fingers greasy

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What else we considered

What else we considered
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We researched and tested more than 30 different sunscreens, so choosing our favorites was a hard task. Here are a few that we liked but ultimately came up short.

Types of sunscreen

Types of sunscreen
All good kids sunscreen; Blue lizard kids sunscreen; California baby kids sunscreen; Thinksport kids sunscreen; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

It's important to understand the difference between physical and chemical sunscreens. In years past, most of us used chemical sunscreens without knowing there was another option, but recently, physical sunscreens have become much more popular.

Shainhouse and Jaliman explained how each works. "Chemical sunscreens are rubbed into the skin, and they absorb the UV rays and break them down as they hit the skin surface," Shainhouse said.

"A physical sunscreen contains mineral ingredients, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide and it sits on top of the skin to deflect and distribute damaging UV rays away from the skin," Jaliman explained.

According to Shainhouse, while it hasn't been proven by evidence, there is some concern that micronized minerals in physical sunscreen can be absorbed deep into the skin. Although it is unlikely that these micronized minerals cause damage, you can avoid them by choosing mineral sunscreens that use non-nano particles.

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Ingredients in sunscreen

Ingredients in sunscreen
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The most common active ingredients found in chemical sunscreens in the United States are ensulizole, octisalate, homosalate, octocrylene, octinoxate, oxybenzone, and avobenzone. The most common active ingredients in physical sunscreens are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

As of right now, the FDA has classified only the active ingredients in physical sunscreens as generally recognized as safe and effective.

They have not given this distinction to any of the active ingredients in chemical sunscreens, but this may change as they get more data. While the ingredients in chemical sunscreens have not been proven to be harmful, some parents prefer to go with the ingredients in physical sunscreens that are thought to be safe at this point.

Two of the common chemical sunscreen ingredients have come under more scrutiny than the rest: oxybenzone and octinoxate. According to Shainhouse, they "have demonstrated possible hormone-disrupting behaviors in animals when they consume large quantities of the chemical." These chemicals have also been found to be harmful to coral reefs. For these reasons, we did not include any sunscreens with oxybenzone or octinoxate in this guide.

Despite the ingredients in physical sunscreens potentially being safer, many people still prefer chemical sunscreens because they are typically easier to rub in, and they don't leave a white layer on the skin like many physical sunscreens do. Because there is no conclusive evidence proving the ingredients in chemical sunscreens are harmful, we tested both physical and chemical sunscreens for this guide. However, physical sunscreens landed in the top spots after testing.

What really matters, according to all the dermatologists we spoke to, is that you protect your children from the sun. If you can only get your kids to use a chemical sunscreen with a fragrance, then that's better than nothing. "We know ultraviolet light is a carcinogen. There's no doubt about it. There are some fears out there about ingredients, but that's all just kind of hypothetical, so what I like people to know is that we know for certain sun protection is important for your overall health and well-being," Fieleke said.

How to apply sunscreen

How to apply sunscreen
Erik Isakson/Getty Images
  • Before you apply, check your bottle — most sunscreens expire within a year or two.
  • Always apply 15 to 30 minutes prior to sun exposure.
  • Shake the bottle.
  • Spread a thick coat over all skin that will be exposed to the sun.
  • Don't forget often-missed places: head, hair part, hairline, ears, feet, back, back of the neck, and lips (I like All Good's SPF 20 coconut lip balm).
  • As a general rule, use about 1 ounce of sunscreen per person, or the size of a golf ball.
  • When using lotion sunscreen, a good technique to ensure even coverage is to put dots of sunscreen about an inch apart, then rub it in by connecting the dots. This technique can even be fun and encourage kids to put on their sunscreen.
  • With stick sunscreen, you'll want to run the stick back and forth four times on each area of skin you're covering, then rub it in with your hand when you're done. Applying only one pass likely won't provide enough coverage. Get help with application to your back.
  • Don't forget to reapply often: after swimming, sweating, or toweling off. If your kids aren't getting wet or rubbing their sunscreen off, reapply at least every two hours.
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Sun safety tips for kids

Sun safety tips for kids
Shannon Banal/Getty Images

Sunscreen helps protect your children, but it shouldn't be your only line of defense against the sun. "Sunscreen is a very small part of sun-protective behavior, and while it's important, avoiding peak hours, seeking shade, wearing sun-protective clothing … those are all actually better than sunscreen," Fieleke said.

In addition to using sunscreen, here are some simple things you can do to protect your children from the sun's harmful rays:

  • Wear sun-protective clothing. I like Lark Adventurewear's soft UPF clothing. Read my full review here. When swimming, consider a long-sleeve rash guard to protect your child's skin.
  • Wear hats. A sun hat with a brim all the way around can help protect your child's face, ears, and neck.
  • Wear sunglasses. UV rays can be damaging to the eyes, and it can be difficult to apply sunscreen on the sensitive skin near your child's eyes. Remember that sunglasses should be replaced every 2 years, sooner if you are work in the sun. Read our review of WeeFarer Children's Sunglasses here.
  • Seek shade. This can be a tree, umbrella, covered patio, or the canopy on a stroller.
  • Avoid peak hours. Seek shade or stay inside as much as possible from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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