It’s a scorcher of a summer day, and all you want to do is smear some sunscreen on your kid before they wriggle out of your grasp. Good thing you have this baby sunscreen, right? Because it’s easier to apply, or kids like it more, or… something? Not really. Many baby and kid sunscreens are just regular sunscreens gussied up with sweet-smelling scents or pastel packaging. Dismiss ..read more

Microplastics and nanoplastics are everywhere. The teeny tiny pieces of plastic have been found in everything from drinking water to chicken nuggets, apples, and broccoli. Recent studies have linked these pollutants to heart disease, lung disorders, and more worrying health issues. But unfortunately, microplastics are now so pervasive that they’re nearly impossible to avoid. If you’re concerned about the health effects linked to microplastics, the experts I spoke with said that you can lower your risk by taking care of your general health: getting plenty of sleep and exercise, eating a balanc ..read more

Thousands of practical and protective sun hats are available, but I’m much too vain for most of them. My summer style does not include looking like I’m in National Lampoon’s Outback Vacation. So I was intrigued when I noticed that the surfers in my San Francisco neighborhood near Ocean Beach were all wearing perfect straw hats. If surfers do one thing well, aside from looking effortlessly cool, it’s sun protection. The brims of their hats were wide, stiff, and just about flat so they didn’t obscure vision. Some were plain, blond straw, some were woven with simple, earth-toned designs. A littl ..read more

A good adult diaper can open up the world for someone with incontinence, making daily life a whole lot easier. A reliable diaper allows you to see friends, go to the gym, and travel without anxiety about leakage, smells, or finding the nearest bathroom to change. After testing 15 adult diapers, we found that drugstore options are mostly bad. If you’re fully incontinent, we think it’s worth spending more for premium diapers that offer better coverage. And if you need only light protection, say, for after labor, you may prefer incontinence underwear (which we’re currently testing). Dismiss ..read more

After spending 35 hours on research, squooshing more than 40 fabric swatches through 22 different detergents, talking to two fabric and detergent experts, and petting and sniffing freshly washed wool until we almost had a contact high, we found that Soak is the best detergent for delicates. It’s more than good enough to unseat the old guard, Woolite, which requires rinsing, feels slimy, and costs much more per wash than our pick. Dismiss ..read more

Anyone who has tried to pin down a wiggly kid who haaaaates the very necessary task of sunscreen application may be tempted by the promise of a new hack that can save everyone time and tears. That’s where Solar Buddies comes in. (The company name is Solar Buddies, but the applicator is called a Solar Buddie, which is confusing.) Invented by two entrepreneurs in the UK, the 3.4-ounce refillable plastic applicator dispenses lotion through a sponge directly onto skin and is intended to help kids apply sunscreen on their own. The company got an investment on the entrepreneur reality show Dragons ..read more

If you’re a Wirecutter devotee, you may have noticed that some of our picks have been the same for years. The Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug, for example, has been a pick in our guide to the best travel mugs since at least 2020. Its only real flaw: It keeps your drinks too hot for too long. The Zojirushi mug has remained a pick all this time, however, only because we’ve spent years testing it against other travel mugs as well as putting it through at-home trials. (Think of picks as being like politicians up for reelection, only instead of undergoing reconsideration every few years, they do so ..read more

If you give a kid their first phone, they’re going to ask for a social media app like TikTok. And when they download TikTok, they’ll see a funny video that reminds them of a friend. They’ll want to send a message to their friend, so they’ll likely ask to download another social media app like Snapchat. And so it goes. In the classic picture book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, all sorts of mischief follows after a child gives the hungry mouse a treat. It’s hard not to feel the same what-am-I-getting-into apprehension when you give your child their first phone, especially with the recent alarms ..read more

If you buy a new Windows laptop this year, you might notice a button on the keyboard you’ve never seen before. Dismiss ..read more

Whether your summer plans entail venturing into the wild, refreshing your bedroom, or gathering with family and friends for a backyard barbecue, Memorial Day is one of the best times to save on big-ticket items outside of Black Friday. In fact, our year-round price tracking shows that this weekend can be one of the best times to shop for mattresses and large appliances. Amazon, Home Depot, Target, and dozens of other retailers are slashing prices on furniture, cookware, TVs, clothes, and shoes right now to make way for new stock. We’re also seeing Memorial Day markdowns on fitness gear a ..read more