People Have Blamed Banana Boat Sunscreen For Their “Horrific” Burns

A string of reports have surfaced from people claiming a Banana Boat sunscreen had caused large blisters to form on their skin after being in the sun.

Speaking to the ABC, Melbourne woman Briar Houston said she could hardly walk after the backs of her legs became badly sunburnt following the use of Banana Boat’s spray-on SPF 50 product.

“It was horrific,” she recounted. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

Ms Houston says she applied a different SPF factor everywhere else, but had used Banana Boat SPF 50 aerosol on the back of her legs. “I was not burnt anywhere else, not my face or my shoulders, no burns anywhere else,” she explained.

A number of people have also reported similar problems with Cancer Council sun protection products. Last week, a mother spoke out against the Cancer Council’s Peppa Pig sunscreen after she applied it to her baby, who was later hospitalised.

Dozens have flooded the Banana Boat Australian Facebook page, claiming they (or their children) have been badly burnt while using its products.

Two mothers, Kirsty Hellmech and Michelle Barraclough, approached the ABC with their own experiences. “We slathered the kids in sunscreen because that’s what they say to do… about 45 minutes later my daughter came up to me to say her back was hurting,” said Ms Hellmech.

“I was horrified, she had blisters the size of 10 cent pieces.”

Ms Barraclough had a similar experience with her child, after applying SPF 50 roll-on Banana Boat sunscreen. “At first I thought it might be a skin reaction, but realised that was really unlikely because I’d been using it on her every time we left the house,” she explained.

Marketing director of Banana Boat, Rachel Pullicino, said the company’s products are safe.

“It’s common to get sunburn complaints at this time of the year and it might look like there are quite a few on social media however the reality is relative to the millions of products sold every summer, there’s a very few number of complaints,” insisted Ms Pullicino.

She thinks, in a majority of cases, people are simply not using enough sunscreen.

“We recommend that consumers use even teaspoons, so one teaspoon on average per limb, in addition that they reapply frequently and liberally,” she said. There are no plans to recall any products at this stage.

Banana Boat is a popular brand of sunscreen in Australia; most people are familiar with it for its iconic advert and jingle.

Photo: iStock and Facebook (@BananaBoatAU)