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

Initial Impressions (back to top)

Sunscreen Spray
I was most excited to try the sunscreen spray. I hate putting sunscreen on; I usually find it thick and greasy to apply. Furthermore, many of the sunscreens out there leave a white residue on my skin making me look even whiter than I already am. First of all, the spray definitely lives up to being called fragrance free. I couldn't detect any type of smell at all, as far as I could tell the bottle was filled with water. For a weekend bike ride, I applied the sunscreen to the exposed areas of my skin. I tried to follow the advice on the KINeSYS website and hold the bottle about 6 inches (15 cm) from my skin while I sprayed. In addition to smelling like water, I found that the sunscreen felt almost like water on my skin. It took a lot of spraying to completely cover my skin (I was in a bathing suit) and by the time I fished the places I sprayed first were dry. Once dry, my skin felt almost naked, maybe slightly more smooth, but not sticky at all.

Rubbing is not required for even application according to the product instructions, but there were some places on my back where I wasn't sure if I managed to spray everywhere. In this instance I did rub the sunscreen in immediately after I sprayed to make sure I was completely covered.
During this first use of the product I was outside about 3 hours and got mildly sweaty. I was also sitting on the sand next to the ocean for about a half hour, so the reflecting sun was also an issue. I didn't get burned at all from the sun.

The next day my application experience wasn't as positive. This was for another bike ride near the water, but this time I did a hurried application without rubbing the spray in. I found it was somewhat difficult to tell where I had already sprayed and at the end of the day it was apparent that I did a spotty job. There were portions of my arms that look like they didn't get any sunscreen as well as other portions that look like they were only partially protected. I attribute this to applying the product too quickly as well as not being used to this application method. Next time I will need to be more deliberate in my application. In my field and long term reports I will report on whether this is a nuisance, or if my application skills get better with more use.

Sunscreen Cream
So far this just seems like a regular, run of the mill sunscreen. It's thick and creamy, like most I've used in the past are. One bonus I've noticed so far is that it also has no fragrance. It's not labeled as fragrance free, but it doesn't have any smell that I can detect.

Sunscreen Stick
This product is like a big tube of lip balm. It's of a similar design, but the "balm" itself is much larger (see picture at left). The sunscreen stick can be used for lips, ears, and faces according to KINeSYS. I, on the other hand, will probably only use it on my lips. I tried applying it to my nose, but it feels like I'm putting lip balm on my face. It doesn't really leave a sticky residue, but it just feels odd to me. I'd rather use one of the other products they offer on my face. Although I do appreciate something that will work on lips.

Hydrating Facial Moisturizer
Just like it sounds this is a facial moisturizer with SPF 15 in it. I generally wear a product like this everyday under my makeup. Since I received the KINeSYS products, I've been wearing this instead. I find it to be runnier than other products I've used and a little bit goes a LONG way. So far I've had trouble squeezing out the small amount I need and end up with too much. I think this is just my inexperience with the product and knowing how much I'll actually need. Otherwise, I find it to be light and "hydrating" just like I'd expect it to be.

Summary (back to top)

So far I'm satisfied with all of the KINeSYS products. I've had some trouble with applying the spray, but only time will tell if that was a one-time user error or if its something that's a problem with spray sunscreens. All of the other products have performed exactly how I've expected so far.

Field Testing Information (back to top)

Sunscreen is an everyday product for me. I wear sunscreen on my face at a minimum on a daily basis. I also usually do some activity every weekend which requires head-to-toe sunscreen. Sometimes this is backpacking, other days it's day hiking, biking, a day at the beach, etc. I wear a lot of sunscreen. My skin is definitely on the pale side and without sunscreen I burn; even if I'm in the sun for short periods. During the late summer and fall I will be taking trips into the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests. These generally aren’t planned far in advance, but I’ll likely be out a weekend each month. Temperatures on all these trips should be fairly mild ranging from the 30s to 90 F (0 – 30 C). Weather should be fairly mild as well with an always looming possibility of rain. Elevations range from 4,000 to over 10,000 feet (1200 – 3000 m). Later this fall I hope to head back to the desert for some car camping and hiking. Day hiking in and around Los Angeles is always a given pretty much every weekend. The terrain of the trails near Los Angeles is mainly rocky, chaparral covered hills. Being in chaparral usually means there isn't a lot of tree cover overhead, so sun protection is very important. Trails are usually dry and temperatures are mild all year round. The deserts in South-Eastern California are also a frequent destination for the fall and winter months (as long as the rain isn’t as bad as last year).

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 > Initial Report