Green People suncream

Anyone know why they don't do SPF 50? The highest they have is SPF 25.
I did hear recently that SPF 50 is only 1% more protective than SPF 25, but not sure if that is true or not. Also heard that in England, we generally don't need more than SPF 15, but also not sure how true this is either! Anyone recommend the Green People suncream, or something similar? We just have Boots own at the moment but generally try to keep out of the sun if we can so don't use it a whole lot TBH.

SPF is not a very useful way of rating the effectiveness of sunscreens. Protection depends on factors such as your skin type, the intensity of the sun where you are in the world and the time of day it is, the amount applied and frequency of re-application (most people do not put on nearly enough, often enough), activities (you need to re-apply more often if swimming) and the amount of sunscreen your skin absorbs (which itself is a worry as many sunscreen ingredients are known carcinogens).

You are right that there is very little difference between Factor 15 (94%) and Factor 50 (97%).

SPF15 or above is fine, keep them covered up (loose clothing and a hat) and indoors at midday. Also, regular exposure to sunlight builds up vitamin D levels (which also help protect against the sun) so it's better to apply sun screen about 20 minutes (depending on factors above) after you go out not before.

DD2 uses Green People or Lavera. She has a sun allergy (inherited genetic condition). She applies it about 20 minutes after she goes out during the summer months and finds both of them great.

Oh thanks, great info! Seems like Factor 50 is a waste of money then

Hiya.
I rarely use suncream when at home. Just do exactly as Morag has mentioned. When at the beach i use Liz Earle sun factor 25 (no chemical nasties), always a hat and loose clothing. Vitamin D is of paramount importance for a healthy immunity, even more so if there are autoimmune diseases in the family.

We've used Green People and it works well (as do Lavera, Pure Nuff Stuff, Badger )

I have some here too, its great! and you can usually get a special offer on it in summer. Another reason they don't do factor 50, may be partly to do with people thinking they can leave it longer between applications than they would with factor 25, but the frequency does matter, moreso than the strength of the cream. My sis has excema and as a child she always got a factor 65 suncream prescribed, it was sooo thick and smelled foul, and probably didn't help the excema!