March 28, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN RI
You might try a little experiment. Does every brand of sunscreen do
this? Every SPF level? Is there a correlation between the listed
ingredients and the staining? Is sunlight required to cause the
stain? Does every kind of fabric stain in the same way - cotton,
wool, linen, synthetics of different kinds? (A fabric store might
give you little swatches to try.) Are the "white" clothes that stain
really colorless, or are there dyes in off-white fabrics that
contribute to the staining? Can you think of anything else... does
your own sweat contribute to the stain, or does perfectly clean, new,
cloth stain?

Years ago sunscreens were not as good as they are now. I found that
SPF's above 6 tended to stain clothes (brown, not red as I recall)
and also sting my eyes. So I stayed with SPF6, which was enough to
prevent bad burning. But I've since had quite a few basal cell
carcinomas removed, in spite of the SPF6. (I'm assuming that my
years of sailing caused these skin cancers rather than earlier
childhood exposure - that assumption could be false.) I'd recommend
that you find a sunsreen of at least SPF15 that you and your clothes
can tolerate! Hats and shirts are also a good idea.