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I've always been an advocate of 'If you forget something, no big deal. You can just buy it' while traveling. That was until I got burnt (literally once) by not having sunscreen. Two different stories of not having sunscreen while vacationing in tropical places led me to adopt a new rule of traveling: always pack plenty of sunscreen for the entire trip. Here's why…
My first experience of running out of sunscreen occurred during my trip to Thailand in March 2018. I brought along two partially filled bottles from the previous summer, assuming I could easily purchase more if needed. Little did I know about the cultural implications. In Thailand, many available sunscreens contain whitening agents, with non-whitening options being scarce and pricey.
I am all too familiar with this situation because that’s exactly what happened to me. Thailand’s intense sun had me lathering on sunscreen multiple times a day. Because of this, I ran out of sunscreen on the 4th day, while we were on the Phi Phi Islands, which meant I still had 5 days where I would need to use sunscreen.
There is one issue with running out of sunscreen in Thailand in general and one issue with running out of sunscreen on the Phi Phi Islands. The issue with running out of sunscreen in Thailand, in general, is that the majority of sunscreen sold in Thailand has whitening chemicals in it to keep the skin as white as possible. This type of sunscreen is not only very common in Thailand but is also very common in many other Asian countries. Since I wanted to get a tan while in Thailand, I needed to buy non-whitening sunscreen. When I searched for sunscreen in a pharmacy, there were shelves full of whitening sunscreen and only about 5 total bottles of non-whitening sunscreen.
The issue with running out of sunscreen while on the Phi Phi Islands is that it's an island, so all products must be imported from the mainland. This automatically inflates product prices on the island. The combined cost of importing, along with the limited supply of non-whitening sunscreen, meant that instead of paying $7 USD for a small bottle of non-whitening sunscreen, I had to pay $15 USD for a small bottle.
My second story of not having enough sunscreen occurred while I was in Belize in April 2018. When we traveled to Belize, my sister, Ashtin, and I decided to purchase sunscreen upon arrival since we were both carrying only carry-on bags, without checked luggage. If you're unfamiliar with carry-on baggage policies, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) limits liquids in carry-on baggage to 3 oz. That means we would have only been allowed to pack 3 oz bottles of sunscreen.
We stayed on the island of San Pedro while in Belize. This meant that any products we would buy (food, bottled water, sunscreen, etc.) would have been imported to the island. Because of the additional cost of importing goods and since we waited to buy sunscreen until we were on the island, we paid a premium price for a bottle of sunscreen.
Another thing you risk with buying imported sunscreen is that it may not always be stored at the right temperature or it may not be the 'freshest' product. The active ingredients in sunscreen can become inactive when they are in direct sunlight or not stored at adequate temperatures. Generally, sunscreen should be stored away from humidity and heat. Since we bought the sunscreen from a hot, humid convenience store on the island, it is likely that the sunscreen's active ingredients had been altered.
Something I wasn't previously aware of is that countries view sunscreen as different products. For example, in the United States sunscreen is viewed as a drug so it is regulated in the same way all drugs are. However, in many European countries, sunscreen is viewed as a cosmetic which means they are held to different regulations and marketing standards. This means there could be differences in active ingredients and your skin might react differently to the sunscreen. If you are buying sunscreen in another country. If you are buying sunscreen in another country, always check the ingredients to make sure it's providing enough coverage.
The second day we were in Belize, we had a full day to enjoy the sun. We went to a bar with a dock over the ocean down the road from our hotel. We were out in the sun for a few hours before we decided to go back to the room to take a nap. I woke up from my nap to the sound of Ashtin getting sick in the bathroom. When she came out, the first thing I noticed was how red and burnt her skin was. She literally looked like a hot tamale. Even though she had applied sunscreen before we went to the dock and she reapplied sunscreen throughout the few hours we were outside, she still got severely burnt to the point of sun poisoning.
I also got burnt that day, although not nearly as bad as Ashtin. My burn was basically a deep red for the next 24 hours, then it pretty much cleared up - probably because I already had a good tan from Thailand. Still, the redness of my skin was enough for a group of men passing by to look at me and say 'red like a lobster.' My sister and I are pretty certain that the sunscreen we bought and used was either expired or inactive.
There will always be uncertainties in knowing exactly how much sunscreen you will use when you're on vacation. I hope you learn from my mistakes and always pack more sunscreen than what you need, especially if you're going to an island or a country where whitening sunscreen is the norm. From now on, I will always pack more sunscreen than I need.
Until the next adventure...