Reviews > Health & Safety > Sunscreens > KINeSYS Sunscreen Products > Jennifer Pope > Field Report

For further product details please see my Initial Report.

Field Conditions (back to top)

I have used these products while hiking, backpacking, biking, sitting at the beach, and for everyday urban use. The products have experienced intense, direct sunlight as well as brief, but heavy rain and constant cloud cover. I have worn them at sea level and up to near 10,000 ft (3,050 m). They have also been used while I was inactive as well as sweating (heavily at times). I have been in direct sunlight at sea level and at high elevations. They have been used at temperatures up to around 85 F (30 C).

The KINeSYS sunscreen products have served me well over the two-month test period. They’ve been worn during a variety of activities and in a variety of locations. The following is a summary of my experiences with each product.

Field Test (back to top)

Sunscreen Spray
This was the item I was most excited to try. I had never used a spray-on sun block. Application seemed fairly straightforward, basically just spray it on. My first use of this product was at the beach. I applied it at home in my bathroom. Spraying was easy enough, but it did require a lot of sprays to get my entire swimsuit-clad body covered. The spray area is quite small. The manufacturer doesn’t recommend rubbing the product in, but I did it anyway because I wasn’t confident in my application abilities. I did not get sunburned even though I was in direct sunlight near the water for several hours. I did not reapply after the recommended two hours and I was still protected (I did not get wet and I wasn’t doing any physical activity - besides walking to and across the beach). On another occasion (bike riding along the beach – again in full sun) I quickly applied the spray on my arms and legs and did not rub the product in. At the end of the day I had splotches of sun burn on parts of my body. I don’t blame the sunscreen for this; I’m sure it was due to my quick application. I do need to pay attention when I’m spraying and make sure I’m completely covering my exposed skin. Since then I have not had that problem.

I am very satisfied with how the spray feels on my skin. It almost feels like I’m just spraying water on my skin but it’s actually even lighter feeling than that. The spray dried in three minutes or even less. I also like the spray because I can easily apply it to my hair and scalp. I have a big problem forgetting to put sunscreen on the scalp of my head, which then burns and then peels; which is very painful. The spray is easy to apply to my head and doesn’t leave my hair greasy and yucky.

Sunscreen Cream
I wasn’t expecting much from the cream-based sunscreen. I thought it would be like any other sunscreen I’ve tried from the supermarket; thick white goo that felt greasy and left me with white skin. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried this product for the first time. It’s still the white goo, but it goes on smoother than other sunscreens I’ve tried. It has a very light feeling to it. It does leave my skin grayish white immediately after I apply it; but I found this to fade rather quickly. In fact, I found it somewhat helpful in that I could easily see where I had already applied the cream. In all my uses I never got a sunburn and I never had an adverse reactions to this product; it worked exactly as I expected it to. I’ve worn this product bike riding, hiking, and in urban use.

Hydrating Facial Moisturizer
I have mixed feelings about the moisturizer/sunscreen. When I first used it I didn’t have any problems with it, it felt smooth on my face. After using it daily for about a week it started to feel more greasy to me; this may be due to the oil on my skin changing over time (due to my hormones, not the product). I also broke out a little bit on my face, which happens from time to time so it may again have nothing to do with this product. I should also mention that I’m very sensitive to heavy products on my face. I really, really don’t like putting regular sunscreen on my face, for example. For me, it feels a little too greasy. I’m also very satisfied with the products I was already using; so perhaps I’m biased.

Sunscreen Stick
The sunscreen stick is a funny item to me. It’s something I probably wouldn’t purchase on my own. Again I wasn’t crazy about putting this on my face. In fact, I tried it once and never did it again. It’s meant for face, lips, and ears but I would only use it on the last two. The stick had a waxy feel to it; it felt like I was applying lip balm to my face which is just weird for me. Again I am sensitive to putting heavy products on my face as I mentioned previously. I have used it several times on my ears and lips. It’s somewhat awkward to apply on my ears but ears are just tricky; I can’t think of a way to make it better. Using the product on my lips was easiest and where I prefer to use this product. The only issue I have here is that the stick is about twice as wide as a regular lip balm. I would love a product like this one in regular lip balm size so it would be a little easier to apply.

I had absolutely no issues with the performance of the stick as a sunscreen. Even though I felt like my application on my ears was a little awkward and I may have missed spots, I never got a sunburn. I also found the stick to be slightly moisturizing when I used it on my lips.

The product’s performance was never an issue. I never received a sunburn while wearing this product; even when I didn’t reapply often enough (I never reapply often enough). I would not hesitate to use it on other parts of my body.

Summary (back to top)

Overall I really liked all the KINeSYS products. All were truly unscented which I found refreshing. I think the spray and cream- based sunscreens both performed better than I was expecting. I would buy both products again in the future. They are slightly more expensive than sunscreens I would buy in a supermarket or other big-box store; but I think they are superior enough that I would seek them out. I found the SPF 30 to be sufficient enough for all my outdoor activities which include a lot of direct sunlight.

The moisturizer doesn’t meet my needs as a facial moisturizer. I do want to reiterate that I am very picky in this regard and I have been unsatisfied with many other facial sunscreens in the past. It’s slightly more greasy than the product I’m used to.

I would love the sunscreen stick if it were the size of a regular lip balm. As is, I like it for use on my lips and ears but not my face. Again my pickiness shows through here. I wish it came as just a lip balm.

I want to thank BackpackGearTest.org and KINeSYS for giving me the opportunity to test these items.

Reviews > Health & Safety > Sunscreens > KINeSYS Sunscreen Products > Jennifer Pope > Field Report