Best sunscreen for face – by skin type

In Aus­tralia and New Zealand, we unfor­tu­nate­ly have the high­est skin can­cer inci­dence and mor­tal­i­ty rates in the world¹. In fact, stud­ies show that hav­ing just five blis­ter­ing sun­burns before the age of 20 can increase your melanoma risk by 80%.²

That’s why skin can­cer experts agree that it’s essen­tial to wear a broad-spec­trum, SPF30+ sun­screen all day, every day, espe­cial­ly in the sum­mer months.

In fact, sun­screen guide­lines for both Aus­tralia and New Zealand rec­om­mend that we should be apply­ing sun­screen every day when the UV index is pre­dict­ed to reach 3 or above¹. And not just in sum­mer, even in win­ter, the sun’s harsh rays can still dam­age your skin.

It’s rec­om­mend­ed that sun­screen is applied every day to the face, ears, neck, scalp if uncov­ered – and all parts of the body not cov­ered by cloth­ing. Aim to apply sun­screen as part of your morn­ing skin­care rou­tine to pro­tect your skin from the harm­ful effects of every­day sun expo­sure – and remem­ber to reap­ply it after every two hours of sun exposure.

This applies to the whole fam­i­ly – includ­ing babies, chil­dren and teenagers. Aus­tralian brand New Day Skin cre­ates facial sun­screens espe­cial­ly for teens and tweens.

Sun­screens come in many dif­fer­ent tex­tures and for­mu­la­tions but, essen­tial­ly, there are two main types available:

1. Min­er­al sun­screens (block­ers) – also known as​‘phys­i­cal’ sun­screens. These sit on top of the skin and phys­i­cal­ly block out/​reflect rays, as well as absorb­ing them. Look for min­er­al sun­screens that con­tain zinc oxide and/​or tita­ni­um oxide – prefer­ably both – to pro­vide broad-spec­trum coverage.
2. Chem­i­cal sun­screens – con­tain spe­cif­ic chem­i­cals designed to absorb UV light. The UV is then trans­mit­ted into a very low heat ener­gy. These sun­screens sit in the out­er, non-viable lay­er of the skin, and absorb UV light through­out the day. The active ingre­di­ents in chem­i­cal sun­screens include avoben­zone, octi­nox­ate and oxybenzone.

Each type has its pros and cons and it real­ly comes down to per­son­al pref­er­ence and skin type. Min­er­al sun­screens tend to be less irri­tat­ing, so they tend to work best on sen­si­tive skins (includ­ing children’s del­i­cate skin) – how­ev­er, they can feel​‘heavy’ and be dif­fi­cult to ful­ly blend into the skin.

On the oth­er hand, chem­i­cal sun­screens can be a bet­ter option if you want a water-resis­­tant for­mu­la, play sports or sweat a lot and/​or want a sun­screen that quick­ly absorbs into the skin.

Sun­screen tech­nol­o­gy and for­mu­la­tions are improv­ing all the time. For exam­ple, many of La Roche Posay’s sun­screens con­tain a mix of both phys­i­cal and chem­i­cal block­ers, plus they are der­matolog­i­cal­ly test­ed for sen­si­tive skin.

Look for a sun­screen that:

• Pro­vides broad-spec­trum pro­tec­tion against both UVA and UVB
• Is specif­i­cal­ly tai­lored to your skin type
• Is ultra-light and non-greasy so you can wear it every day
• Doesn’t sting the eyes
• Min­imis­es the impact on the environment

Read on to find out which sun­screens are rec­om­mend­ed for each skin type.

If you have fair or sen­si­tive skin, look for a sun­screen specif­i­cal­ly for­mu­lat­ed for sen­si­tive skin, fra­­grance-free or hypoal­ler­genic. If you have sen­si­tive skin, it is best to always patch test a prod­uct before using.

Our favourite sun­screens for sen­si­tive and fair skin include:

1. Avene Sunsitive® Sunscreen Fluid SPF50+

Avène’s Sunsitive® Sunscreen Fluid SPF 50+ is a lightweight fluid sunscreen for the face. Made in Australia, it has been specifically formulated to combat the harsh Australian and New Zealand sun. This fragrance-free sunscreen is suitable for sensitive skin and provides very high broad spectrum UVB-UVA protection. Contains Vitamin E and Aloe Vera, known for their hydrating and antioxidant properties.  

2. Cetaphil Daily Defence Cream SPF 50

This mineral UV formulation provides physical defence against harmful UVA/UVB rays with 120 minutes of water resistance. It is lightweight, non-irritating and won’t leave a white cast on the skin. Fragrance free and dermatologist tested, it is gentle on sensitive skin. 

3. Neu­tro­ge­na Sen­si­tive Skin-Face Min­er­al Sun­screen Broad Spec­trum SPF50

This gen­tle, 100% min­er­al liq­uid for­mu­la is non-clog­ging, oil-free and hypoal­ler­genic – plus it’s free of para-aminoben­­zoic acid and fra­grance, which means it’s suit­able for those with both sen­si­tive skin and acne to wear dai­ly. And, amaz­ing­ly for a gen­tle sun­screen, it’s also water-resis­­tant for up to 80 minutes.

If you often get a lit­tle​ ‘glowy’ through­out the day, search out sun­screens that have a mat­te fin­ish or lighter gel for­mu­la­tions which feel less heavy on your skin. Here are three of our faves:

1. Avene Sunsitive® Sunscreen Fluid SPF50+ / Avene Sunsitive® Sunscreen Tinted Fluid SPF50+  

The Sunsitive® fluid is a lightweight non-comedogenic sunscreen that is fast absorbing, leaving the skin with a matte finish. Made in Australia, it’s formulated to offer very high broad spectrum UVB-UVA protection, defending the skin against the harsh Australian and New Zealand sun. Fragrance-free and suitable for sensitive skin.

2. Shi­sei­do Urban Envi­ron­ment Oil-Free UV Pro­tec­tor SPF42

This is an ultra-light, oil-free sun­screen lotion for every­day face protection. Oil-free and ​‘mat­ti­fy­ing’, yet light­weight in feel, it’s designed to con­trol excess sebum while guard­ing against envi­ron­men­tal aggres­sors. It pro­motes the nat­ur­al beau­ty of skin by pro­tect­ing against the three major caus­es of skin cell dam­age – UV rays, oxi­da­tion and over pro­duc­tion of sebum – for soft, health­i­er-look­ing skin.

3. La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL Dry Touch SPF 50+

This anti-shine, dry touch sunscreen offers very high UVA/UVB broad spectrum protection. The mattifying lotion is non-greasy and non-comedogenic. Dermatologically tested for sensitive skin

If you have dry or mature skin, choose a facial sun­screen that con­tains hydrat­ing, ultra-nour­ish­ing ingre­di­ents like hyaluron­ic acid, ceramide or col­loidal oat­meal. Ingre­di­ents such as glyc­erin and saf­flower also leave the skin feel­ing deeply hydrat­ed, with a nat­ur­al satin finish.

Our top picks for dry or mature skin are:

1. Avene Intense Pro­tect 50+

For thirsty skin, this anti-dry­ing for­mu­la­tion pro­vides hydra­tion for up to 8 hours. It offers an invis­i­ble fin­ish with no white streaks – even on dark­er skin tones. One of its star fea­tures is TRI­A­SORB™, an organ­ic sun fil­ter with the abil­i­ty to absorb and reflect UVB, short UVA and long UVA rays, as well as high-ener­gy vis­i­ble blue light.

2. Avene Sunsitive® Sunscreen Serum SPF50+

Avène's Sunsitive® Sunscreen Serum SPF 50+ is an ultra-lightweight silky sunscreen serum for the face. Combining very high UVB-UVA broad-spectrum protection with hydrating ingredients Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E, and Aloe Vera. It leaves the skin hydrated with a dewy glow. Absorbing quickly into the skin, its invisible finish means no white cast, making it an ideal base under makeup.

3. La Roche Posay Anthe­lios Ultra Facial Sun­screen SPF50+

Ide­al for nor­mal to dry skin types, Anthe­lios Ultra Facial Sun­screen SPF50+ is a light and mois­tur­is­ing broad-spec­trum sun­screen that’s ultra-com­­fort­able, fra­­grance-free and der­ma­to­log­i­cal­ly test­ed. With Baicalin, an antiox­i­dant that fight free rad­i­cals on the skin’s sur­face, it’s also anti-eye sting­ing and leaves no white marks – bonus!

If your skin is prone to break­outs, choos­ing a sun­screen can be a conun­drum: many acne med­ica­tions can make your skin more sen­si­tive to sun­burn — how­ev­er, many sun­screen for­mu­las can con­gest your pores, which leads to pim­ples and more breakouts!

The best sun­blocks for your skin can cre­ate a flat­ter­ing mat­te look, and pro­tect the skin with­out increas­ing break­outs. Always check the label and make sure it says​‘non-come­­do­­genic’ — this tells you the for­mu­la­tion won’t clog up your pores. Two pop­u­lar non-come­­do­­genic sun­screen ingre­di­ents to look out for are zinc oxide and tita­ni­um dioxide.

Here are our top 3 picks for acne-prone skin:

1. Avene Sunsitive® Sunscreen Fluid SPF50+ / Avene Sunsitive® Sunscreen Tinted Fluid SPF50+  

This lightweight, non-comedogenic sunscreen is fast absorbing, leaving the skin with a matte finish. Specifically made in Australia, to offer protection against the harsh Australian and New Zealand sun, this sunscreen is suitable for sensitive skin. It provides very high, broad spectrum UVB-UVA protection and is fragrance free. Available in a tinted version to help unify the complexion.

2. Eliz­a­beth Arden Pre­vage City Smart Broad Spec­trum SPF50 Hydrat­ing Shield

Rec­om­mend­ed by der­ma­tol­o­gists, this rep­utable sun­screen is gen­tle enough for mature, acne-prone skin. The for­mu­la has a slight tint, which helps elim­i­nate any red­ness or white residue after application.

3. Cetaphil Sun SPF 50+ Ultra Light Lotion

This oil-free, non-comedogenic sunscreen is suitable for very sensitive or oily skin. Offering very high, broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection, it is water resistant for 4 hours. It is infused with Vitamin E and quickly absorbs into the skin, leaving a matte, non-greasy finish.

Facial sun­screens tend to be at least SPF (sun pro­tec­tion fac­tor) 50+, and for good rea­son. A high SPF sun­block can pro­tect your skin from the dam­ag­ing UV rays that cause pre­ma­ture aging and even help reverse the signs of dam­age by reduc­ing dark spots, improv­ing tex­ture and boost­ing skin bright­ness³.

The SPF tells us how long we can expect to be exposed to UVB rays before burn­ing com­pared to wear­ing no sun­screen. The high­er the SPF, the greater the expect­ed pro­tec­tion — for exam­ple, a SPF15 sun­screen pro­vides about 94% UVB pro­tec­tion, but pro­tec­tion is increased to 97% with SPF30 and to 98% with SPF50+.

Check your sun­screen before you buy to ensure it is​‘broad-spec­trum’, which means it con­tains both UVA and UVB pro­tec­tion. Utravi­o­let A (UVA) has a longer wave­length, and is asso­ci­at­ed with pre­ma­ture skin aging, eye dam­age, while Ultra­vi­o­let B (UVB) has a short­er wave­length and is asso­ci­at­ed with skin burn­ing and skin can­cer⁴.

Remem­ber that apply­ing sun­screen doesn’t just help to reduce sun­burn, it can also help to reduce the signs of aging. Aging UVA rays are present all day long and all year round – even in win­ter – and you can still be exposed to UVA radi­a­tion inside a car or close to a window.

What’s more, UVB expo­sure has been proven to play a strong role in devel­op­ing melanoma, the most dan­ger­ous of the three most com­mon types of skin can­cer.

Mon­i­tor your skin

The good news is that all types of skin can­cer can be treat­ed if they’re found ear­ly enough.

MoleMap skin cancer clinics offers professional services such as skin check and mole check – to suit every bud­get. And if you’re wor­ried about a mole, spot or lesion any­where on your body, we encour­age you to book a check now.

To sum up, (and we can’t stress this enough!) we rec­om­mend that you always, always, always wear sun­screen on your face, neck, ears, chest and any part of your body that’s exposed to the sun, every day, espe­cial­ly dur­ing the sum­mer months.

And wher­ev­er pos­si­ble, cov­er up with high UPF sun pro­tec­tive cloth­ing and/​or stay in the shade. Your future skin will thank you for it!

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^{References: 1. Australia: Melanoma Institute - https://www.melanoma.org.au/understanding-melanoma/melanoma-facts-and-statistics/ New Zealand: Melanoma.org - https://www.melanoma.org.nz/facts-risk-factors 2. American Association for Cancer Research: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers, June 2 2014 (6), 1080 - https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/23/6/1080 3.https://journals.lww.com/dermatologicsurgery/Abstract/2016/12000/Daily_Use_of_a_Facial_Broad_Spectrum_Sunscreen.7.aspx 4. Skincancer.org/risk-factors/uv-radiation}