Badger Balm Natural SPF30 Sunblock Review
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free skin care · Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:02 pm

Active Ingredient: 20.5% Micronized Zinc Oxide
Other Ingredients: Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Natural Beeswax, Jojoba Oil, Organic Cocoa Butter, Wild African Shea Butter, Organic CO2 Extract of Seabuckthorn Berry, and Essential Oils of Lavender, Moroccan Blue Tansy, Ylang Ylang, Lime, and Orange.

As you can see, this is a true all-natural product, free of potentially harmful chemicals and rich in antioxidants and beneficial essential oils and carrier oils. I really wanted to like this product, but I think my quest for the perfect uva/uvb sunblock continues. Don't get me wrong, it does a great job of protecting my skin from UVB (probably UVA too) rays, and I know this from a weekend I spent in the Florida Keys (sun burn free!) and I have the fairest burn prone skin I can imagine (oh joy). I can't vouch for the UVA of course, but my educated guess is that the high concentration of zinc oxide aided in protecting my skin from those too. My only gripe about the ingredients are that this product contains lime and orange distilled oils, which are known photo-sensitizers. I don't know the concentration of these ingredients in the product though, so it may only be a tiny amount, regardless the high concentration of zinc oxide may make up for it, but it just bothers me when there are photo-sensitizers in my sunblock. I would have still been elated with this sunblock if my complaints end there, but alas, it is a zinc oxide sunblock, even though it is advertised as "non-whitening" it did leave a very thick cast of white on my skin. I may have still loved this sunblock if my complaints ended there... but here's my least favorite part: It never really seems to dry or absorb into my skin. It feels very heavy and wet all day, and therefore it is very easy to rub off. When I wear it, I constantly not only have a white cast to my face, but a very, very noticeable oily shine to it. The thickness makes the Florida heat even worse, not only do I look painted white and super shiny but it also caused me to sweat a lot more than I normally do when outside.
So, I've almost used my entire bottle up in the past two months and every day I apply it I try to like it, but I know I probably won't be purchasing it again for daily use at least. Despite my complaints, I think this would be an excellent product to use after chemical peels or when your skin is very aggravated and you must go outside since the carrier oils, lavender essential oil, beeswax, and the zinc oxide all promote healing and are ant-inflammatory. It is also super hydrating, so since I know I don't really care what my skin looks like 3 days after a TCA peel because I realize there is nothing I can do to make my skin look better until it peels off, during those rare occasions when I do need to leave my house looking like a burn victim I think that this will be my sunblock:)

free skin care · Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:12 am

Hi Dealated

Thanks for the review. It's very thorough. I don't tend to go for natural products anyway, but it's good to get the sunscreens ticked off your list without having to try them all yourself.

Molly Cool

free skin care · Sun Sep 10, 2006 8:08 pm

Hi delated,

thanks for the review. after trying badger balm's lip balm with spf, i was scared to try the sunscreen, and now you're reaffirmed my fears. lip balm spf is even worse than their sunscreen it sounds, it turned my lips WHITE. i wrote a review on it not so long ago...

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=15307&highlight=badger+balm

i would definitely stick to badger balms regular stuff, their chai lip balm i do like.

free skin care · Sun Sep 10, 2006 8:58 pm

skincareaddicted wrote:

Hi delated,

thanks for the review. after trying badger balm's lip balm with spf, i was scared to try the sunscreen, and now you're reaffirmed my fears. lip balm spf is even worse than their sunscreen it sounds, it turned my lips WHITE. i wrote a review on it not so long ago...

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=15307&highlight=badger+balm

i would definitely stick to badger balms regular stuff, their chai lip balm i do like.

Oh no! I used to want to try the badger lip sunblock because I absolutely lovelovelove the regular stuff, I guess I just forgot about tryingit. Yikes, thanks for telling me! I won't even waste my time(and $$).

free skin care · Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:25 am

I found a 3.9 oz. bottle [the additional ounce was a bonus] on sale at my local healthfood store, so I took the plunge.

Like the OP, I really wanted to like this but the texture is awful; despite all the rich, emollient oils it never penetrated, so I never felt like I obtained any moisture from slathering this on my arms.

Even 30-60 minutes after application, the whitish tint never really faded. I had hoped that if I can't use such a rich concoction on my face, at least it would be suitable for arms, legs and the rest but no go. I'll finish this bottle because I don't want to waste it, but won't be purchasing this again.

free skin care · Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:17 am

This is great to hear, as I'm always after good physical sunscreens that are finely micronized enough to avoid that white cast. Now I know to avoid this one!

free skin care · Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:20 am

Now I don't want to try it. Recommend Bioderma AKN Spray 30/26, HG for oily skin in summer.

free skin care · Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:16 am

I was going to try this but sure hate that oily feeling so will skip this product, but do second that their lip balms are fantastic, I love the chai rose

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