Sawyer ProductsSPF 30 Stay-Put Sunscreen Lotion

Florida man says: this is the best sunscreen you can buy. I have been a loyal customer my entire life and nothing even comes close. With a history of skin cancer in my family, I'd never buy anything but this.

Every other sunscreen I've tried stops working after about an hour and you get some level of burned. This is the only one that lasts all day. The tradeoff is that it takes a healthy amount of soap and water to rinse it off. I've also used this in the water and seems to do well, but I don't have as much experience there as using this hiking and mountain biking.

Recommend: YesAlternative: SolRx, though I have had more uneven results with their current offerings as compared to years past.What makes it special? Sunscreens come in three types: Dermal bond (Sawyer Stay Put; SolRx); Film (most sunscreens - Coppertone; Neutrogena; Banana Boat; etc); or Wax (Bullfrog; Chapstick). The key advantage of dermal bonding type sunscreens is that they are highly sweat and water resistant because the UVB absorbers physically bond to the lower skin level rather than sit on the top like film or wax type sunscreens. This means the UVB absorber stays in place despite repeated exposure to water whether from sweat or immersion.Kudos. When properly applied (see below what works for me), expect 5+ hours of UVB protection despite profuse sweating or prolonged water immersion. I am very fair-skinned and burn quickly without sun protection. I only have to apply Sawyer Stay Put sunscreen ONCE in the morning and don’t get burned after hours of snorkeling or scuba diving or profuse perspiration from hiking or exercising during high UV index hours.Quibbles. Applying this product for optimal one-and-done protection is a bit of a process and can be challenging in humid environments, when you cannot prepare your skin properly, have fidgety kids, or have already badly burned skin. On oily or wet skin, it performs more like a film-based product (i.e., I need to re-apply after profuse sweating or prolonged water immersion). Some folks in our group complained of skin irritation when applied to already burned skin. For already burned skin, I recommend zinc based products as they physically reflect rather than absorb UVB/UVA light.Heads up: This product does NOT provide UVA protection and therefore is not “broad spectrum.” The FDA requires the addition of avebenzone (Parsol 1789) to be called “broad spectrum.” This chemical blocks UVA, which likely damages human skin but on an order of magnitude less than UVB. Sawyer Stay Put does not block UVA light and thus do not contain avebenzone (Parsol 1789). The manufacturer states in its literature that its decision against UVA protection is because this absorber is unstable, bonds poorly to skin, loses effectiveness within hours, and it destabilizes otherwise stabile UVB absorbers. Sawyer reasoned the small added benefit of UVA protection defeated the ‘all-day’ (more like 5-8 hours) benefits of its UVB-only, dermal bonding formulation. I agree.How to maximize dermal penetration and bonding of this product:After much trial and error, here’s what I do to achieve all-day protection with ONE application of Sawyer Stay Put sunscreen:1. Start with DRY and OIL FREE skin by scrubbing skin to receive the sunscreen with Ivory soap and a wash cloth. This step is key - I have found dermal bonding is greatly reduced when this sunscreen is applied to oily or moist skin. IMHO, when applied to oily or moist skin, it performs more like a film-based product. DO NOT apply skin moisturizer before applying this sunscreen as my wife learned the hard (burned) way.2. Apply a generous amount of sunscreen such that your skin is white with lotion. Sawyer recommends 1.25 fluid ounces for the entire body.3. Wait 20 minutes before exertion (sweating) or total water immersion. This allows the necessary time for the sunscreen to become absorbed into the lower layers of the skin.4. Pat skin with dry paper towel to remove excess sunscreen and remove the oily sheen. Because this sunscreen is a dermal bonding type, the surface oily film is unnecessary if not annoying and damaging to garments. You’ll find that after swimming, your skin will develop a matte finish yet still have UVB protection. I have founding that removing the oily sheen after 20 minutes has not affected its UVB protection.In my personal experience, when I follow the regimen above, I only need to apply Sawyer once for 5+ hour protection even with profuse sweating and/or prolonged time in the water.

*Update* 5/26/22: I’m quite light skinned and burn easily. Spent a full day in the hot New York sun in Central Park. One application to clean exposed skin after shower in the morning and I’m impressed! No burn or uncomfortable skin to speak of. Only limitation of this test was it wasn’t a workout or run/super sweat fest or swim day, but it was a hard test for effectiveness under some prolonged sun exposure. Now I think there should certainly be a caveat that no one should recommend going without the recommended regular reapplication of product, but this was effective for me for far longer than 4 hours today.—Just arrived intact with good packaging and secure, no spills.Main thing I’m impressed with is the light texture. Really spreads well and no strong scent. If this stuff performs as well as past reviews indicate with excellent water and sweat resistance as well as long duration of effectiveness, I will be very happy.Someone on questions was asking about reef safety and it is unfortunately not and the question was answered incorrectly. It does have oxybenzone which is banned in Hawaii. Also a review says something about not being UVA or B effective, also false; this is effective against both.Seems dermatology literature is semi controversial on this ingredient. Evidently it is very effective and concentrations required for reef toxicity are much higher than is produced by human wear and use (I’m all for reef and ocean life health, so I’d happily use an alternative when diving or doing other ocean activity, so not trying to be a contrarian here). Also evidence of human toxicity has not been demonstrated in people but only at extremely high concentrations in a rat model. FWIW.Hopefully this will be an effective sunscreen for the Colorado spring and summer running and hiking (should be good for ski season also). If it is, Sawyer might have a new fanboy. Price is also a huge plus.Protect your skin and the earth folks!

This is absolutely a five star product. It is the best sunscreen I have ever used for durability. It does not cause irritation in my eyes even during intense perspiration (e.g. summer cycling).I just wish it was still available in the 8 oz tube.

As others have stated, you can't just grease yourself up with this stuff. You need to be clean and dry. If you can swing that, you can enjoy a good 8-10 hours in the sun burn free. It worked for my incredibly white European fiance while she spent a few months mucking stalls for horses here in the South. She'd drink a gallon of tap water at that gig, and I was buying her SPF rated clothing and hats (polyester has an inherent spf rating, but I went full REI).. Too hot, she'd say!This stuff worked when she used it, and she could wear what she wanted. Up to 100°, 70% humidity that summer. It was a fun gig for her once she stopped coming home cherry red.But having to have that morning routine for application isn't for everyone. I think you've gotta need it.If you need it, here it is.Sawyer's insect repellant treatment for clothing is awesome too. Pretty sure that's what my old fatigues were treated with back in the Corps. Good company.