If you grew up in the 80s, you may remember Zinka, the colored zinc oxide sunblock that lifeguards wore on their nose, and trendy teenagers wore on their faces. I loved Zinka cause it smelled like coconuts and I had this hot pink lip balm I used to wear to the beach. I can’t say I was bold enough to wear the colored sunblock on my nose, or under my eyes, but I still owned some that I would play around with. Imagine my delight when I saw Zinka was back in the stores (at a beach shop in Hawaii) 20 years later!!! I quickly grabbed their Colored Nosecoat in Pink, and it still has that famous coconut smell! Again, I haven’t worn it out yet to the beach, but maybe I will soon if I get brave… I should start the trend all over again!

Even though a lot of advances have been made in the world of sunblock in the past 20 years, I still think Zinc Oxide is best sunblock ingredient. Nowadays Zinc Oxide is micronized, so that it’s nearly invisible on the skin, and Zinka does have a new water-resistant sunblock that goes on clear. I haven’t tried it yet, but want to. However, their waterproof Colored Nosecoats (as seen in the picture) are not micronized, so they go on opaque. I am curious how much better that protects you than the clear Zinc Oxide, but I don’t think too many people want to walk around with a face full of pink or purple or green sunblock. For now, I guess the best solution is to use micronized Zinc Oxide, and let your kids learn the importance of sunblock by letting them play around with the colored versions. If I was a surfer or had to spend the day in the hot sun, I probably would be brave and slather on the hot pink Zinka!! Would you wear colored sunblock if it was the most effective sunblock available?