Review: KINeSYS Kids Sunscreen

My girls and I spend a lot of time outdoors when the weather permits. In fact, during the summertime, we’re outside daily, often for a good part of the morning or late afternoon. But, I try to avoid letting them play outside around the noon hour if possible, and into the early afternoon.  Why? Because of the danger of getting sunburned.

I have fair skin, as do two of my kids. My oldest has a complexion that lets her tan more than she burns, but even so – I know the dangers that too much sun exposure can bring.  Both of my parents have always loved the beach and outdoor sports, and spent their summers outside – before the dangers of too much sun exposure were known. As a kid, I can even remember my dad wearing the shiny tanning oil instead of a sunscreen – and that has caught up with him later in life. In fact, both of my parents have had skin cancers removed. And I try to be as vigilant with my kids as possible to ensure that they never have to deal with skin cancer themselves.

But, it’s difficult, when the sunscreen options out there are full of chemicals, greasy, and smell horrible. I would often rather keep my kids indoors during the ‘prime’ sun-drenched hours than have to deal with putting sunscreen on them – and washing it off later.  At least, until I discovered KINeSYS.

What it is:

KINeSYS sunscreens are the only oil and alcohol-free, preservative and PABA-free, non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection on the market. Their manufacturing is carbon-neutral, they use 100% recyclable materials and they are cruelty-free, vegan, and biodegradable. Their Kids sunscreen was rated the #1 spray sunscreen for high-efficacy/low-hazard ingredients by the Environmental Working Group and was recently awarded the Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA) award.

Courtesy of the Family Review Network, I received samples of two KINeSYS sunscreen products to try out – the SPF 30 Girl Sunscreen Spray and the Kids SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray. Below are the details of each product.

Both sunscreens provide photo-stable Broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection with Parsol® 1789, and contain a topical antioxidant  Tocopheryl Acetate(Vitamin E) to scavenge free radicals.  They both are oil-free, alcohol-free, PABA-free, and preservative-free, and very water-resistant and sweat-resistant. The sunscreens are also hypoallergenic, and non-comedogenic – the Kids SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray is fragrance-free while the SPF 30 Girl Sunscreen Spray has a Green Tea and Vanilla fragrance.

Here’s my take on it:

So, admittedly, September and October aren’t exactly the best months to be testing out sunscreens in the Midwest. Although we are outside fairly often still, the kids and I are almost always wearing long sleeves and more often than not, jackets as well. But, a little while ago we did have some ‘Indian Summer’ type of weather and I found myself digging the shorts and t-shirts back out. And I grabbed our KINeSYS samples as well.

The first thing I noticed when spraying the sunscreen on either myself or the girls, is that it sprays in a fine mist, which makes it much easier to cover exposed areas, but also easier to aim so that you’re only spraying the areas you want to cover. And within a few minutes, the ‘feeling’ of wearing sunscreen had faded, versus the greasy, ‘sunscreen-ish’ feeling that normally goes along with it. Our skin didn’t feel greasy at all, and – we didn’t smell like sunscreen. That, in and of itself, was a huge improvement.

I can’t really speak to the effectiveness necessarily – although what I can say is that none of us got sunburned while we were outside, on any of the occasions that we used the KINeSYS. I am looking forward to next summer when I’m sure we’ll put it much more to the test – and I’m confident that it will do just as well then as well.

It helps to watch the video available on the website before you use KINeSYS for the first time – just to make sure that you know you’re applying it correctly. It’s a short video and shows very clearly how to spray it on.

The bottom line:

I’ve always struggled with the necessity for applying sunscreen to myself and my kids. I know it’s necessary – vital even – to our well-being, especially given our family history of skin cancer. But I’ve always hated the greasy feeling, the smell, and the idea of putting various chemicals directly on my kids’ skin. I am thrilled with the KINeSYS sunscreens because they offer a much healthier, more natural option that seems to be just as effective, if not more so.

Where can you find it?:

You can purchase KINeSYS sunscreens directly from their online store at http://www.kinesysstore.com. Or you can find one of several retailers in Canada and the US – as an example, there are seven locations in my state which sell KINeSYS, two of which are in locations we could easily drive to. You can also purchase the products from Amazon as well. The sunscreen sells for anywhere from $15 to $18 for a 4-oz. bottle.

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