The Ultimate Guide to Face Sunscreens

Avoiding the sun to prevent sun damage isn't the best way to protect yourself and your skin. After all, sun exposure is great for boosting your mood and vitamin D production. Instead, a better way to protect your skin from sun damage is to wear sunscreen. As your face is a part of your body that's always exposed to the sun, wearing face sunscreen is essential. And that includes those with darker skin complexions too (yes, you can risk getting sun damage even when you have more melanin).

When choosing the right sunscreen, there are a few things you need to know to help with your decision. So here's Supergoop's ultimate guide to face sunscreens!

When the topic of sunscreen is discussed, SPF is always mentioned. SPF stands for sun protection factor and is a measurement of how well a sunscreen protects your skin against ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation.

The higher an SPF value, the more protection it will provide: SPF 15 blocks 95% of UVB rays, SPF 30 blocks 97% and SPF 50 blocks 98%. It's recommended to use SPF 15 when you're indoors for most of the day and if you only spend a short amount of time outside. However, if you spend a lot of time outside, dermatologists recommend that you use a face sunscreen of at least SPF 30. Any face sunscreen that's above SPF 50 (we're looking at you, SPF 100) gives a false sense of security as they don't offer you significantly more protection. So any face sunscreen between SPF 30 and SPF 50 provides enough protection when you go outside.

Although SPF only measures protection against UVB rays, having a sunscreen that protects you against ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation is also important. UVA rays are short, so they don't penetrate as deeply as UVB rays. But UVA rays contribute to sunburn and the development of skin cancers. Therefore, when choosing your sunscreen, make sure to check that the label says "UVA/UVB protection," "broad spectrum," or "multi-spectrum."

Physical and chemical sunscreens protect your skin in different ways. Both have pros and cons that you should take into consideration when choosing the right face sunscreen for you. 

Physical sunscreen - aka mineral sunscreen - creates a physical barrier on the surface of your skin. This essentially acts like a shield to protect you from UV radiation. To determine whether face sunscreen is a physical sunscreen, check whether the packaging states "mineral or "physical." Another key factor is if it has ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide.

Because physical sunscreens sit on the surface of your face, they are perfect if you have sensitive skin! But, a downside to physical sunscreens is that they can leave a white or blue cast, which is very noticeable on darker skin complexions.

Instead of sitting on the skin, chemical sunscreens contain ingredients that absorb UV radiation to create a chemical reaction that converts it to heat, which defends the skin from harm. The common ingredients found in chemical sunscreen include avobenzone, homosalate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene and oxybenzone.

As chemical sunscreens absorb UV radiation, they tend to be much thinner than physical sunscreens and don't cause a white or blue cast. However, the ingredients of chemical sunscreens have an increased chance of causing skin irritation. And unfortunately, ingredients such as oxybenzone and octinoxate have been shown to cause coral bleaching, thus dangering marine life.

So we've gone through what SPF is, the difference between chemical and physical sunscreen and their pros and cons. But how do you apply face sunscreen? And how often should you use it?

The easiest way to ensure you're effectively applying your face sunscreen is to use the 2-3 finger rule. Apply strips of sunscreen on your index and middle finger (and your ring finger if your sunscreen is thinner) and apply it on your face, neck, ears and around your eyes. The 2-3 finger rule ensures that you're applying enough sunscreen to protect your face. If you are using a chemical sunscreen, don't forget to let it absorb for 15-30 minutes before going outside!

Two common misbeliefs about face sunscreen are that you don't need to apply it if the weather is cloudy and you don't need to reapply it if the SPF is high. Temperature doesn't cause sun damage, but UV rays do. They can penetrate cloudy skies so it's important to still wear face sunscreen even when the weather isn't sunny. And whether you use SPF 15, SPF 30, SPF 50 or even SPF 100, each only protect your skin from UV rays for around 2-3 hours.

So, if you're spending time outdoors, it's important to reapply your face sunscreen throughout the day to avoid the risk of sunburn and skin damage. If you're worried about reapplying your SPF with dirty hands or you don't want to risk ruining your makeup, you can always opt for our (Re)setting Refreshing Mist SPF 40, Glow Stick SPF 50 or (Re)setting 100% Mineral Powder SPF 35!

(Here, I will add photos with hyperlinks to each product mentioned in the blog post, to stay consistent with the format of Supergoop's blog posts)