Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Oh, how happy I was when I found this product a few years ago. Pricey, perhaps, but SO worth it. High SPF, non-greasy, UVA and UVB blocking, what wasn't there to love? My entire family of fair redheads depended on it for year-round protection. This year, though, things were different. I eagerly stocked up on eight bottles of the SPF 45 before the start of the sunny season -- in previous years we used SPF 85 or 100 but I had faith in the claims that anything over SPF 30 was of negligible benefit -- and slathered it on the first time I was in the sun for an extended period. Even with wearing long sleeves and a wide-brimmed sun hat I ended up with what (I thought) was a painful burn all over my face and neck. It took a couple of weeks to clear and often resembled a rash, with raised, red bumps that itched like nobody's business. I didn't make the connection until the next time I used it and had the same result within hours. I don't wear makeup and I don't use cleansers on my face; the only moisturizer I use is specifically for sensitive skin and I've been using for a long time with no issue. After doing some research I discovered that what I have is a photoallergic reaction to this sunblock, which means the sunblock itself doesn't cause a reaction, but once it comes into exposure with sunlight it does. Which completely nullifies the point of sunblock in the first place. I also read that Neutrogena had changed its formula and the older "blue label" bottles were different than the new "black label" ones - checking a leftover bottle from last year with the new ones from this year proved that the formula does appear significantly different, with this year's sunblock containing a number of new complicated chemical names I can't pronounce. One or more of them no longer jives with my extremely sensitive skin. So now I've spent upwards of a month suffering from red, itchy, oozing, tight, dry, skin, which is now starting to peel and looks a fright. I haven't wanted to leave my house and I can't even count the number of times I've been asked if I'm all right/too hot/contagious. Horrifying. I am so very disappointed that I can't even properly express it. I guess it's back to the drawing board looking for a new sunblock that can protect myself and my family without giving us chemical burns. A real bummer.