Why wouldn't sun screen work on a person?

How often did you put the sunblock on her? How often did she towel off? She may have rubbed it off. I know that I have to reapply the lotion every hour or so regardless of what the label says.

Perhaps because your daughter is fair skinned she needs you to reapply the sunscreen every hour to make sure it is still on and protecting her? The best thing for little kids out in the sun is a swimming t shirt (you know those lycra ones) and a wide brim hat as well as the sunscreen. Having a big umbrella might help, so that when she is not playing she can sit in the shade with you and not get burnt.

Seems very strange, Im sure that you all put on the sunscreen at the same time. I say this because they have done a report here in Australia and the most effective way to use sunscreen is to actually put it on a half hour before you actually go out into the sun, so it had time to soak into the skin and work.

Did you apply the sunscreen the reccommended 30mins to 1 hour before going out in the sun? If not, this might be the reason. Another thing that you can do is look for a sunscreen that contains "Parsol 1789" this is a really great sunscreen ingredient but hardly any brands have this in them. I have found one it was made by Coppertone, but not all of the Coppertone products contain it. Just look on the back on the contents to see if it does. Good luck, I hope that this will help protect your daughter.

You might want to report it to the manufacturer of the sunsceen. Although, the rest of you didn't burn, so maybe it wasn't the sunscreen. One time I used a new sunscreen on my daughter and she burned very bad. I called the company and they had me send the tube back to them and they told me that they have had similiar reports regarding that same lotion. If you have hawaiian tropic lotion in your area, they have one that is a 50spf. It is the thickest lotion I have ever used. It feels like paste when you put it on the child, but it sure does work! Also, when picking out lotion, make sure that it is approved by the cancer association~ I think that is what it is called. It says it on the back of the tube. One other thing that came to mind...is your daughter on an antibiotic or any medicine? Sometimes when on medication you tend to burn regardless of the lotions used.

Even if they're not fair skinned, children do tend to burn easier than adults. Sunscreen should be reapplied every so often. My son's sunscreen says that the sunscreen wears off after about 80 minutes, so I reapply his every hour.

Since you used a new tube and all of you used it and only she got burnt I doubt it as the sunscreen itself at fault. You already said she wasn't fair skin so not likely to be more prone to burning. If she rubbed it off or something similar that could be the cause. Is she on any medication? Many, many medications cause people to burn faster. Also some foods can as well. So it could be an outside factor that caused the problem and not your daughter or the sunscreen. If she is on medication then check with the pharmacist to see if that could be the cause.

Sunscreen only has a year of working once opened so every summer be sure to buy a new one. I know that different countries have different regulations but the UK isn't exactly stuck in old times. For sunscreen to be labelled waterproof it should be able to be on someones hand dipped in water and taken back out, dipped in again and should still be traces of it. They don'y test it on someone actually swimming. You should also apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going out in the sun as this is how long it takes for it to absorb in and not just slide off.

My first thought was going to be that maybe it was an old tube. I usually toss them out because I'm not sure if they keep working indefinately. Maybe it had been on the store shelf for a long time? Another thing that comes to mind is maybe it isn't a sunburn, but some sort of allergic reaction to an ingredient in the sun screen? Other than that I have no idea!

I would have no idea but it is a odd. I wonder did she have cream on before the sunburn cream maybe something oil based. I hope she feels better, nothing worse than sunburn. Its odd that you used too different types and it still didnt work. We have zinc here which is a block out and it comes in all colours.

OK, coming from me. I have a son that has a genetic condition and he has to be protected with sunscreeen 24/7. Even in the fall, winter, rainy weather, hot weather. Make sure the sunscreen protects against both UVA AND UVB rays. AND remember that sunscreens work differently on adults as they do on children. My son can only use 2 different ones. One is by Lancome that is an SPF 30 for very sensitive skins and is extremely water RESISTENT--remember that word, resitent! That doesn't mean it's waterproof by any means, but it will last longer than one that is not. The other is by AVON it is the SPF 30 cool and fabulous with Bug Guard Plus. Much less expensive than the 1st one and it works GREAT!!! I can use pretty much anything. And according to our skin doctor.... ignore the bottles that say kids or for babies. It doesn't matter except on the smallest of kids. Plus, some peoples skin just is picky. 1 kind will work on me, but not my husband. It's trial and error. Good Luck!

My be the skin is very senitive. Try with some more brands.

UVB rays.....

This is weird. Because I am VERY fair skinned myself, I use a ton of sunscreen and it works out well.

As much as they say sunscreen is waterproof. It is not completely 100% waterproof. If you read the label it says to reapply it often, especially if you are in the water alot. It does wear off and doesn't last forever. A good general rule of thumb is to apply it every hour especially if you are in the water alot. So the only thing I can think of is maybe she should have reapplied a few times while outside. I use a childrens one on my kids and make sure to reapply it every hour and my daughter is very fair skinned and has never been burnt.