Surf sunscreen made for the waves

Yes, for most of the year. Cancer Research UK says the sun's UV rays are often strong enough to cause damage in the UK between mid-March and mid-October, and the NHS advises extra care between 11am and 3pm from March to October. That's peak surf season.

UK sun is stronger than its reputation. Defra notes the highest UV Index in the UK is around 8, occasionally reached at its monitoring station in Camborne, a few miles inland from the north Cornwall breaks. The NHS suggests protecting your skin whenever the UV Index is 3 or higher.

Grey skies don't let you off. The Met Office says up to 80% of the sun's UV rays can get through light cloud, and the WHO notes that thin cloud can even raise UV levels by scattering it. As the NHS puts it, you can burn in the UK even when it's cloudy. Treat a hazy June day at Polzeath like a blue-sky one.

Because the UV comes at you from above and below. The WHO says sea foam reflects about 25% of UV radiation and dry beach sand about 15%, so sitting in the whitewater, or wading out through it, adds a bounce of UV on top of what's coming straight down. Reflected light also finds places the overhead sun misses, like under your chin, inside your ears and the underside of your nose.

Ducking under doesn't buy you much. The WHO's Global Solar UV Index guide says water offers only minimal protection from UV, and at half a metre deep UV is still 40% as intense as at the surface.

Then there's time. A good session can run two or three hours, mostly sitting still facing the horizon. Long summer evenings tempt you into a second surf after a day on the beach, so your skin has often had plenty before you even paddle out. It all adds up.

The best sunscreen for surfing in the UK ticks four boxes: high SPF, tested water resistance, a texture that stays put, and a format you'll actually reapply.

• SPF 50+. The NHS and the British Association of Dermatologists set SPF 30 as the minimum, with at least 4-star UVA. For hours on reflective water, SPF 50+ gives more margin, and Cancer Research UK notes people often put on much less than they need.
• Tested water resistance. Look for a time on the pack: ours are 4 hours water resistant (sticks and Sport Sunscreen) or 80 minutes (Pure Zinc and Kids SPF 50). It's not wash-proof, so reapply after that time in the water, after towelling, and at least every 2 hours on land.
• Thick where it matters. A lotion is fine for your neck, hands and feet. Your nose, cheekbones and lips take the most sun, and a thick zinc stick is less likely to run than a thin lotion.
• Mineral zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is a mineral UV filter that sits on the surface of your skin.

Sprays drift in a breezy car park at Croyde. A lotion for the body and a stick for the face is the simpler surf sunscreen setup.

Because the face is where surfing is hardest on skin. A zinc stick lays down a thick, visible layer of mineral zinc oxide on the nose, cheeks, lips and ears, the parts that face the sun and the glare for the whole session. Because you can see it, you can spot when it's wearing thin.

We started in Australia in 1995 as a surf brand, and zinc sticks have been at the heart of what we make ever since. For UK surfing there are two ways to go:

• Extreme Zinc Stick SPF 50+: our bigger 15g stick, with thick coverage in 11 colours, from skin tones like Tan, Bronze and Golden Brown to brights like Blue Bay and Coral Pink.
• Original zinc sticks SPF 50+ in white, light tone, medium tone and pink, blue, green or yellow.

Both are 4 hours water resistant: reapply after 4 hours in the water, after towelling, and at least every 2 hours on land. You'll find every shade in our zinc sticks collection.

As long as the label says, and no longer. Water resistant means a sunscreen has been tested to hold up for a set time in water: 4 hours for our zinc sticks and Sport Sunscreen, 80 minutes for Pure Zinc and Kids SPF 50. It is not wash-proof.

Surfing is harder on sunscreen than a swim. You're duck diving, getting rolled, wiping salt water out of your eyes and towelling off between sessions. Cancer Research UK points out that sunscreen can rub, sweat or wash off, and the NHS says to reapply straight after you've been in the water, even if it's water resistant, and after towel drying.

Our rule for a surf:

• Reapply when you come in and towel off.
• Come in and reapply after 4 hours in the water at the latest (80 minutes for Pure Zinc and Kids SPF 50).
• Reapply at least every 2 hours on land.

Use a thicker product on your face and give it time to settle. Thin, runny lotions on the forehead are what tends to end up in your eyes once salt water and sweat get to work.

A thick zinc stick is less likely to run than a thin lotion. It won't stop the salt water itself stinging, but it means less sunscreen sliding down your face on every duck dive.

• Apply lotion around 30 minutes before you paddle out, as the NHS recommends, so it has time to settle.
• Use the stick on your nose, cheekbones and lips, and a lighter, even layer on the forehead and above the eyebrows.
• Wipe your fingers on your towel after applying, before you touch your eyes.

If lotion near your eyes bothers you, try the Extreme Zinc Stick across your face and save the lotion for your neck, hands and feet.

On bright days, yes, on your face. In a 5mm suit with hood, boots and gloves, your face is the only skin left out, and it's the bit pointed at the sky and the water.

UK UV drops a long way in winter, so the risk is lower from mid-October to mid-March. The trap is spring. The UK Health Security Agency says most of us get most of our UV exposure in late spring and summer, but the sea is still cold in April and May, so you're surfing in a winter suit and hood under some of the strongest sun of the year. A clear May morning at Freshwater West or Thurso East can catch out a face that's been under a hood since October.

Our rule: if the UV Index is 3 or more, the point where the NHS suggests protecting your skin, zinc goes on your face whatever suit you're in. In summer shorties and springsuits, add your arms, the backs of your legs and your feet, which face the sky when you're lying on a board.

Yes, if you judge it by what's in the bottle rather than the label. "Reef safe" can mean different things on different packs, so check the ingredients. The two most often named are oxybenzone and octinoxate. Hawaii banned the sale of sunscreens containing either from 1 January 2021, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lists both, along with others including nano zinc oxide, among sunscreen chemicals that can harm marine life.

NOAA also says mineral sunscreen is considered a better option for aquatic life, and recommends UV protective clothing.

That's why we only call one product reef safe. Pure Zinc SPF 50 uses 25% non-nano zinc oxide and contains no oxybenzone or octinoxate. It rubs in clear, is fragrance free and vegan, and is 80 minutes water resistant, so reapply after 80 minutes in the water, after towelling, and at least every 2 hours on land.

A rash vest or wetsuit covering most of your body also means less sunscreen going into the sea in the first place.

A water resistant SPF 50 on the body before the wetsuit goes on, then a zinc stick on the face. Beginner lessons happen in the whitewater, and with the WHO putting sea foam reflection at about 25% of UV, kids get it from above and below.

• Kids SPF 50 is our mineral sunscreen for children and is 80 minutes water resistant. Reapply after 80 minutes in the water, after towelling, and at least every 2 hours on land.
• Our original zinc sticks are safe for children over 6 months, and a bright pink, blue, green or yellow stick makes a bare nose easy for instructors and parents to spot from the beach.

Surf schools such as Stoked Surf School in Perranporth list sunscreen on their what-to-bring list, and several UK schools, from King Surf to Glide Surf in Cromer, use or stock Sun Zapper. There's more in our guide to kids' mineral sunscreen.

Same principles, different weak spots.

• Bodyboarding. Your face is close to the water and the backs of your legs and soles of your feet face the sky. Zinc on the face, Sport Sunscreen on your legs in a shorty, and mind the gap between suit and fins.
• Paddleboarding. You're standing for hours with glare coming off the water, so the back of the neck, ears, tops of the feet and backs of the hands get it most. Sport Sunscreen for those, a stick for the nose and lips.
• Kitesurfing and windsurfing. Long sessions, wind and spray. Extreme Zinc Stick on your face and lips, and reapply when you come in to rest or rig down.
• Wild swimming and sea swims. Face, shoulders and neck are out the whole time, often with no wetsuit. Pure Zinc rubs in clear and is fragrance free, which suits a quick dip; for longer swims, remember it's 80 minutes water resistant.

Whatever you're doing, the reapply rule doesn't change: after 4 hours in the water for the sticks and Sport Sunscreen (80 minutes for Pure Zinc), after towelling, and at least every 2 hours on land. More in our sport sunscreen article.

Break it down with oil, then wash. Thick zinc is made to hang on through a session, so a splash of water won't shift it, and scrubbing just leaves your skin sore.

• Start with a dry face and dry hands. Massage in a cleansing oil or balm, or a little coconut or olive oil, for about 30 seconds.
• Wipe off the worst with a warm, damp flannel, ideally a dark one you don't mind marking.
• Follow with your usual face wash to lift the oily layer, then rinse.

Zinc can also mark wetsuit collars, towels and light fabrics. Rinse your suit in fresh water after every surf anyway, and keep an old towel for zinc days.

Going back out, or staying on the beach? Reapply after towelling, as the NHS advises. Pure Zinc rubs in clear if you'd rather not wear colour to the pub.