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You should be wearing SPF year-round, but if nothing else, please wear it in the summer. Sunscreens are a must in protecting yourself from sun damage, pollution, and skin cancer — however, popular chemical sunscreens contain UV filters that harm aquatic life, including coral reefs. Certain studies have also shown that chemical SPF ingredients are more irritating and harmful toward your hormones and skin — a 2020 FDA-funded study found that the only two safe SPF ingredients were Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, the primary bases of most mineral sunscreens on the market. Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite nontoxic sunscreens from skincare’s leading brands, so you don’t have to sacrifice style for substance.
This cult-favorite sunscreen brand thankfully has a mineral version, complete with a sheer, airy, scentless formula packed with antioxidant bamboo extract. Unseen Sunscreen also works as a primer that preps your skin and grips your makeup for a natural, polished finish. Suitable for all skin types, the easy-to-use SPF is also fragrance-free, paraben-free and cruelty-free, making it one of the ultimate clean sunscreens.
Complete with bright and summery packaging, the French beauty brand has outfitted their SPF with grapevine and niacinamide, which works to brighten, hydrate, and even your skin while protecting it from UV rays. The lightweight product aims to reduce dark and sun spots while preventing further signs of aging and sun damage. It's formulated without silicone and avoids clogging your pores. Due to its protective, high-SPF coverage, it's best to shake well and warm the texture of the product before working it into your skin, in order to avoid a white cast.
Available in three sheer, radiant shades, this tinted SPF provides a dash of polished coverage while giving you the sun protection you need. The formula’s antioxidant benefits come from seaweed extracts and vitamin C, which improve signs of aging and uneven skin tone, while plant oils work to nourish your skin. Designed for daily use, the formula is gentle, blendable, and non-pilling — even for sensitive or drier skin types. Bonus: the packaging is recyclable, so you’re choosing to do good by your skin and the earth.
If you’re going to use an SPF, it may as well be endorsed by a Victoria’s Secret Angel. Miranda Kerr’s natural beauty brand has created an ultra-luxurious, lightweight serum sunscreen infused with raspberry seed oil, ectoin, and chica seed oil. The ingredients work to infuse the skin with vitamins, moisturizers, and protection from free-radical damage. Its soft, pillowy formula defends against pollution, fights aging, and locks in hydration.
Your lips need some (vital!) love too, especially against harmful UV rays — and people so often forget to include them on their daily sunscreen application. Never risk your kiss again with this luxurious, creamy treatment that leaves a natural-looking flush of color while offering SPF protection. Packed with silky protein (surely its most elegant form) and botanical lanolin, it doubles as skincare and SPF all in one, keeping your lips plump, soft, and hydrated under the sun.
Herbivore's Star Seed Sunscreen evens your complexion and strengthens your skin's microbiome. The sunscreen-meets-brightening-treatment protects against both sun damage and cell damage, which causes the majority of premature aging. Its silicone-free formula goes on buttery and light without clogging pores, and is sensitive and acne-prone skin friendly. Vitamin C and prebiotics visibly reduce dark spots, protect against premature aging, strengthen your moisture barrier, and locks in your glow.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's lightweight SPF serum is crafted with a cocktail of marine plant oils and squalane, which brightens uneven skin tones and adds a weightless, silky hydration. In a study, 97% of customers reported an improved brightness in their complexion after a few weeks of application. The product gives your skin a smooth, natural, lit-from-within radiance, perfect to wear alone or as a base beneath makeup.
The neon-bright summer bottle contains a comfortable mineral sunscreen that melts into your skin. Ceramides and peptides hydrate, soothe, plump, and smooth your skin for a day's worth of ample sun protection. Described as a trifold skincare, sunscreen, and primer product, it's water-resistant, hypoallergenic, and non-acnegenic to boot. Plus, the formula comes in a peach-pink hue that offsets the white cast caused by zinc oxide’s natural SPF.
Take your sunscreen on-the-go with this innovative, portable serum stick, perfect for sliding into your purse pocket or beach tote. The high-shine finish combines the brand's bestselling glow serum with clean sun protection. Niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and squalane work to reduce hyperpigmentation and minimize pores, as well as hydrating, soothing, and moisturizing the skin. Watermelon extract gives a refreshing, beachy scent as well as a boost of antioxidants.
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