7 Best Sunscreens for Kids and Babies (And Score 30% Off Our Favorite One!)
Trying to figure out the best sunscreen for kids and babies? We’ve got you covered!
Protect those babies! ☀️
On the hunt for the best sunscreen for kids and babies? These are the top-rated ones for 2022 that are safe as they are effective. Get ready for summer fun!
When choosing the best (and worst) sunscreens on our lists below, we onlinepiled reputable feedback from Consumer Reports and EWG to give you the highest-rated & best-tested sunscreens on the market.
*Keep in mind, it’s reonlinemended to consult with your family physician when considering any sun protection for babies under the age of 6 months.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, while it’s super important to have a great sunscreen, it’s just as important to apply it correctly for the ultimate effectiveness.
Here are the steps to follow when protecting all children against the sun:
- Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher.
- Limit sun exposure and the amount of time outside.
- Always check the expiration date to make sure it’s still good.
- Apply it generously – 1 shot glass is the average amount used to cover your body.
- Make sure to apply sunscreen thoroughly and be sure to cover hard-to-reach places (scalp, ears, back of the neck, etc.)
- Apply about 15 minutes before going out in the sun.
- Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours when out in the sun.
- Wear sunscreen every day – regardless of the weather, the sun can damage your skin so stay protected.
Hip Tip: SPF Sunscreen is eligible for reimbursement with FSA, HSA, and HRA accounts. A broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 15+ protection (and above) is FSA and HSA eligible! And to make shopping for these products even easier, Amazon now has an FSA & HSA Store!
*For more information on sun safety for children and babies, head over to skincancerinfo.org.
Here are the best sunscreens to buy for kids & baby:
- Pipette Mineral Sunscreen – Best cream sunscreen
- Trader Joe’s Spray Sunscreen – Best spray sunscreen
- Blue Lizard Baby Sunscreen – Best unique sunscreen
- Made Of Sunscreen – Best clean sunscreen
- Badger Baby Mineral Sunscreen – Best sustainable sunscreen
- Thinkbaby Sunscreen – Best vegan sunscreen
- Baby Bum Sunscreen Face Stick – Best stick sunscreen
1. Pipette Mineral Sunscreen is a safe, fragrance-free kid’s sunscreen I’ve been using since last summer.
Best cream sunscreen
Warm weather is here and Pipette will hit all the marks if you’ve been searching for a sunscreen you’ll feel good about putting on your kiddos.
It’s a true baby-friendly & reef-friendly sunscreen, packed with powerful SPF 50, and uses 100% mineral, non-nano zinc oxide for broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection! It’s even fragrance-free, so it’s sensitive enough for all skin types.
Pipette sunscreen is made with non-onlineedogenic & real ingredients you can trust, like wild gooseberry extract, plant-derived antioxidant bisabolol, and sugarcane-derived squalane (a skin-moisturizing superhero all babies are born with), and so much more!
For just $5, it’s also available in a travel size.
Better yet, it goes on so easily, rubs in quickly, is also great for little ones’ faces, and isn’t greasy whatsoever! 👏 YES, YES, YES! 👏
2. Trader Joe’s sunscreen has the best ratings of all the sunscreens.
Best spray sunscreen
Trader Joe’s Spray Sunscreen – $14.49 on Amazon
- Or buy it in-store at Trader Joe’s for just $6 each! (Prices may vary by store.)
Trader Joe’s offers an effective spray-on sunscreen and is surprisingly one of the greatest on the market according to many research sites. While it’s not necessarily marketed for kids, it’s great for anyone with its easy spray design. It provides UVA & UVB protection, contains skin-nourishing ingredients like aloe, vitamin E, and coconut oil, is water-resistant, and the SPF more than meets the Skin Cancer Foundation standards!
The best part? It’s only $6 a can in Trader Joe’s stores. However, you can get it shipped right to your door on Amazon for under $15.
3. Blue Lizard baby sunscreen is the #1 reonlinemended brand by pediatricians.
Best unique sunscreen
Make no mistakes and start buying this baby sunscreen for your kiddos if you’re big on listening to whatever the doctor ordered. A top choice among many other options on the shelf, this sunscreen is also known to be the #1 mineral-based sunscreen brand by pediatricians.
This Blue Lizard formula contains absolutely no fragrances or parabens so it’s suitable for even the most sensitive baby skin. Best of all, the “smart bottle” it onlinees in turns itself pink wherever there are harmful UV rays so you’ll always know when it’s time to reapply. 😱
4. The Made Of sunscreen is certified organic & made of plant-based ingredients.
Best clean sunscreen
Made Of Sunscreen – $17.99 (regularly $19)
Clip the coupon for 10% off at checkout
Final cost just $16.19
Choose this sunscreen for one of the cleanest lotions offered to cover your baby from head to toe! In fact, grab one for you too, mama, because even parents are raving about the effectiveness of this formula!
Rated a 1 on EWG (which is the best), it also earns many other reputable brag rights such as meeting the NSF Organic Standard, being certified gluten-free, and being even a USDA certified biobased product. Plus, it’s crafted with only the best organic ingredients such as beeswax, raspberry seed oil, and cocoa seed butter. On top of that, their 75% organic to 25% natural claims are even backed by strenuous lab testing so everyone can buy with confidence. 🙌
5. Badger Baby Mineral Sunscreen is pediatrician tested and meets all of EWG’s criteria.
Best sustainable sunscreen
Badger Baby Mineral Sunscreen – $17.99
- Thrive Market member? Score this Badger Baby sunscreen for just $14.29 with your next order!
This pediatrician-tested sunscreen is gluten-free, hypoallergenic, formulated with 98% organic ingredients, and meets all of EWG’s requirements. It’s also just as effective as it is gentle on your skin with the active ingredient, zinc oxide, and nourishing ingredients like sunflower oil, jojoba, and beeswax leaves.
This mineral sunscreen is a great choice for any parent if your goal is to find quality sunscreen from a trusted and reputable brand. Even better, it’s a sustainable choice considering it’s reef-friendly, certified cruelty-free, packaged in a 50% PCR tube, and made with clean solar power. WOW! 🤯
6. Thinkbaby sunscreen is vegan and is the #1 best-seller in baby sun protection.
Best vegan sunscreen
Thinkbaby Sunscreen – $18.49 (regularly $23.99)
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Rated as the #1 best seller in baby sun protection on Amazon and boasting over 6,000 5-star reviews on Amazon, this baby sunscreen is already a no-brainer if you’re looking for the best sunscreen for kids! This broad-spectrum UVA & UVB sunscreen has 50 SPF and is astoundingly water-resistant for up to 80 minutes which means more fun in the sun!
With stellar reviews, it also has many other impressive qualities such as being vegan and Leaping Bunny certified which means this sunscreen contains no PABA, parabens, phthalates, BPA, oxybenzone, avobenzone, petroleum, gluten, dairy, or toxic chemicals. 👏🏻
7. Baby Bum Sunscreen Face Stick is made in the USA and is a great travel-friendly sunscreen.
Best stick sunscreen
Baby Bum Sunscreen Face Stick – $9.97
Headed for a family vacation and need something travel-friendly? The Baby Bum sunscreen stick is perfect for little ones’ faces and will make application a cinch. It’s also moisturizing (without being oily) and is fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, pediatrician-tested, and dermatologist-tested so it’s a great option for all skin types.
To top it off, this dye-free and vegan sunscreen is packed with restorative oils and is also cruelty-free. Even better, it’s free from gluten, parabens, formaldehyde glycol, propylene glycol, petrolatum, petroleum, phthalate, sulfates, silicone, talc, and mineral oils! 😱
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Here’s one popular kid’s sunscreen to totally avoid:
Babyganics Mineral-Based Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50
This popular sunscreen formulated for babies fell wildly short of the 50 SPF claim as it tested under SPF 10! It was also reported to have below-average protection against UVA rays and cast a white, greasy film on the skin. In fact, it performed the absolute worst out of all the tested sunscreens on Consumer Reports. No, thank you!
You’re going to want to try all of these beach hacks this summer!
