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Banana Boat

Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 Body Sunscreen.

Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 Body Sunscreen
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Sunscreen
About this product

A lightweight SPF 50 sunscreen with 80-minute water resistance, formulated to feel like a body lotion rather than traditional sunscreen.

Full ingredients

Avobenzone (3.0%), Homosalate (9.0%), Octisalate (4.0%), Octocrylene (5.0%), Water, Diisopropyl Adipate, Silica, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Tapioca Starch, Acrylates/​C12-22 Alkyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/​C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ceteth-10 Phosphate, Dicetyl Phosphate, Coco-Glucoside, Chlorphenesin, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Panthenol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

More from Banana Boat 2 products · Guru Score 93% →

Guru Score

88%

Yay

Early verdict · Few reviews so far

What the gurus are saying

This sunscreen applies like a lightweight body lotion, not the heavy, greasy texture that typically makes people avoid sunscreen altogether. At under ten dollars per tube with 80-minute water resistance, it delivers on the practical side too. However, because it blends in so seamlessly, it's easy to under-apply, so make sure you're using the right amount when you put it on.
Synthesized from 2 expert reviews · most recent take April 2026

What they liked

  • Rubs in smoothly without residue
  • Light sweet fragrance that fades
  • Affordable for the size

What they flagged

  • Easy to under-apply because it spreads so well

Type

SunscreenLotion

Key actives

Vitamin CVitamin ESPF

Formula notes

Contains fragranceNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Dr. Sam Ellis
Dr. Sam Ellis
898k subs
✓Yay
"Although honestly, even if this Banana Boat sunscreen was like twice the price, I would still buy it because it is the best body sunscreen I have ever ever used. You can get it at any drugstore. It's this very lovely lightweight lotion that honestly just feels like a body moisturizer. It doesn't smell like sunscreen. It's very lightly fragranced and it's not something that lingers on the skin, but I think makes the overall application process just more pleasant."
Top Pick: most recommended body sunscreen
All 6 takes from Dr. Sam Ellis
My Most Purchased Skincare Products as a Derm | Dr. Sam Ellis
"Although honestly, even if this Banana Boat sunscreen was like twice the price, I would still buy it because it is the best body sunscreen I have ever ever used. You can get it at any drugstore. It's this very lovely lightweight lotion that honestly just feels like a body moisturizer. It doesn't smell like sunscreen. It's very lightly fragranced and it's not something that lingers on the skin, but I think makes the overall application process just more pleasant."
Dermatologist Explains Body Hyperpigmentation: What Causes It, Best Treatments, Prevention, & More!
"One of my all-time favorite body sunscreens and I talk about it all the time on this channel is the Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 sunscreen. The reason I like this so much is it has a really nice light fruity floral scent so it doesn't have that traditional sunscreen smell and I know if you're applying sunscreen to large areas on your body sometimes you don't want to walk around smelling like you're going to the pool or to the beach."
Dermatologist's Favorite Body Skincare Products: Cleanser, Exfoliator, Sunscreen, & More!
"Another affordable body sunscreen that I really like is the Banana Boat Light as Air Sunscreen which is SPF 50 and water resistant."
The Best Sunscreen for Your Kids | Dermatologist Picks!
"This is one of my all-time favorite sunscreens not just for kids but also for adults. One, it is crazy affordable. Two, it rubs in so effortlessly like you rub it on and it disappears into the skin. Three, it has a really lovely fragrance."
Dermatologist's Skincare Tips for People Who Don't Like Skincare | Dr. Sam Ellis
"Another sunscreen I really love and recommend all the time is the Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50. This is a broad spectrum lightweight lotion that rubs in so easily to the skin and has a really nice pleasant sort of neutral scent and you can apply it on your face or your body. I also love that this is accessible so you can get it in most drug stores and that it's incredibly incredibly affordable."
My Favorite Sunscreens! Dermatologists Recommendations from Beauty of Joseon, NATURIUM, & More
"This is an SPF 50 sunscreen, it is water resistant for 80 minutes. It is so light as air, I mean it's like applying a lightweight body lotion, it is exceptional. That whole tube is like less than ten dollars. This also does have a little bit of fragrance, it's a very light sweet smell that kind of goes away once the sunscreen dries down, but I feel like a lot of people prefer that to the traditional kind of chemical sunscreen scent, so I very much enjoy putting this on."
HotandFlashy
HotandFlashy
1.23M subs
✓Yay
"Another favorite body sunscreen is the Banana Boat Light as Air, which I recommend to people who do not like the sticky feeling sunscreen can give. [...] You put it on and feel like you do not have anything on. It is great, and it is 25% off."
Sponsored
All 11 takes from HotandFlashy
Summer Skincare Routine Vlog!
"I love this Banana Boat Light as Air, it's really like a dry feeling sunscreen you don't feel greasy with it. It is scented, it does have a fragrance but it's very light, not one of those super heavy beachy fragrances."
Haircare, Body Skincare, Makeup Empties | Joining the Gray Hair Movement?
"I have been talking to you about the Banana Boat Light as Air sunscreen, this has been my favorite body sunscreen for years and years and years. I absolutely love it. It's just my go-to sunscreen because it is what the name says, which is light as air. You put it on and you don't feel hot, you don't feel greasy, it doesn't make your skin feel sticky, it doesn't feel heavy."
FAVES + Fails! Best Summer Sales, Makeup, Skincare & Home! July 2023
"I use the Banana Boat Light as Air, I love this one. It literally is light as air, it doesn't feel like anything on your skin. It's probably the most lightweight with the lightest, almost not there feel even though it does have a fragrance. So this is like my everyday sunscreen. But I gotta say I've noticed in pictures it makes me look a little gray, which is weird. Like in real life it doesn't make me look gray, but in pictures it photographs a little grayish. And it's a little weird."
Trash or Treasure? Reviewing Products I've Used Up! Makeup, Skincare, Beauty
"This is banana boat light as air SPF 50 I love this sunscreen if you've always hated putting on sunscreen because it feels heavy feels greasy makes you hot give this a try it's super lightweight really nice formula dries back really quickly you just don't feel it on your skin you know you don't see it on your skin it doesn't settle in your wrinkles"
BEST DEALS In BEAUTY, CLOTHES, SUPPLEMENTS, HOME | Prime Day 2025
"Another favorite body sunscreen is the Banana Boat Light as Air, which I recommend to people who do not like the sticky feeling sunscreen can give. [...] You put it on and feel like you do not have anything on. It is great, and it is 25% off."
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"For people who really hate the feeling of sunscreen, that is an awesome sunscreen, really very lightweight, and doesn't feel like anything on the skin."
Faves + Fails! New HG Concealer + HG Sunscreen! May 2022
"For body sunscreen, I wanted to share my favorite, which is Banana Boat Light as Air. This is a standard chemical sunscreen. I've never found a mineral sunscreen that looks great on the body because they all leave too much of a white cast. This is a beautiful sunscreen, it's super lightweight, it rubs in really easily, it's not thick, it's not greasy, it doesn't make me feel hot. I just love this sunscreen so much, so that is my go-to sunscreen for all of my exposed skin all summer long."
Anti-Aging Skincare That WORKS! Morning Routine Over 55
"I use Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 for my body sunscreen. This is the best sunscreen I have ever used. I've tried lots and lots and lots of different body sunscreens. This one just doesn't feel greasy. It feels so like skin on your skin. It doesn't leave you sticky. It doesn't make you hot. It just doesn't even feel like you're wearing anything. It literally is light as air, so I love it."
Empties | A Trip Through My Trash | So MUCH Skincare!
"This is my favorite body sunscreen and you know, summer's just ending and I used a lot of this over the course of the summer."
Top 20 of 2021
"It's a wonderful sunscreen. It dries right away, it doesn't feel sticky, it doesn't make you hot and it's a really great sunscreen product."
Empties! A Trip Through My Trash!
"I go through a few of these body sunscreens over the course of the summer. This is banana boat light as air SPF 50, and I just love it. It is what the name says: it's light as air. It's the only sunscreen that doesn't feel greasy on my skin, doesn't settle in my wrinkles, and doesn't give me a weird white cast."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Vitamin C

Topical vitamin C is an antioxidant with reasonable evidence for dullness and uneven tone. It breaks down in light and air, so how a product is formulated and packaged matters as much as the percentage on the front.

Source: DermNet

Sunscreen filters

Sun protection is the best evidenced way to slow visible ageing, and the filters are what does the work. Mineral and chemical filters both protect when a product is applied thickly enough and often enough, which is where most people fall short rather than on the choice of filter.

Source: DermNet

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 Body Sunscreen?

A lightweight SPF 50 sunscreen with 80-minute water resistance, formulated to feel like a body lotion rather than traditional sunscreen.

Is Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 Body Sunscreen worth it?

Yes. All 2 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 88%.

What is Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 Body Sunscreen's Guru Score?

Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 Body Sunscreen holds a Guru Score of 88%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 2 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

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