The 9 Best Face Sunscreens

How To Choose The Right Face Sunscreen

Choosing the best face sunscreen for your needs is easy when you understand what your skin needs to flourish when you’re on the beach. 

There are a few features which you’ll need to pay attention to when you’re shopping for the right sunscreen, including:

In this section, we’ll dive into each of these factors so that you’ll know which matter the most to your body.

Sufficient SPF

The sun protection factor (SPF) of a sunscreen lotion for your face is important because if the SPF rating is too low, you’ll get a burn despite putting on sunscreen. 

But, many sunscreens use SPF ratings as marketing techniques by advertising higher and higher SPF values. However, this betrays a poor understanding of how your skin absorbs ultraviolet radiation.

The SPF measurement on a sunscreen dictates the percentage of the sun’s UV rays that makes it through the sunscreen and your layers of dead skin to reach the layers of living skin underneath over a specified period of time.

Higher SPF ratings ensure that longer periods of time are needed to reach the same level of ultraviolet absorption. So, an SPF 45 sunscreen lotion will mean you take longer to get a burn than if you were using an SPF 5 lotion. 

But, an SPF 45 lotion doesn’t block 100% of the sun’s rays from reaching your skin. Nor does a higher SPF rating guarantee that your skin won’t burn from the small fraction of the exposure which it receives in a given interval of time.  

All a higher SPF rating does is buy your skin more time before it absorbs enough UV to get a burn.

This means that people with paler skin will still burn faster than someone with darker skin even if they both use the same powerful sunscreen. 

SPF also doesn’t tell you how frequently you need to re-apply your sunscreen to maintain protection.

Most sunscreens are rated for around two hours of protection before it is assumed that enough of the sunscreen has been sloughed off that it is no longer effective. 

For a hypothetical sunscreen with an SPF of 100 or more, this means that the amount of protection provisioned by the sun-blocking impact of the sunscreen is not helpful because the duration of sun protection which it provides is shorter than the time it takes for the sunscreen to be washed off by sweat or liquid. 

So, aim for a sunscreen with an SPF which protects you for the right amount of time for your skin type. 

Good texture

The texture of a sunscreen is an important factor because you’ll need to live with the feeling of whichever sunscreen you use on your face for at least a couple of hours.

Thick and creamy sunscreen lotions typically irritate your skin the least, but they can quickly blur the line between greasiness and feeling crisp.

Likewise, spray-on sunscreens usually have the easiest texture to bear on your skin, but some people may find them to feel a bit sticky. 

The choice of texture is up to you. There aren’t any specific benefits or problems that are inherent to different textures, but you should pick a sunscreen lotion with a texture that works for you. 

People with sensitive skin may also find that thicker or thinner textures are more comfortable, but the only way to know is to try. 

Low or no irritation

Many sunscreens irritate your skin, especially on the sensitive skin of your face.

Thus, you should opt for a sunscreen that doesn’t leave your face feeling like it is stinging. 

Different people will have different reactions to the chemicals contained in sunscreen lotion. Some people find that mineral-based sunscreens are less irritating than synthetics, but others may find the opposite. 

The modality of the sunscreen may make a difference as to how irritating it is to apply depending on your skin. Spray-on sunscreens tend to irritate the skin less than others because they apply less liquid. 

Creamy sunscreens, while often being targeted to people with sensitive skin, often contain a bunch of chemicals that will leave your face feeling swollen.

Many sunscreens also contain various types of mild acids which help the sunscreen to reach the deeper layers of your skin. While these sunscreens can provide better protection, they can also lead to worsening of irritation. 

In other words, pick a minimalistic sunscreen if you tend to get irritated skin. Fewer ingredients means that there are fewer potential triggers.  

Easy application

You’ll need to apply your sunscreen multiple times over the course of your time in the sun if you want to maintain a high degree of protection. 

This means that sunscreens which are easy to apply have a major advantage with regard to your compliance with a regular application schedule.

Especially for children and people who can’t be trusted to re-apply sunscreen on themselves, easy application can mean a spray-on sunscreen or a rub-on sunscreen stick. 

There isn’t a big difference in terms of the effectiveness of these two methods, as you’ll need to ensure that the coverage is complete with both. 

Typically, the sunscreens that are the most difficult to apply are the dermatologist-rated creams which are sold in small jars rather than tubes.

These are difficult to apply because you have to unscrew the jar and then lather the sunscreen rather than simply popping the cap.

Water resistance

Water resistance is a chief concern among anyone shopping for a good face sunscreen because water and sweat washes away sunscreen.

You’ll also be exposed to a lot of sweat or water if you’re at the beach. 

Water resistance has two components: sweat resistance and swim resistance.

Sweat is secreted from your face which means that it can push non-absorbed sunscreen off of your face. 

Sweat also has a different chemical composition than normal water, meaning that it can sometimes dissolve sunscreen lotion independently of its ability to wash it off. 

Swimming in bodies of water is different from sweating because the immersion in water doesn’t immediately penetrate into the deeper layers of your skin.

So, if the sunscreen lotion is effectively absorbed into your skin, it won’t be washed away immediately upon contact with water.

But, once you’ve been in the water for a while, the chance of the sunscreen being washed away rises precipitously. 

While many sunscreens advertise that they are rated for up to two hours of use in water, you should be extremely skeptical about your sunscreen lasting much more than 15 minutes.

Obviously, you’ll need to take the amount of your water exposure into account. A small splash of water onto your face will not wash off most lotions. Submersion will wash off even the most water-resistant lotions. 

In general, you’ll have better water resistance results when you use a sunscreen that rapidly absorbs into your skin and leaves behind a nearly undetectable layer on your face.

Thicker lotions are easier to wash off, and they may not always absorb as evenly. 

Environmental friendliness

The environmental friendliness of the sunscreen lotion is a minor factor which you should consider when you’re shopping.

Sunscreens have several ingredients which may be problematic for the environment. These ingredients include aerosolizers in spray-on sunscreens as well as the chemical components in the lotion which helps it to penetrate your skin and provide protection from the sun. 

In particular, mineral-based sunscreens may be less environmentally friendly than others because of the way that minerals are harvested.

Frequently, companies purchase minerals from mining operations which are insensitive to the environment. 

In some situations, this means that the minerals in your sunscreen lotion are produced from the destruction of coral reefs or other critical habitats.

While many manufacturers have moved away from these practices, some still continue, so check your brand carefully. 

In contrast, the aerosolizers included in spray-on sunscreen lotions are terrible for the environment because aerosolizers are greenhouse gases which accelerate climate change when they are disbursed into the atmosphere.

So, you should understand that your choice of sunscreen can influence the destruction of the environment and the planet. 

But, your contribution as an individual is most likely not very large. In other words, if you find an environmentally unfriendly sunscreen lotion that works for you when others won’t, you should keep using it.  

How Frequently Should I Reapply Sunscreen To My Face?

You should be reapplying sunscreen lotion on a regular basis and modulating your application schedule depending on your level of activity and your skin type.

If you have pale skin and you’re working out in the heat or swimming in the ocean, you should be re-applying your sunscreen lotion once every 60 minutes, even if it feels like you don’t need to add another layer.

In contrast, if you have a darker skin type and you’re not doing strenuous activity, you should re-apply your sunscreen once every two hours. 

Most people shouldn’t expect their sunscreen to last more than two hours under the best of conditions.

The rule of thumb is to re-apply your sunscreen more often the more activity you are performing and the higher the UV index of the day. 

You shouldn’t trust the claims of many sunscreen lotions regarding their extra-long protection.

While there are differences between short-acting and long-acting sunscreen lotions, these differences are minor when compared to the variability caused by sweating or rubbing. 

In other words, you should still apply your long-lasting sunscreen lotion on a regular basis.

The advantage of the extra duration is that there is a higher chance of an area you missed during the second phase of application remaining protected as a result of your initial slathering. 

So, while longer durations of sunscreen may mean you avoid a burn or two, it isn’t something that you should be relying on.

Instead, rely on your discipline for reapplying sunscreen on a routine schedule on long days that you plan to spend in the sun. 

Take note that you can’t escape a day with a higher UV index by slathering on a thicker layer of sunscreen lotion upon each application. Adding more lotion does not provide more protection beyond a very small initial amount. 

The point of applying more frequently during a high-UV day is that there is a lower chance of your protection lapsing for a significant period of time, which would cause you to burn faster than on a day with low UV. 

Also, be aware that you don’t need to reapply sunscreen lotions with lower SPF ratings more frequently.

The SPF has no bearing on how frequently you need to reapply the lotion, it only determines the time it will take for the sun to burn you when the sunscreen is in full force. 

On the other hand, there’s no disadvantage to applying more sunscreen lotion than you need. The excess sunscreen will probably be sloughed off as you sweat, but at least you can be sure that you will get the minimum amount necessary to protect your skin. 

Beach Ready

That wraps up our discussion of the best face sunscreens. We chose the Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen as our favorite sunscreen because of its all-around effectiveness, water resistance, and lack of irritation for people with sensitive skin. 

Our runner up was the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Non-Greasy Sunscreen Stick for Face & Body because of its easy application and non-greasy sheen which will protect you from the sun. 

If these two sunscreens don’t appeal to you, feel free to try several of the others on our list. Especially if you have a skin condition or a preference for a specific type of texture in your sunscreen lotion, the other options will serve you just as well. 

Remember to always re-apply your sunscreen lotion every two hours, especially if you’re sweating a lot or taking frequent dips into the water.

Protecting your skin is a lifelong activity, and you’ll need to be prudent if you want to keep it in good condition.