Sunscreen Pharmacy Rock

I can get sunscreen prescribed as I have vitiligo - I have less than 30% of the pigment on my face left, look forward to a future post on self-fulfilling prophecies - but I don't bother as it's cheaper to buy. On prescription I would get ROC factor 25 (25 is a total block, don't believe anything claiming higher ratings) but it costs £10 or whatever it is now for a prescription so I buy it ad hoc every year.

I went to Boots before going on holiday and asked for "ROC sunscreen" at the prescription counter. The helpful assistant tried to go and look at the suncream sector until I said it was "like what you get on prescription" at which point she looked strangely at me, had a word with her pharmacist, went off to the store at the back, and came back with a tube of ROC 25. £1.78. Bargain of the year! I asked her, if she didn't mind, to go and get another tube for me, now I have one upstairs and one downstairs for £3.50.

These are 50 ml tubes but bear two things in mind:
* This is the top-notch sunscreen, and as you can imagine I've used a few: it's hypoallergenic, unperfumed, recommended for children and sensitive skins, goes on and comes off clean.

* I recently spent £9+ buying a bottle (150 ml?) of sunscreen for my daughter to take to nursery, and it was a much inferior substance.

* Sunscreen doesn't last forever, especially if it's exposed to the sun - and a big bottle is much likelier to get spilt or stood on or go off in your bag. Have you noticed how the sunscreen companies don't provide small bottles of good-quality sunscreen at a reasonable price? This is the answer.

See you under the sun-umbrella!