I decided to go for something different on my hols this year for SPF and bought these two from Hawaiian Tropic purely because of the smell…it is divine! It is not a brand I had tried before and decided on the oil for myself and the cream for my husband, although maybe choosing this product for the sensational smell was a bit of a rash decision.
I had never really used an oil before as an SPF, so I don’t really know why I chose the Hawaiian Tropic Protective Dry Spray Oil SPF 20, I think I had thoughts of being a bronzed goddess basking in the sunshine in the best smelling sun oil I ever did smell! Instead, my skin went pimply, red, itchy and almost rash like. I think I got caught up in the tropical smell of this and had totally forgotten to check the ingredients, the number one being mineral oil.
Mineral oil (also known as liquid paraffin) coats the skin with a film that cannot be penetrated causing the skin to suffocate as it cannot breathe. This consequently clogs the pores and prevents the skin from absorbing moisture. Not very good especially when you are on holiday when your skin needs the moisture. It is also an irritant to some people, me included and now know that I need to avoid products containing mineral oil like the plague! All that aside, the oil itself is not too greasy and protected my medium toned skin well from the sun without getting burnt, however I will not be repurchasing this in the future.
Fortunately, I also had the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Protective Sun Lotion SPF 30 which has the same tropical smell of coconuts, papaya and mango but in a lotion. This does not contain any mineral oil so my skin was fine with this and welcomed the moisture this lotion provided. It absorbed really well into the skin, protected my skin well and provided me with the scent of summer that lingered on my skin all day…a great excuse to reapply! In contrast to the oil, I think that this is a lovely sun cream and would definitely repurchase. My husband also loved this, so would appeal to men too. This can be purchased from Boots, where it is currently half price at £7.49 for 180ml.