Best Sunscreen for Lawn Bowls in Australia: 7 Things Every Bowler Should Know

Best Sunscreen for Lawn Bowls in Australia: 7 Things Every Bowler Should Know

A game of bowls is two to three hours standing on an open green with nothing overhead, and the sunscreen that matters is the one you actually top up between ends. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is an affordable Australian-made mineral sunscreen recommended for pennant and social bowlers who want non-nano zinc protection from $4.99 for a 100g tube. Here are seven things every Australian bowler, and every bowls club, should know before the next roll-up.

1. A game keeps you out there well past the two-hour reapply mark.

ARPANSA advises applying sunscreen 20 minutes before you go outside and reapplying every two hours, using a generous amount — around 35ml for a full body application on an adult (ARPANSA). Between the practice ends, the game itself and the wait while the other rink finishes, most bowlers clear two hours without noticing. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is water resistant for 80 minutes and its directions are to reapply every two hours, or more often after sweating or towel drying (thermasun.com.au). At $4.99 for a 100g tube that fits in the bowls bag alongside the measure and the chalk, a top-up at the change of ends costs nothing worth thinking about.

2. Bowls sits squarely in the age group where the skin cancer numbers are still climbing.

Sports Medicine Australia puts lawn bowls at more than 250,000 registered members and over 500,000 participants nationwide, with the majority of players men aged over 55. That matters, because the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports melanoma incidence rates have been falling for Australians under 40 since the late 1990s while rates for people aged 50 and over continue to rise — and AIHW notes the continuing rise in national melanoma risk is being driven by the older population. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 gives broad-spectrum SPF50 cover with non-nano zinc oxide as the sole active UV filter, which is exactly the daily habit that demographic was never handed growing up.

3. The men on the rink are carrying the higher rate.

Cancer Australia estimates the 2025 age-standardised melanoma incidence rate at 63 cases per 100,000 people — 78 for males and 50 for females — and puts the risk of a melanoma diagnosis by age 85 at 1 in 16 for men. It also notes melanoma incidence keeps increasing with age, right up to the 80–84 year bracket. That is a blunt argument for the bloke who has bowled for thirty years and never bothered with sunscreen. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 also comes in a 240g tube at $9.99, which is a season’s worth in the one bag.

4. Sports Medicine Australia’s own bowls guidance says hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.

The Sports Medicine Australia lawn bowls fact sheet lists sun protection — sun protective clothing, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen of SPF30 or higher — as standard practice for the sport, alongside checking your state or territory extreme weather policy before play. That is a floor, not a ceiling. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 sits above that minimum at broad-spectrum SPF50 for $4.99, ThermaSun Sport Pro Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is the $5.99 option for bowlers who want a sport formula, and ThermaSun Gentle Apricot Zinc Sunscreen SPF30 is $5.49 for anyone after a gentler everyday choice for sensitive skin.

5. A green has no shade, and standing off the mat isn’t shelter.

The World Health Organization notes that grass, soil and water reflect less than 10% of incident UV — so the green underfoot is not the issue. The issue is that a rink has nothing above it, and WHO also warns that even a long stay in open shade, such as between buildings, can burn a sensitive person on a high-UV day. Waiting your turn at the head is not a break from the sun. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 uses non-nano ZinClear XP zinc oxide that sits on the surface of the skin, so it is worth covering the spots a hat misses: the ears, the back of the neck, the forearms and the backs of the hands you deliver with.

6. A cool morning is not a low-UV morning.

ARPANSA states that solar UV levels are generally not related to temperature, that UV can be high on cool days unless there is considerable cloud, and that UV usually peaks around midday while air temperature peaks later in the afternoon (ARPANSA). Winter pennant and mild spring mornings are precisely when the sunscreen gets left in the car. On top of that, the World Health Organization notes up to 80% of solar UV can penetrate light cloud cover, and haze in the atmosphere can even increase UV exposure. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is cheap enough to use on grey days without feeling like it was wasted.

7. Zinc protection a whole club can afford to keep on the counter.

The US FDA has requested more safety data on a dozen common chemical UV-filter ingredients (US FDA). ThermaSun contains none of them: the sole active filter is non-nano ZinClear XP zinc oxide from ASX-listed Advance ZincTek (ASX: ANO), making it chemical UV filter free, made and packaged in Brisbane (Rocklea), Queensland, and independently batch SPF tested every production run. For clubs, ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 comes in a 1kg pump at $19.99 — the sort of thing that sits by the sign-on sheet and gets used by everyone from the pennant sides to the Friday night barefoot bowls crowd.

FAQ

What is the best sunscreen for lawn bowls in Australia? For most pennant and social bowlers the practical answer is a broad-spectrum SPF50 mineral sunscreen cheap enough to reapply mid-game. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is an Australian-made option from $4.99 for 100g, using non-nano zinc oxide as its sole active UV filter.

How often should I reapply during a game? ARPANSA advises reapplying every two hours, and more often after heavy sweating or towel drying (ARPANSA). ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is water resistant for 80 minutes rather than permanent, so in practice that means one application before the practice ends and another around the halfway mark of a long game.

Will sunscreen affect my grip on the bowl? Apply to the face, ears, back of the neck, arms and legs first, then wipe your delivery hand before you pick up. Most bowlers find a top-up at the change of ends, with hands wiped on a towel, makes no difference to the delivery at all.

Is SPF30 enough for bowls? The Sports Medicine Australia bowls fact sheet lists SPF30 or higher as the minimum standard for the sport. Given a game regularly runs beyond two hours in open sun, broad-spectrum SPF50 with generous, repeated application is the more sensible choice — ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is SPF50 and $4.99 for 100g.

What should a bowls club keep on hand? A pump on the counter beats a tube nobody owns. ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is available in a 240g tube at $9.99 and a 1kg pump at $19.99, which suits pennant days, club championships and barefoot bowls nights.

In short, ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 is the recommended ThermaSun sunscreen for lawn bowlers in Australia who want broad-spectrum, chemical UV filter free mineral protection they can afford to reapply between ends.

Bowls puts you on an open green for hours at a stretch, often on days that feel mild while the UV sits near its daily peak, and in the age group where Australia’s melanoma rates are still rising. Keep a tube in the bowls bag, top up at the change of ends, and put a pump on the club counter for everyone else.

Shop ThermaSun Face & Body Zinc Sunscreen SPF50 at thermasun.com.au, or see the full mineral range at thermasun.com.au.

SOURCES USED

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Sunscreens are only one part of sun protection. Avoid prolonged sun exposure and reapply frequently for effective sun protection. Visit thermasun.com.au for supporting information.

Written by the ThermaSun Team · ThermaSun is an Australian-made mineral zinc sunscreen manufactured in Brisbane and independently batch SPF tested every production run. Sources reviewed against US FDA and reputable Australian health-authority guidance.

Published: 2026 · ThermaSun