Another common question from the perceptive readers…
So what’s the difference between a zinc oxide based sunscreen and diaper rash ointment? Not much! Just marketed differently.
The main difference is in the base. Diaper rash ointments have little to no water content and sunscreen base usually has water listed as the first ingredient. If it’s marketed as a water-resistant sunscreen, then it too has little to no water and is practically similar to diaper cream. Also, diaper cream is usually made with conventional zinc oxide (and hence the pasty white look) whereas many commercial zinc oxide based sunscreen is made with micronized zinc oxide.
So yes, the two are interchangeable! Browsing over the cost of the more natural sunscreen and diaper rash ointment base at our local grocery store Central Market, sunscreen is about $2 – $3 per ounce and diaper cream is about $3 – $4 an ounce. Ouch! The more reason to make it yourself. It is surprising to me to find that the diaper cream is more expensive since conventional zinc oxide is cheaper than the micronized version. Then again, anything marketed for babies tend to be more expensive.
All this and more in my upcoming e-report on sun protection.
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