While we were on vacation my family and I tried quite a few different mineral sunscreens. We are not new to mineral sunscreens as I have been buying them for quite some time. My husband and I have somewhat sensitive skin. His is very sensitive to the sun and needs a high SPF. I tan much easier and don’t burn as easily as he does but chemical sunscreens are often irritating and the scents are too perfumey. What I don’t love about mineral sunscreens is the white cast. I think that is what most people hate about these sunscreens! They also can be harder to spread and blend into your skin. However with places like Hawaii banning chemical sunscreens it is time for more of us to consider mineral sunscreens as part of our skincare regime. These are the best mineral sunscreens for 2018.
First off what is a mineral sunscreen anyway? It is a sunscreen that uses mineral ingredients to block the suns UV rays. The active ingredients are usually titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These do not absorb into the skin like a chemical sunscreen would but sit atop the skin to work as a physical barrier.
Best Mineral Sunscreens for Face
Umbra Sheer Physical Daily Defense SPF 30 – This was by and far the best mineral sunscreen for face that I tried. It glides on very easily and blends in well leaving no white cast. It felt more like a moisturizer than a sunscreen. I did find that because it has a lower SPF and nothing said about water resistance that when I used it on my kids it didn’t last very long. I definitely needed to reapply more quickly than some of the others in this list. However for myself I found this the best option for face. This was also one of my favourite Drunk Elephant products from this review.
First Aid Beauty Pure Mineral Sunscreen Moisturizer – This was my second most favorite mineral sunscreen for face we tried and really it is right up there with the Drunk Elephant option. It is an SPF 40 and my kids and Husband used this regularly on our vacation. It was easily blended into the skin although it did leave a very faint white cast. It is barely noticeable once fully blended. The feel of this sunscreen is more matte than the Drunk Elephant option and has a very faint scent. This one is a bit less expensive as well.
Mustela SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen stick – We didn’t end up using this option as much as the others simply because it was harder to get good coverage. If you want to spot treat an area like your nose or ears or back of the neck, this would be a handy option to have but otherwise it was just awkward. The sunscreen itself did leave a white cast and it didn’t really blend all that well because you basically just put it where you put it with the stick. Good if you are covering a small area but otherwise I wouldn’t buy again.
Best Mineral Sunscreens for Body
Before I get right into it I want to say there is nothing wrong with putting these on your face, I totally slathered it on my kids faces, but for me personally I liked using a face sunscreen for my face as they tend to blend better and leave less of a white cast.
ThinkBaby Safe Sunscreen – you might be thinking why on earth is this woman using a baby sunscreen when she hasn’t had an infant in the house since 2012? Well baby sunscreens tend to have higher SPF, are less irritating and safer ingredients. There is a thinksport version of this but I went with the baby option. This was our favourite body sunscreen by far. It was so easy to blend. I can’t stress that enough this was very blendable. It did leave a faint white cast once blended. It felt moisturizing and my Husband didn’t think this was a mineral sunscreen. This is also has the highest level of water resistance so if you are heading to the beach or pool this is a great option. It does feel a bit greasier than the face sunscreens so keep that in mind when using for your face.
Live Clean Sport – this was our runner up. I found the formulation to be a bit thicker than the thinkbaby option but still blends well. It leaves a bit of a white cast but is a bit more matte and less moisturizing. This is a Canadian brand, I am not sure if you can get this in the US. It has an SPF 45 and is water resistant.
Coola Mineral Baby SPF 50 – this was the worst option we tried. It is the type that gives mineral sunscreens a bad name. It was so thick and goopy and did not blend well at all. It left a heavy white cast and the smell was a bit like oatmeal. Honestly I was really disappointed with this because I have seen this brand everywhere from GOOP to JCREW and their other products have good reviews. I just don’t recommend this at all. What is also disappointing is that this option is more expensive than the other two and they are FAR superior.
In the past we have tried Burts Bees and Badger brands. They tend to be harder to blend and leave a heavy white cast as well. They work as sunscreens just not as pleasant to put on as some of the others on this list.
Personally I believe that mineral sunscreens are really going to explode in popularity because of places like Hawaii banning certain chemicals that are found in other sunscreens. Reef safe sunscreens are mineral sunscreens.
Hopefully you will find my review helpful. Note that I didn’t try any of these products on under makeup. I don’t wear makeup to the beach or pool but if you are interested in what products work well with makeup you should watch Angie’s video. I also learned that I am probably not applying enough sunscreen to get the full SPF rating. This is likely why the Drunk Elephant didn’t work as well on my kids as some of the higher SPF options.
Do you have a favourite mineral sunscreen? Please share in the comments!