A mother is begging retail bosses to change their “misleading” labelling on sun cream after her nine-year-old daughter was scarred for LIFE.
Mum Caroline Lamb, 50, slathered the high factor cream on her daughter Daisy confident she would be safe in the pool thanks to the “one hour” water resistance promise.
But she was horrified when after less than an hour in the pool in Rhodes, Greece, her daughter was left with horrific burns which turned into blisters.
Daisy, who has ADHD, penned a heartfelt letter describing the pain as “like a million needles in my arms and back”, which she sent to bosses at Boots.
Furious Caroline contacted Boots over their Soltan Once cream for kids demanding answers.
But she was astonished when they said it was actually only 50 per cent effective in water after 40 minutes – contrary to the one-hour protection advertised on the bottle.
She begged bosses to change the labelling – but claims they refused – and now wants to raise awareness after doctors said Daisy could be scarred for life.
In her letter to Boots, Daisy said: “I hope you understand that my skin will be sensitive forever and there is no cure.
“I feel very sad because my friends in Greece saw me sad and grumpy because of my sunburn.”
Caroline, of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, said Daisy, now 10, was forced to wear a t-shirt for the rest of the week-long trip in the tropical heat of Peskos this summer.
She said: “She has got ADHD so she follows everything to the rule, she looked at the bottle and said to me ‘mummy after an hour I have to reapply it to make sure it’s settled in properly’.
“We got the holiday funded through an organisation called the Family Fund, we wouldn’t have been able to afford it otherwise so it was an opportunity to take Daisy away to a place where she is actually treated like normal because ADHD does mean people see her as quite extreme and over the top.
“We had so been looking forward to the break and it’s memories, memories that you can’t get back.
“She was in pain most of the time, she was grumpy, she was irritable, she wasn’t her usual self.”
Since coming home doctors have prescribed creams and antihistamines, and say Daisy may need to wear a UV vest every time she goes back out in the sun.
Caroline made an official complaint to Boots and was offered £50 as compensation for the ruined holiday, which she says was insulting.
In an email sent to Caroline by senior customer manager Helena Webster, she said: “You shared your concerns that this wording had the potential of being misread or misinterpreted as waterproof.
“Having reviewed this as promised, the labeling will stay the same as the term is industry standard across all manufacturers. The definition is that a water resistant formulation will retain more than half the protection after 40 minutes spent in the water.”
A spokesperson for Boots said: “We are very sorry to hear about this incident. The quality and safety of our products is of the utmost importance to us and we take the safety and wellbeing of our customers very seriously.
“Although the customer did not send the original product she used back to us, we have rigorously tested samples from several different batches of the same product which were on sale in the store at the same time the customer made her purchase. Results from this testing gave no indication that there was a fault with the product.
“The water resistancy of sun cream is assessed using a standard test across the board and the claim can only be made if it meets the pass criteria stipulated.
“All of our sun care products are thoroughly tested during their development to ensure they meet the required industry standards for the protection they will offer.
“They are also tested by customers on holiday to ensure they stand up to the rigours of normal holiday use before they are launched.”
