WITH the weather heating up, it’s important to make sure your kids are protected from the sun.
Roxanne Hoyle – known to her loyal fans as LadBaby Mum – shared her easy hack if you are struggling to apply sun cream on kids.
On her Instagram, she shared: “Parent hack.
“Any parents struggling with kids hating sun cream on their face, I use a blender sponge or make-up brush to help.”
Roxanne, who lives in Nottingham with husband Mark, and sons Phoenix and Kobe, then demonstrated putting some suncream on the sponge, before wiping it over her son’s face to protect him.
The hack took seconds, and provided her child with a full coverage from UV rays.
And it won’t cost a fortune either.
You can pick up a pack of 50 sponges from Shein for £11.75, working out at 23p per one.
Roxanne has racked up 1.3 million Instagram followers, five Christmas number one singles and secured brand deals with the likes of InTheStyle, Jet2 and Smyths Toys.
This follows another mum sharing her “tantrum-proof” hack of using a foundation brush for the same process.
In the clip she showed herself applying the suncream to the foundation brush first, before wiping the brush over her baby.
She added: “Share this hack with a mama!”
Many parents were impressed with the hack and said they wanted to try.
One said: “Genius.”
Another added: “I do this too. The kids tolerate it so much better and my hands don’t get all greasy.”
And a third wrote: “That’s a good idea for adults I’d say too!”
Children, and especially babies, require extra protection compared to grown-ups.
This is because their skin is more sensitive than adult skin and can become damaged if it is repeatedly exposed to sunlight.
But do we need to buy specific sunscreen targeted at kids? Experts say, no.
Matthew Gass from the British Association of Dermatologists told the Sun Online: “When it comes to sunscreen, more expensive doesn’t mean better, you want a sunscreen which meets our recommendations, but that still leaves you with a wide array of choice.
“The key is to find the sunscreen that your children are happiest with being slathered in.
Dermatologist and skincare enthusiast Andrea Suarez - known as Dr Dray - revealed why you should wear suncream.
The one thing you can do that will make the biggest difference – and this matters for all ages – is protecting your skin from the sun, Andrea stressed.
“The vast majority of external aging is due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation,” she continued, not because you’re “not using some jazzy serum or layering 90 different things on your face everyday”.
“If you’re not doing in your 20s, get on that now.”
But she said the use of sun cream alone doesn’t go far enough. Andrea urged that you also wear sun-protective clothing like broad-brimmed hats and long sleeves, on top of not staying out too long in the sun.
Doing this over your lifetime – and all year, not just during the summer or on sunny days – “will reduce the visible signs of photoageing”, Andrea said.
Those are wrinkles, muddled pigmentation and sagging skin.
“This is tricky, but there can be quite a difference in the ‘feel’ of different products so it is worth seeing if you can find one that your children prefer.”
It’s not just during the summer holidays or in hot countries that we need to make sure children are slathered in sun lotion.
From March to October, kids should be covered up with suitable clothing and wearing at least factor 30 sunscreen, he said.
It’s vital to make sure the sunblock is effective against both UVA and UVB – so you’re looking for the stars and the factor on the packaging.
The SPF is what protects from UVB – or sunburn – while UVA is the protection from sun damage all-year round.
A three-star rated product will offer between 60-79 per cent protection from UVA, while four star offers 80-89 per cent.
Of course, a five-star rated product offers the highest protection, between 90 and 100 per cent, offering maximum peace of mind.
