Banana Boat Sports Dri-Blok SPF 30

Banana Boat Sports Dri-Block SPF 30

Actives: Avobenzone 2.5%, Homosalate 10%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 2%, Oxybenzone 4%. Est. PPD 9

Inactives: water, silica, caprylyl glycol, glyceryl oleate, citrate, caprylic triglyceride, adipic acid/diethylene glycol/glycerin, crosspolymer, acrylates/vinyl isodecanoate, crosspolymer, xanthan gum, retinyl palmitate (Vitmain E), aloe barbandensis leaf extract (aloe vera), triethanolamine disodium EDTA, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, fragrance

Pros:
Texture: 5/5 “Goes on like a lotion, dries like a powder” is no exaggeration, after slathering on a generous one finger’s worth of sunscreen, it feels as if nothing is on at all after a few minutes. Very matte and light, not sticky at all, this is the best finish I have encountered.

Transparency: 5/5 No shine like one just put on grease, no white residue where there is crease, no theatrical white cast, this sunscreen is invisible. As far as cosmetics department goes, it’s second to none.

Price: 5/5 A 6 fl oz bottle costs a little more than 8 dollars. And for such a cosmetically elegant sunscreen? It’s a steal.

Cons:
UVA protection: It’s well-known that Avobenzone, a UVA absorber, breaks down rapidly when exposed to UV radiation, unless it’s stabilized, this is usually done by adding Octocrylene to the mix. In addition, the solvents of photoprotective agents influence the protection of the said agents.

AvoTriplex (Patent # 7014842) are optimizing agents that enhance UVA and UVB protection of the sunscreen. According to the patent, UVB protection with the inclusion of the optimizing agent(s) can be boosted up to 25%, and UVA protection (measured by PFA) up to 85%. Though personally I would take the UVA claim with a big grain of salt. Disregarding the enhancing effects offered by caprylyl glycol in this sunscreen, the PPD rating of this sunscreen should be about 6. With the enhanced rating computed in, the PPD could reach 9.

Overall: Sports Dri-Blok has a flawless finish, with an affordable price to boot. However, it’s a shame that the UVA protection is rather lacking. This economical sun lotion makes a good body sunscreen. The fragrance is fortunately pretty subtle.

There is also  Kids Dri-Blok, with overpoweringly cloying odor mislabeled as “fragrance”. So stay awwwway from the Kids version with bright yellow bottle. Aside from those, Kids version and Sports version are identical.  As for the Sports version: Likely to buy again.