I've never seen an Yves Rocher in Tunisia though I know them in other countries and use their postal service here in England.

Pharmacies in Tunisia are excellent. In PEK there is one just as you go through the archway who speaks excellent English. If you have your prescription with you he may be able to provide it, failing which you will be asked to visit the doctor just round the corner from there who will give you a prescription. I haven't used it for myself but have taken another English lady who lost her medication and was in a bit of a flap. I can't remember what he charged but it wasn't too bad. Sorry I can't be of more help but perhaps someone else has more information.

Sorry, but from their website there is no indication of a Yves -rocher shop in Tunisia.
As Aslemma says, the pharmacies are excellent and overall the retail cost of medications are cheaper then Uk and almost all "safe" drugs can be purchased without a prescription. Because the doctors here in Uk are not officially allowed to prescribe more than 3 months of medication in advance, we have to buy my husbands medication for the last three months of our stay. It's obviously cheaper in Uk, as we get free prescriptions, but still not as expensive as if we had to pay the full retail price over here.

I did some research on Yves Rocher its quite surprising its not in Tunisia as my friend from Algeria says there is one where she lives . but its ok as Ill be in France this year and stock up there .
The medication is nothing serious but for some reason is behind the counter over here but everywhere else its not I ll ask and see.
Just one additional question what factor do you recommend some one with fair skin to start off with. I bought SPF 25 which I heard is the best as anything higher is exactly the same protection.
Thanks for your help ladies

I haven't read that factor 25 is as strong as the higher ones - that seems odd to me - however, although we arrive in Tunisia early November, we always use factor 30 throught our stay, as although the weather is starting to get cooler then, the sun is stronger than you may realise - as is evident from the burnt skins we see! I would certainly never recommend that anyone with fair skin go less then 25 in the summer months.

I bought SPF 25 which I heard is the best as anything higher is exactly the same protection.

That isn't true and I think you might have misunderstood the point that was being made which is that for most people there is no necessary added benefit in going much higher, mainly because once you get to SPFs of 30 and higher the cost increases disproporiatelly and most people don't actually put enough on to get the added benefit. In fact most people don't put enough on full stop to gain the advertised protection at any SPF level.

SM

Yes I know it seems strange, but I ve read this in several magazines and even heard it on Ireland AM and Richard and Judy. According to skincare experts SPF 30 is the very maximum protection, Anything higher is around the same standard. Tests were done to prove this. Suncream manufacturers just charge people more money for the higher factors. My doctor said the same, people like the reassurance of high factors but factor 30 does the same job. Its just another way of ripping the consumers off.

Well, I think I'd prefer to go with the advice and information provided by the dermatologist, oncologist and plastic surgeon (rather than Richard and Judy!) who treated me for the removal of suspect moles from my face who explicitly made it clear that SPF25 is a good general purpose one to go for - and advised me to use that as a minimum on my face in the summer in future - but that SPF30 if used properly DOES offer higher protection and that SPF 35 if used properly is almost as good as a total sunblock as long as it is really slathered on.

The reason why many people do not benefit from the extra protection offered by higher SPFs is that they don't put enough on to achieve maximum protection. It is, therefore, incorrect to say that SPF 25 'is as strong as the higher ones' - it quite simply isn't. Yes, some skincare experts do say that most people might was well not bother using anything higher than SPF25 but this is because they are not using it correctly. SPF50 will act as a total sunblock but only if you leave it as a visible layer completely covering your exposed skin - but because this looks unsightly many people only use enough so that it will completely rub in and disappear. Do this and the added protection disappears too and you might as well use only SPF25.

But use an SPF25 on a child with fair skin and you'll soon find that it offers nowhere near the level of protection that they need for a full day in the hot summer sun, even if re-applied frequently and especially if they are in and out of the water in the Med. This is why some children's ranges not only have high SPF ratings but are also tinted so that you can actually see it and know that you have given them the maximum coverage required.

I can certainly tell the difference between SPF25 and SPF35 in use. Also you need to remember that the star rating is just as important if you are to enure that you are protected from both UVA and UVB radiation.

SM

FYI it was a dermatolgist on Richard and Judy!! I ve bought 25 for my body but 30 is for my face. I agree with SPF 30 as any thing higher is pretty much no extra protection.
dermatologist Audrey Kunin says

Anything from a 30 to a 45 are relatively similar. Those above 45 have not been shown to provide any extra protection

and research from the American academy of dermatology and American cancer society

*assuming that sunscreen is applied properly
Percentage of Protection from damaging UV rays:
SPF 15 = 92%
SPF 30 = 97%
SPF 40 = 97.5%
There is some controversy about very high SPF numbers and just how much more protection they provide. the difference in UV ray protection in SPF numbers becomes minimal as the number increases past about 30 or 40. The difference of protection between SPF 15 and SPF 30 is great (5%), but the difference between SPF 30 and SPF 40 is minimal (0.5%).

These are dermatologists who have done this research !!!!!!!!!

Exactly! And this is why I can't understand why you said the following:

I bought SPF 25 which I heard is the best as anything higher is exactly the same protection.

Both the sources you quote indicate that SPF30 WILL give you more protection than SPF25 and that to maximise protection you need to be using SPF30 and not SPF25. The debate is just how much more protection you get if you go higher than SPF30 and as Kunin states, it is those above SPF45, not SPF25 that have not been shown to offer any extra protection. I do largely agree with both the sources you quote - it's you I disagree with :-)

SM

I know I said 25 the first time but thats because there is not a huge difference between 25 and 30 about 1- 0.5% extra protection. But I agreed that SPF 30 is the maximum in my 2nd post. I said that "According to skincare experts SPF 30 is the very maximum protection" But debating on sun protection was not what I was asking for!!! I actually wanted to know whats the best to start off with as I need to buy one more bottle of suncream. Basically I was trying to decide between buying another bottle of SPF 25 or SPF 30. What I am trying to establish is do i need the maximum sun protection in June for this country?
*Edit to restore normal font Briar

Its spf 30 that the best I heard that any thing higher does not offer much extra protection!!! It depends on your skin type though. However Tunisia does get extremely hot I would avoid the sun between 12 and 3 pm