Block Island Sunscreen Review

Do you routinely wear sunscreen when you are out in the sun for extended periods of time? Whether you do or not, you likely know that you should. This is because ultraviolet rays from the sun are forms of radiation that damage the skin (this damage manifests itself as skin cancer and premature aging).

Unfortunately, a number of sunscreens purported to protect us may actually cause us harm. These contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (such as oxybenzone) and/or Vitamin A and its derivatives (retinol and retinyl palmitate), which may actually promote the development of skin cancer. You can read about what to look for and what to avoid when selecting a sunscreen in this post that I wrote a few years ago.

I want to put safe, effective sunscreens on myself and my kiddos, so I was thrilled when I received an email from Block Island Organics about an opportunity to try and review their sunscreen. This sunscreen is safe (it’s free of oxybenzone, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, dyes, and artificial fragrances) and effective (it offers broad spectrum SPF 30 protection). In fact, it’s so safe that the Environmental Working Group includes it on its list of Best Beach & Sport Sunscreens.

When we initially tried the sunscreen, the first thing I noticed is that it doesn’t have an odor. Many sunscreens we’ve used in the past, even those that were labeled as being free of fragrance, had a strange scent associated with them. This sunscreen does not. It also pours very easily from the bottle and the sunscreen has a thin consistency, which is very helpful when you’re trying to spread a layer over larger areas like arms and legs.

The sunscreen isn’t greasy and it’s lightweight. When wearing it, I don’t feel like there is anything on my skin. My girls have both climbed on the couch after I applied it to them and it didn’t leave any marks or residue on the couch. My younger daughter has pretty sensitive skin (it’s not unusual for her to get rashes when we try new skincare products), but she did fine with this! It didn’t irritate her skin at all.

I sometimes hear folks complain about mineral sunscreens leaving a white haze on their skin (sometimes referred to as “white cast”). This is a common issue because mineral sunscreens contain zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. These ingredients are physical filters. The harmful and suspect filters in sunscreens (such as oxybenzone, homosalate, and octinoxate) are chemical filters.

We did not have a problem with the Block Island Sunscreen leaving this white cast on our arms and legs, but I did have a little bit of a problem with it on my girls’ faces. I think this is because it takes longer to apply sunscreen to their faces because I’m careful to avoid their eyes and get it in all of the crevices around their little noses. This gives the sunscreen enough time to begin drying before I’m done spreading it. I usually use sunscreen in a stick form for their faces, so I’ll probably keep doing this for convenience. I do like the Block Island Sunscreen for the rest of their bodies, though.

Overall, we are quite satisfied with the sunscreen. A full-size bottle isn’t that large (only 3.4 oz.), so if you’re outdoors quite a bit, it probably won’t last you all summer. However, as I noted earlier, the sunscreen has a thin consistency (more like a lotion than a cream), so a little bit goes a long way. The size of the bottle is very convenient for tossing in a diaper bag or beach bag to carry with you!

If you’re interested in trying this sunscreen for yourself, you can visit the Block Island Organics website and use the discount code “shannon” to receive 20% off your purchase! This code is good from 5/4/18-5/13/18. They have a few products other than sunscreen, so check out their offerings and see if you’d benefit from any of their products. Block Island Organics products are also available on Amazon.

What things do you do to keep your family safe in the sun? Is regular use of an effective, safe sunscreen one of these things?

A complimentary bottle of this sunscreen was provided to me by Block Island Organics in exchange for an honest review.

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