Works for:
based on ingredients and %- Moisturizing
Doesn't work for:
based on ingredients and %- Sun protection
- Anti-aging
Can it cause trouble?
- Irritation risk: high
- Comedogenic risk ingredients: 0
Key actives
Product Summary
"Hawaiian Tropic - Clear Spray, Reef Friendly Sunscreen, Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Light Tropical" offers broad spectrum protection. It means that it protects from both UVA and UVB rays (you can remember UVB as "burning" sunlight - they cause sunburn. You can remember UVA rays as "aging" - they do not lead to sunburn, but they cause photodamage and contribute to early signs of skin aging and hyperpigmentation). On the negative side, the SPF of it is not high enough. We recommend to use a sunscreen with at least SPF 30 daily.
It contains good moisturizing ingredients and can double as a hydrating day cream.
Sunscreen filters
This sunscreen uses so-called "chemical", or organic UV filters (organic simply means that their molecules contain atoms of carbon). These filters typically give good sun protection and rarely leave a white cast, but they can be irritating for sensitive skin. These are the sun protection ingredients in this sunscreen: avobenzone 1.50% (declared), homosalate 5.00% (declared) and octocrylene 3.50% (declared).
Irritation risk
It contains a bunch of common irritants, including ingredients that do not provide any known benefit for the skin. It might not be the best choice if your skin is sensitive. We assess the overall irritancy of this product to be high. For a detailed overview of all potential irritants: click here
You can see the detailed formula review with the breakdown of all actives in the product and the full ingredient list with estimated concentrations in the tables below.
Price
The product retails for 9.74$ in the United States.
For a detailed price comparison: click here.
Moisturizing
This product can help improve hydration of the skin with the two types of ingredients.
The first type is called “humectants”:
these ingredients help attract water.
When humectants are on the surface of the skin, they “pull in” the moisture from the outside environment, or from
within deeper layers of the skin. The following ingredients in this product do the job:
panthenol, caprylyl glycol.
This product also contains ingredients called “occlusives”. They help reduce the speed with which our skin loses moisture to the outside environment. These ingredients also help soften the upper layer of the skin, so it feels less tight and nicer to the touch. The following ingredients in this product do the job: paraffinum liquidum, diisopropyl adipate.
The following ingredients in this product are especially good for supporting the skin barrier and helping with the hydration level: panthenol, paraffinum liquidum
Helps attract water to the upper layer of the skin and can help improve skin barrier function
Mineral oil. One of the most effective and well studied occlusive and emollient moisturizing ingredients. Helps reduce moisture loss in skin and repair skin barrier function
An emollient that helps soften the skin and can decrease moisture loss. Helps create a nice product texture
Helps soften the upper layer of the skin
Helps soften the upper layer of the skin
Helps preserve products and creates a nice product texture
A fruit extract that might help attract water to the upper layer of the skin. There is no evidence of other benefits in skin
Traditionally used to treat sunburns, dermatitis and inflammation, but evidence for its effectiveness is lacking. The extract can contain humectants that help attract water into the skin
Anti-aging
What does the product description say?
Spending time in the sun increases your risk of skin cancer and early skin aging.
Source: Walgreens
This product does not contain ingredients that are able to reduce fine lines and wrinkles or help with skin elasticity, but it can improve the look of the skin temporarily through moisturization. Well-moisturized skin might also be able to repair the sun damage better.
The biggest anti-aging effect in this product comes from sun protection. Sun damage is the main factor causing early signs of skin aging. We, however, do not recommend using this product as a sunscreen because the protection it offers is not strong enough).
Being a lipid soluble form of vitamin C, it is more stable and can penetrate the skin better than L-Ascorbic acid. It is effective in protecting the skin from free radicals, as well as evening the skin tone, but is less effective in stimulating collagen production compared to L-Ascorbic acid.
Sun protection
This product offers broad spectrum sun protection, but it is weak. We recommend to use a broad spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30.
This product can be considered "reef safe" because it does not contain the UV filters (oxybenzone and octinoxate) that can be harmful to coral reefs when present in the water in high concentrations.
A weak sunscreen that protects against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB) and is somewhat effective against the UVA rays. It is quite stable and can help stabilize other, more vulnerable, sunscreen ingredients like Avobenzone. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen
Avobenzone. An organic, or so-called "chemical" UV filter. Protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Needs to be combined with other filters in a formulation to be stable.
A weak sunscreen that offers some protection against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB), but does not offer meaningful protection against protect against the most aging sun rays (UVA). It loses its effectiveness quickly when exposed to sunlight. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen. When used in low concentrations, helps to stabilize the product formulation
How honest is this product?
| Promise | Can it deliver? |
|---|---|
| Sun protection | |
| Anti-aging |
Total Promises Fulfilled score: 50/100.
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Potential irritants
Comedogenic ingredients
No comedogenic ingredients detected
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| Product | Similarity | Price | Irritancy |
|---|---|---|---|
 Hawaiian Tropic Clear Spray, Reef Friendly Sunscreen, Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Light Tropical | Current | $9.74 | |
Banana Boat SunComfort Sunscreen SPF 30 | 74% | $7.84 | |
 Equate Kids Broad Spectrum Sunscreen Spray Twin Pack, SPF 50 | 64% | $6.64 | |
 Walgreens Kids SPF50 Continuous Spray | 61% | $8.99 | |
 Nivea Sun Kids Sensitive Sun Cream Spray SPF50+ Water Resistant | 53% | - | |
 Dr. Russo Once a Day SPF30 Sun Protective Invisible Mist | 52% | $28.95 |
Key Actives
Helps attract water to the upper layer of the skin and can help improve skin barrier function
Avobenzone. An organic, or so-called "chemical" UV filter. Protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Needs to be combined with other filters in a formulation to be stable.
A weak sunscreen that offers some protection against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB), but does not offer meaningful protection against protect against the most aging sun rays (UVA). It loses its effectiveness quickly when exposed to sunlight. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen. When used in low concentrations, helps to stabilize the product formulation
A weak sunscreen that protects against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB) and is somewhat effective against the UVA rays. It is quite stable and can help stabilize other, more vulnerable, sunscreen ingredients like Avobenzone. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen
Mineral oil. One of the most effective and well studied occlusive and emollient moisturizing ingredients. Helps reduce moisture loss in skin and repair skin barrier function
Potential irritants
Produces temporary toning effect. Can help dissolve other ingredients or preserve products
An aromatic blend of unspecified and possibly irritating ingredients
A fruit extract that might have some anti-oxidant effect
Avobenzone. An organic, or so-called "chemical" UV filter. Protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Needs to be combined with other filters in a formulation to be stable.
A weak sunscreen that offers some protection against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB), but does not offer meaningful protection against protect against the most aging sun rays (UVA). It loses its effectiveness quickly when exposed to sunlight. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen. When used in low concentrations, helps to stabilize the product formulation
A weak sunscreen that protects against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB) and is somewhat effective against the UVA rays. It is quite stable and can help stabilize other, more vulnerable, sunscreen ingredients like Avobenzone. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen
A type of silicone that helps water and oil mix together
Being a lipid soluble form of vitamin C, it is more stable and can penetrate the skin better than L-Ascorbic acid. It is effective in protecting the skin from free radicals, as well as evening the skin tone, but is less effective in stimulating collagen production compared to L-Ascorbic acid.
A more stable but less bio-available form of vitamin E compared to Tocopherol. Might help moisturize and protect the skin from free radicals, but mostly used in low concentrations to stabilize other ingredients.
Traditionally used to treat sunburns, dermatitis and inflammation, but evidence for its effectiveness is lacking. The extract can contain humectants that help attract water into the skin
A fruit extract that might help attract water to the upper layer of the skin. There is no evidence of other benefits in skin
Comedogenic ingredients
We couldn't find any comedogenic ingredients in this product
All ingredients
Avobenzone. An organic, or so-called "chemical" UV filter. Protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Needs to be combined with other filters in a formulation to be stable.
A weak sunscreen that offers some protection against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB), but does not offer meaningful protection against protect against the most aging sun rays (UVA). It loses its effectiveness quickly when exposed to sunlight. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen. When used in low concentrations, helps to stabilize the product formulation
A weak sunscreen that protects against the sun rays that cause sunburn (UVB) and is somewhat effective against the UVA rays. It is quite stable and can help stabilize other, more vulnerable, sunscreen ingredients like Avobenzone. It is an organic, or so called "chemical" sunscreen
Produces temporary toning effect. Can help dissolve other ingredients or preserve products
An emollient that helps soften the skin and can decrease moisture loss. Helps create a nice product texture
A type of silicone that helps water and oil mix together
An aromatic blend of unspecified and possibly irritating ingredients
Mineral oil. One of the most effective and well studied occlusive and emollient moisturizing ingredients. Helps reduce moisture loss in skin and repair skin barrier function
Being a lipid soluble form of vitamin C, it is more stable and can penetrate the skin better than L-Ascorbic acid. It is effective in protecting the skin from free radicals, as well as evening the skin tone, but is less effective in stimulating collagen production compared to L-Ascorbic acid.
A more stable but less bio-available form of vitamin E compared to Tocopherol. Might help moisturize and protect the skin from free radicals, but mostly used in low concentrations to stabilize other ingredients.
Helps attract water to the upper layer of the skin and can help improve skin barrier function
Traditionally used to treat sunburns, dermatitis and inflammation, but evidence for its effectiveness is lacking. The extract can contain humectants that help attract water into the skin
A fruit extract that might help attract water to the upper layer of the skin. There is no evidence of other benefits in skin
A fruit extract that might have some anti-oxidant effect
Ingredient list view
Butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, Homosalate, Octocrylene, Alcohol denat., Isobutane, Isododecane, Diisopropyl adipate, Lauryl peg-8 dimethicone, Phenylisopropyl dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-3 stearate/isostearate/dimer dilinoleate copolymer, Caprylyl glycol, Parfum, Methyl dihydroabietate, Paraffinum liquidum, Ascorbyl palmitate, Tocopheryl acetate, Panthenol, Water, Aloe barbadensis leaf extract, Carica papaya fruit extract, Colocasia antiquorum root extract, Mangifera indica fruit extract, Passiflora incarnata fruit extract, Plumeria acutifolia flower extract, Psidium guajava fruit extract