Looking after your baby in the sun

Because babies lack the tanning pigments known as melanin to protect their skin from the sun the best protection especially for babies 6 months and younger is to keep them out of the sun.
The key time for this is between the hours of 11am and 4 pm when ultraviolet rays are at their most intense.
If there is no natural shade, create your own with something like an umbrella, a towel or the canopy of a stroller. 
Dress your baby in long sleeves and pants and a hat that shades the neck and whole face to prevent sunburn.   Tight, dark weaves are better than loose however you need to remember that younger infants don’t sweat like we do so ensure your baby does not get overheated.
If none of this is possible and you do need to apply a sunscreen it is fine to apply a small amount of sunscreen on their face and hands.

Avoid chemical sunscreens which often have potentially harmful components like Parabens, Oxybenzone, Retinyl Palmitate, and Avobenzone listed among their ingredients.  When there is increasing accessibility to completely natural, organic, broad spectrum sunscreens like those at Thinkwise there really is no need to consider sunscreen products with questionable ingredients. 

Unlike chemical sunscreens that the skin absorbs and which may cause irritation or allergic reactions a physical sunscreen with zinc oxide sits on top of the skin forming a physical barrier against the sun’s rays and begins working almost immediately.  This difference between a physical and chemical sunscreen is important for babies whose skin is less mature and who have a higher surface-area to body-weight ratio compared to older children and adults.  These two factors mean that an infant’s exposure to chemicals in sunscreen may be greater increasing the risk of side effects from the sunscreen. Avoid sunscreen sprays or powders as there is the risk of inhaling the product and sprays do not encourage the use of appropriate amounts of sunscreen.