Sunscreen Spray (Sun Care)

Spray sunscreen suspends filters in a fast evaporating solvent and pushes them out through a nozzle, either on a propellant in an aerosol can or by hand in a pump bottle. Reach is the reason to choose it. A back, the back of a pair of legs and anything covered in hair are all far easier to treat this way than with a lotion, and a squirming child is easier still.

The physics create the weakness. Some fraction of every spray never lands, more in any breeze. The amount that reaches skin is unknown and almost always well under the 2 milligrams per square centimeter used to test SPF. Aerosol formulas are also flammable while wet, which is why the labels warn about flames and barbecues. Pump bottles avoid the propellant and lay down a wetter, more visible spray, making it easier to see what you have covered.

Body Sunscreen is the format that fixes the dosing problem, so the sensible arrangement puts lotion down first and keeps spray for reapplication. Sunscreen Stick handles the face, which a spray never should. Chemical Sunscreen filters are used in most sprays because they atomize cleanly, and mineral versions tend to clog nozzles.

Backs, shoulders, hairy legs, sports teams between rounds and kids who will not stand still are where it earns its place. Anyone relying on it as their only sun protection is the wrong user, and so is anyone with asthma who reacts to airborne particles.

Spray close, about a hand's width away, hold each area until the skin visibly glistens, then rub it in and go over the same area a second time. Never spray onto a face: spray into your palm and apply by hand, since inhaling filters is a risk nobody has quantified. Choose a still moment, avoid spraying near an open flame until dry, wipe the nozzle so it does not block. Store the can out of the sun, because heat plus pressure is a bad combination.