Z for

Zinc Cream

I don't think there would be many Aussie kids who dont know what Zinc Cream is.

Zinc Cream has been used as a sunscreen by Aussie Mums for a long long time. Many of us would be sitting impatiently under the beach umbrella having white cream applied, by our long suffering parents, to our shoulders, neck, nose, cheeks, ears and lips – thickly. It was quite normal to have a bunch of kids running around in the sun at sports days, beach days or picnic days with a big stripe of white Zinc Cream from cheek to cheek. It was waterproof, sweat proof and would stay on for hours.

I used to think that we would take more sand home stuck to our faces and shoulders that we would in our swimmers.

As a sunscreen - Zinc Cream is exemplary, but as a fashion statement – it is dreadful.

The companies making Zinc Cream brought out a skin coloured cream and an invisable cream about 15 years ago as the white Zinc Cream seemed to be used only on children. Sun protection here in Australia is paramount, especially if you have a skin type that is suseptable to being burnt. There is nothing quite like White Zinc Cream for sun protection but most grownups wouldn't be seen dead with it on their faces. Some makeup producers see the advantage in including clear Zinc as an additive in their products, most women would appreciate the fact that they dont have to apply sunscreen and makup separately.

Some of our cricketers have been made famous more for the Zinc on their faces than their prowess on the field, in fact it's a bit like the chicken and the egg – did the cricketers promote Zinc Cream or did the Zinc Cream promote the cricketers?

Sports people were partially responsible for a resurgence of wearing Zinc Cream out in the sun the other factor was the fun colours now available. Zinc Cream comes in bright colours, every kid and big kid now goes to football games, cricket games, international sporting events etc with their team colours displayed proudly in Zinc.

There are so many colours available now that kids face painters are using them instead of paint. The advantage of course it that the kids are protected from the sun and look like spider man. Win win.

Aussie Cricketer Andrew Simons