The trials and tribulations of finding a sunscreen for your face that won’t leave white smears, is natural and non-toxic, is hypoallergenic, won’t clog pores, is easy to remove, isn’t expensive, and is maybe made by unicorns. Easy to find, right? Nah…
It took many years to finally find something that works for me! I’m very particular about what I put onto my skin and into my hair. After all, it takes less than a minute for your skin to absorb whatever ingredients you’ve put onto it, into the blood stream and lymph. Not to mention all of the fat-soluble toxins that stick around in your fatty tissue and disrupt your endocrine system (aka hormones)! And to top it off, so many of these xenoestrogens and other chemicals found in sunscreens are impacting the coral reefs and living creatures in our waters and oceans. No thank you.
In case you’re interested, for the ecological and health impacts of sunscreens I will create a separate post to go more in-depth about these, and the resources that you can access for more information and guidance. Coming soon!
To the point: My #1 favourite facial sunscreen this year is (drum roll please)
Australian Gold’s Botanical Sunscreen 50 spf
- Non-greasy
- Rich in antioxidants (vitamin E, extracts of eucalyptus leaf, Kakadu plum, Red algae)
- hypo-allergenic
- FREE of oxybenzone, fragrance, phthalate, PABA
- Not tested on animals
- Safe for coral reefs and water life
- Tested by dermatologists and paediatricians
- Water-resistant
- +/- 50 spf
- Light, natural-looking tint
- Affordable, standard price range
Ladies, this is the bomb. It holds a light tint so that no white smears are apparent, and it’s not a yucky artificial brown-orange like fake tanning lotion produces on the skin. It’s a non-greasy mineral lotion, meaning it is a chemical-free sunscreen and it does not clog pores. I don’t know what the comedeogenic rating is for the lotion (how likely a substance can clog pores), but it’s base contains silicone products (dimethicone, primarily), so it leaves a smooth finish on the skin, soft as a baby’s bum.
So far I’ve used it on very hot sunny days and while exercising (aka sweating). I find that it stays on the skin really well to keep my protected, but of course if you’re spending all day outside or on the water, you’ll need to re-apply (just like any other sunscreen). It doesn’t look or feel like I have have it on my face!
Last but not least, this sunscreen comes in three different tints: light skin tones, medium to tan skin tones, and rich to deep skin tones. No one gets left behind, ladies. As for the body sunscreen in this botanical line of sunscreen from Australia gold, at the time of writing this there is only one product and it does not contain any tint at all. I haven’t seen any reviews indicating that it pales the skin or leaves a white sheen, but I have yet to try it myself. Here it is, if you’re curious.
The cons (and a few solutions)
There are three things that I dislike about Australia Gold’s Botanical Sunscreen with 50spf.
- The tint stains clothing (especially white clothing!) and is tricky to remove.
- The sun lotion is tricky to wash off at the end of the day.
- Not all of the ingredients are totally natural or free of potential health risks.
To remove sunscreen lotion stains, whether tinted or not, there are a few things to try. To lift the stain from the fabric’s fibres, rub n scrub some baking soda into the stain with vinegar or a bit of diluted detergent. You can try a bit of lemon juice into the mix to enhance the bleaching effect, if you don’t want to use products containing actual bleach. If you do use bleach, be sure to dilute it and be careful with handling it (and use away from loved ones and pets!). Then you can add the item to your laundry.
I was struggling to wash off the sunscreen for a few weeks until one of my friends finally gave me a tip. I have a few totally natural cleansers for the face, and normally they work really well- but not against oil and silicone-based lotions, apparently! My friend told me that because the lotion has an oil base, it is best to cleanse the face first with an oil and woaaaahh that was groundbreaking! So now when I wear the sunscreen I apply a bit of pure oil to scrub into the face, then wash off, then use my facial cleanser. I always like to finish off my routine with a swab of witch hazel and rose, for their lovely astringent and anti-inflammatory properties.
Unfortunately, a number of the ingredients in this lotion are not necessarily the most natural or safest ingredients, though they have low rankings for toxicity and bioaccumulation. In order to verify this, I went to EWG’s Skin Deep guide online (link below), where they provide a comprehensive review of the ingredients list for this product. As someone living with chronic illnesses I want to be sure that I reduce my toxic load. So as a general rule of thumb I will use this lotion on days when I know I will get a lot of sun exposure, and when I will do sports outside.
I also am sure to wash my face really well once I am done outside. To aid in the skin’s ability to heal and repair from sun damage, dryness or inflammation, I also make use of products that contain Neem. For more about the amazing plant called Neem, see my blog post here. And I wear a hat, obviously…
On days of low sun exposure, I use a natural face cream with non-nano zinc oxide, and a totally 100% natural sunscreen that I have used many years by my favourite Canadian company Nezza Naturals. However, I usually try to use this sunscreen just on the body, because it does have a higher comedogenic rating and can have me break out with acne on the face.
P.S. If you want to learn more about what a comedogenic scale means for oils and other ingredients, check out this page from Herbal Dynamics Beauty! I am SO HAPPY that I found their page on comedogenic ratings. It holds an extensive and detailed list of ingredients and their ratings, as well as other perks about each one! So cool. 🙂
Thanks for reading, Spoonie ladies <3
