The $38 Boutique Sunscreen vs. the $10 Coppertone That Works

A dermatologist on Instagram told me Supergoop was 'the only sunscreen worth using.' She had 2 million followers, so obviously she was right.

I bought the Supergoop PLAY at $38 for a 5.5oz bottle. That's $6.90 per ounce. For context, that's more expensive per ounce than most whiskies. I was applying sunscreen like it was La Mer.

Here's the thing about sunscreen: it only works if you use enough of it. The FDA says you need about 1oz per application for full body coverage. I was using maybe half that because every squirt felt like squirting money into my hand. At $6.90/oz, reapplying every two hours during a 6-hour beach day would cost me about $21 in sunscreen alone.

So I didn't reapply. And I got sunburned. With SPF 50 on my face. Because I used a thin, expensive layer instead of a thick, cheap one.

I switched to Coppertone SPORT. Two bottles, 14 total ounces, $13.48. That's $0.96/oz. I slather it on. I reapply without doing mental math. My wife squirts it on the kids like it's free because, at that price, it basically is.

Have I gotten sunburned since switching to Coppertone? No. Because I use enough of it. Because I can afford to.

Supergoop is a lovely product. But the best sunscreen is the one you actually apply correctly, and I will never apply a $38 bottle correctly because I am fundamentally too cheap.