Things You Can't Live Without!

Burt’s Bees Aloe & Linden Flower After Sun Soother is our new favorite for sunburn relief!

We’re all about proper and frequent use of effective sunscreen, but when you spent as much time at the beach and pool as well do, burns happen. It doesn’t help that we’re naturally fair with freckles.

Yesterday, after being out in the sun at the beach for several hours, we came home to pink shoulders and arms. At first I thought it was just tan, but as the night progressed, I realized my “pink tan” was really a moderate burn. Boo.

I didn’t panic, though. I only found this product this year, but I love it. It’s Burt’s Bees Aloe & Linden After Sun Soother. Other than an affiliate link, I’m uncompensated by Burt’s Bees, so this isn’t a commercial. It’s my real opinion on what works for our family.

When applied after a day in the sun, it almost totally takes away the pain of the burn. For added relief, stick it in the refrigerator for a bit before applying. Ahhhhhhh…

What I love even more is that it promotes skin healing, rather than peeling. These aren’t claims made by Burt’s Bees but it’s been my personal experience.

I am absolutely prone to peeling even when I only slightly burn. This product often turns my pink skin to tan overnight and almost always halts the peeling process before it even starts.

I also love that it’s a light and thin lotion. Ever try rubbing a thick product onto a child who 1) doesn’t want lotion of any type on, and 2) is in pain? It never works. This lotion, however, takes almost no rubbing to absorb quickly and it smells fantastic. Even better, the scent doesn’t hang around. I tend to get headaches from strong smelling products and this Sun Soother lotion has never caused one.

Seriously, I love Burt’s Bees Aloe & Linden After Sun Soother and we couldn’t live without it! I’m stocking up before the summer’s gone. It lasts a bit longer here and I don’t want to be without my favorite new product!

Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

3 natural family-friendly sunscreens we love

By Melissa Byers 2 Comments

Let me tell you about my relationship with the sun and how it’s changed. First, let’s start with my complexion. It’s fair, freckly, and almost allergic to the sun. It’s basically the worse case scenario for a teenage girl who had a BFF who browned up beautifully after 15 minutes of sun at her grandparents’ beach house. I hate her. (Kidding, love you! xoxo)

The result was year after year of truly tragic sunburns. During my junior year in high school my parents let me wear a bikini for the first time in my teen life over a warm May weekend. I was thrilled, but my pasty abdomen was terrified.

I’m not sure if we went as far as to hit the baby oil, but I can tell you, with certainty that we did NOT reach for anything with SPF. The next week, finals week, I basically shivered through school while my skin turned gray. I can remember my lips being swollen and losing my breath when the sun touched me as I walked home. Looking back, I probably needed medical attention. It was bad!

Thankfully those days are long gone, but the lasting effect was a true hatred of sunburns. Besides, when you know better, you do better. Back then no one was concerned about skin cancer. Now it’s on my radar, especially living at the beach and spending so much time outdoors.

Last spring, a friend and I were talking about stocking up on summer necessities when the EWG sunscreen safety index came up. I had never heard of it.

EWG stands for the Environmental Working Group and, among other things, they evaluate sunscreens and rank them according to their ingredients. The lower the score, the safer the product. I got right to searching and subsequently cringing.

For years we were dedicated to a certain brand of sunscreen that worked really well and passed this family’s test for not being too sticky. The bummer is how bad it was for our family. It was firmly on the EWG’s Hall of Shame list, which made me feel…well…shameful.

The amount of sunscreen we go through during a summer is no joke. We HAD to find better products.

I threw this topic out to my local friends and they recommended their favorites.

We started with BabyGanics Mineral-Based Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50. Yes, baby sunscreen. Our whole family used it and loved it.

It’s thick and takes a bit of rubbing in, but it doesn’t feel sticky and absorbs fully, so you’re not walking around looking like a snowman. BabyGanics received a score of two from the EWG.

We also loved the BabyGanics spray for easy reapplication at the beach or pool. It’s a thin liquid that requires some rubbing, but it absorbs quickly. In our experience it doesn’t last as long as lotion, but the convenience factor is worth the extra applications throughout the day.

Last, our dermatologist recommended Blue Lizard Sensitive. It scores a one from the EWG but has almost zero scent. If you’ve got a little one (or big one!) with skin not only sensitive to ingredients, but also fragrance, this one is for you! The other super cool thing about Blue Lizard is that the bottle changes color to blue when there’s enough UV rays to warrant applying sunscreen.

Of course sun protection only works if you use it correctly. For a list of sunscreen mistakes many families make and how to avoid them, click here.

Do you have a favorite sunscreen? Share it with us!

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Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

Jupiter Pies will send you over the moon!

By Melissa Byers

Jupiter Pies are now my life. And no, I’m not compensated in any way to say that!

My family and I were at the farmer’s market on Deville Street in the Market Common having a conversation about how we didn’t really need any produce but had to stop at Costco to get dessert for a dinner gathering later that evening. Two seconds later, I find myself standing at a table looking at pies. Lots and lots of pies in a variety of flavors, each looking better than the next. Homemade crusts, unique combinations, yum, yum, yum!

The pie company is Jupiter Pies. We got a blueberry pie with a crumb topping and a pecan pie. They were so delicious! There was a little scuffle over who would take home the leftovers. I won, but had to brush my teeth early in an effort to stop myself from eating more!

Jupiter pies, pies in myrtle beach — Jupiter Pies on Facebook

How to find Jupiter Pies

For more information about getting your hands on these amazing baked goods, check out the Jupiter Pies Facebook page. If you see them out and about and there happens to be a buttermilk pie or ten on the table, buy them. All. You won’t regret it, trust me! You can also place orders.

My personal pie-making game bar is set quite a bit lower. In a pinch, I have zero shame in turning to my tiny pie maker! LOL

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Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

Things You Can't Live Without!

How to find Jupiter Pies

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