Is Sunscreen Considered A Liquid When Flying? (Explained)

When you take a vacation, there are many different rules and regulations you need to follow before boarding the flight, so it’s useful to know how one of the most essential products in your bag (that’s sunscreen) fits into these. Here is what you should know concerning sunscreen and flying.

Is sunscreen considered a liquid when flying?

If you take vacations very often, or you’ve been on a plane before, you’ll be aware of the various restrictions and regulations there are in place at the airport, no matter where you’re flying to or from, and they’re all designed with your safety and security in mind. However, sometimes these can be really frustrating, especially when you didn’t come to the airport prepared, and you’re greeted with an unexpected requirement to throw out all your liquids over 100ml. so, to avoid disappointment, it’s good to know what is and isn’t a liquid.

Arguably one of the most important things in your suitcase, a sunscreen is certainly a holiday essential, no matter whether you’re skiing or chilling at the beach or around the pool, and we’ll talk more about this later. For this reason, it’s good to know where things stand in terms of the flight rules for your holy grail product.

When you go through airport security, the rules can vary slightly between different countries and destinations, but they’re generally quite similar. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the exact allowance online, however this is normally up to 100ml of each product. This only usually applies to bags when they’re part of your hand luggage, outside of your main suitcase, but we’ll talk more about the various rules, and how to follow them, later.

The main thing to keep in mind is that yes, sunscreen does count as a liquid when you’re on a flight, so you’ll have to follow the same instructions as you would for any other.

Do I need to take sunscreen on holiday with me?

If there can be some complications which arise once you start to consider taking a sunscreen on holiday, you may even begin to wonder if it’s even worth it – I mean, do you really need a sunscreen? If this is sounding similar to you, and you need a little more reassurance about bringing your sunscreen along with you on holiday, or you just don’t see why you need one in the first place, read on to find out just a few of the many reasons you do – because it should be one of your #1 priorities:

• You’re protecting yourself from developing skin cancer: perhaps one of the most enticing, and important, reasons why you should be taking your sunscreen on holiday with you is because you are eliminating the increased risk of melanoma which arises when your skin is exposed to UV light. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and you increase your risk of developing it significantly when your skin isn’t protected from the Sun, but the risk is much lower when you do wear a sunscreen.
• You can trust the sunscreen you’ve got: if you are planning to just buy your sunscreen once you’re actually on your holiday, you may want to re-consider this, for a few different reasons. Firstly, you never quite know whether you’ll be able to get a good one once at your destination, and who knows what the price will be like. Getting your sunscreen before you take off is a much better plan, even if it involves a little more planning beforehand.
• You decrease the signs of skin aging: both premature and enhanced signs of aging in the skin can come from skipping out your sunscreen, and these are both things which so many people spend lots of money on trying to reverse or reduce. The truth is that prevention is always better than treatment in terms of efficacy, and you can prevent any premature aging, as well as enhancing the signs you may already experience, by just wearing a sunscreen, as UVA rays are notorious for causing this.

Also read: 7 Things A Sunscreen Does to Your Skin (Explained)

Can I take sunscreen on the plane with me?

If we’ve established that sunscreen is a liquid, this instantly makes your travel with it just a little more complicated, as the security rules are stricter with this, but it’s not much different to taking something such as a hand cream or hand gel on the plane – you just need to know what the rules are. As you will have seen earlier, it is important to be taking your sunscreen with you on your vacation, so here is how to take sunscreen with you on your flight, and everything else you need to know.

Firstly, as mentioned earlier, there are slight variations in the different rules and regulations depending on where you are in the world, but sunscreen isn’t a restricted product any more than another liquid, so it just follows these restrictions. For most areas, the limit for each bottle of product is 100 ml, and you’re often limited with how many bottles of liquids you can bring.

For example, when flying from the UK, you’re only allowed up to one clear plastic bag of your liquid bottles per passenger, and each bottle must contain less than 100 ml of liquid, and anything more will be disposed of by staff at the airport.

If you want to find out about the local restrictions near you, you’ll be able to find them on your airport’s website, or maybe even on a government one, too. Being prepared for this will pay off once you get there.

How should I take my sunscreen on a flight?

If you’ve reached the point where you are now looking for ways in which you can physically bring your sunscreen with you onto your flight, you may be searching for some ‘life hacks’ or other tips and tricks for flying with your sun care products, and this is the perfect place! There are a variety of different ways you can travel with your sunscreen, whether it’s a large bottle or a small one, in your suitcase or your hand luggage.

There are a few ways worth thinking about when taking your sunscreen on your flight, and the one you choose will, of course, depend on your personal preferences and the circumstances of your flight and vacation. The first idea is to purchase your sunscreen at the airport, even if it’s only some of it, as you can go over the hand luggage limit when buying products after you’ve been through security, in shops such as duty-free, just before you board the plane. Of course, this will only work if you know that you’ll be able to purchase the sunscreen you’d like, and you need to be certain that this will be available after the security and not before.

Another thing to consider is putting your sunscreen into your suitcase, rather than your hand luggage, as the rules about taking liquids onto the plane are different in this instance. This is good if you’re going away for a longer period of time, as you can pack an unlimited amount of liquids into your suitcase (as long as they’re legal, of course!) without any allowance restrictions, as long as it is not part of your hand luggage, and it’s placed in the hold of the plane rather than the cabin.

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You could also purchase some plastic refillable bottles (ones that hold less than 100 ml) to put your sunscreen into if you are putting it into your hand luggage. If you are taking sunscreen specifically for the face, it will usually be under this limit anyway, and you could always consider purchasing a travel-sized sunscreen bottle for convenience if that works better for you. Just ensure these all go into a clear bag before reaching security.

Final thoughts

In short, sunscreen is considered a liquid when you fly, so you’ll have to make sure your products comply with any ordinary regulations in place for other liquids, which can vary slightly between countries and governments. It’s important to ensure that you bring your sunscreen with you, nevertheless, and there are a few ways you can travel with your essential product.