The heat of summer is officially cranked up to high intensity. While hydration tends to be the topic demanding the attention in the summer months, it’s time to shift focus to protecting your skin as you pour on the mileage. Sunscreen is the key element to remember as a line of defense as you leave for your next run. The important question is what type of sunscreen should I use? Recently I came across Kinesys Sunscreen and at first blush was taken by their gear toward the endurance sports athlete.

As an endurance athlete and run commuter, I spend countless hours exposed to the sun. Many excuses or reasons clouded my mind about use of sun care products during exercise. Honestly it sometimes is the furthest thing from my mind when preparing for a run. With this trend changing the most important question I had was, “What type and brand of sunscreen should I use?”. In years past my first choice was anything labeled as “Sport”. I felt that any brand or product bold enough to claim being a sport specific sunscreen would naturally have a complete understanding of my sport. Or would they?

When I started to discover the countless options in sunscreen brands in the sports market, I felt it was time to do some research. I quickly found that there are very few true sport sunscreen brands in the market. One of which is Kinesys Performance Sunscreen. Why did I single out this brand?

First I gravitate toward ease of application. Most of the Kinesys sunscreen products are sprays or stick – which is ideal. I’ve never really enjoyed the typical lotion based sunscreen products as in my opinion they usually leave behind an oily mess. Kinesys sunscreens are easy to apply. A handful of simple pumps and you’re covered with a nice coating of SPF all while enjoying the light scent of mango (okay you got me, I’m also a fan of the tropical island scent). Then after about 30-60 minutes of exposure you can easily manage a simple re-application process without a timely interruption. If you’re a triathlete, this time saving protection quickly applied in transition is invaluable.

My other reasons revolve around the core ethos of the product. It’s critical to me that brands do everything possible to utilize sustainable processes to create their products. While these are typically intangibles, being “cruelty free”, fully recyclable packaging materials pre- and post-production, and mindfulness toward many known allergens or harmful chemicals. The most important of these benefits Kinesys provides is the last in the list. As a parent of a child with a serious food allergy, we’re always sensitive to both the foods and skin care products we’ll use. The fact that Kinesys is free of nuts, nut oil, gluten, dairy, egg and soy is great news and rare to even know. Most common “sport” sunscreens on the market don’t typically list known allergens. The secondary factor, yet important to overall health, is that Kinesys is void of parabens, preservatives, nanoparticles, sulphites and colorants. Now I’m not qualified to give scientific reasons to avoid these ingredients nor will I valid any claims toward their harmfulness. What I will say is that I personally have decided to avoid using products with these ingredients in their makeup.

It’s hot out there and you need good protection. I’ve opted for a brand with clear knowledge and true understanding of the endurance athlete. Now when I walk out the door to log the mileage it’s easier to protect my skin for the years to come.

* This product review is composed from personal opinion. The products tested during research for the review were provided as samples directly from Kinesys. Although the company provided product samples none of the claims or statements in the review were influenced by Kinesys nor did the company solicit the writing of this review.