14 Best Mineral Sunscreens, According to Dermatologists
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We’re about to make a strong declaration: It’s entirely possible—maybe even easier than it seems!—to find a mineral sunscreen that seamlessly sinks into the skin, doesn’t leave a harsh white cast, and plays well with other skin care and makeup products. A bunch of great formulas exist now that weren’t even a thought a few years ago, and we’re happy to help you rewrite the script if your strongest association with physical sunblock is goopy paste that stings your eyes and makes you look like a ghost. To round up the best mineral sunscreens, we asked dermatologists and SELF editors to share their favorites. We also looked back at the winners of our very own Healthy Beauty Awards, all of which were thoroughly tested and reviewed. We’re confident you’ll find one that actually makes you excited to slather on your SPF every single day.
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Best for Beach Days: We love that so many trendy, glowy sunscreens are hitting the market, but sometimes you just need a simple and reliable SPF to throw into your beach bag when you’re worried about baking under the sun all day. Plus you can use it on your face and body without much fuss. (The bottle even turns blue when UV rays hit it to remind you to apply SPF.) “This sunscreen is both paraben-free and fragrance-free, making it a great option for sensitive skin,” Marisa Garshick, MD, New York–based dermatologist and clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, tells SELF. Reviewers say it blends in nicely and feels lightweight, too.
- Mineral SPF ingredients: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide
- Other notable ingredients: vitamin E to help moisturize skin
- Fragrance-free | Water-resistant for up to 80 minutes
Budget-Friendly Pick: You can usually count on CeraVe to deliver a fairly affordable formula that plays nicely with most skin types. Dr. Garshick recommends this one because it contains ceramides to strengthen the skin barrier, hyaluronic acid to hydrate, and niacinamide to soothe—plus a “universal” tint that aims to offset a potential white cast.
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide
- Other notable ingredients: salicylic acid (a gentle exfoliator)
- Fragrance-free | Oil-free | Non-comedogenic
Best Splurge: This might be one of the priciest ones on the list, but it’s well worth it, according to one SELF editor: “My job involves testing a lot of beauty products, especially sunscreens, and this one lives rent-free in my head because it’s just that good. It has a thin, runny consistency, so it’s super easy to blend into my skin, and its dewy finish looks great alone or underneath makeup. I plan to repurchase it once I run out!”
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: squalane, vitamin E, and shea butter to hydrate
- Fragrance-free | Non-comedogenic | Vegan
Editor Pick: Two SELF editors recommend picking this one up, and they say the word “glow” in the name shouldn’t scare you away: “I always worry that products like this will be too shimmery or make me look like a disco ball, but it’s perfect and hydrating,” one editor says. It comes in two flexible shades (fair/medium and medium/deep) that are more about mitigating a white cast than providing coverage.
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: vitamin C to brighten and protect; skin-firming peptides
- Fragrance-free | Non-comedogenic | Vegan
Soothing Formula: The combo of anti-inflammatory colloidal oatmeal and niacinamide makes this SPF a great option if you’re consistently dealing with redness or other signs of irritation. “As a sensitive-skin girlie, I love that this Olay one is SO lightweight and soothing,” one SELF editor says. “My favorite part is that this sunscreen has a cooling effect on my face, which is perfect for those really hot summer days or when I’m going through a rosacea flare-up.”
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: hydrating glycerin, peptides
- Fragrance-free | Oil-free
Best Scent: This body sunscreen doesn’t leave behind that tacky, greasy feeling. “It dries down within seconds and leaves behind a more matte-like finish, so no stickiness, no white cast, no pilling,” one SELF editor says, adding that she skips perfume on days when she applies it, thanks to its delicious scent that’s “coconuty with a hint of banana sweetness.”
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: aloe vera, shea butter, glycerin, niacinamide, vitamin E
- Water-resistant for up to 80 minutes | Vegan
Best for Sweaty Activities: Here’s a great option to toss into your hiking backpack or sports bag, since it’s in a compact tin and has a thicker water-resistant formula that’ll stay put even when you start to sweat (of course, you’ll still need to reapply, but it won’t slip-slide around as much). “It’s a bit heavy for everyday use, but that’s what makes it perfect for outings like hiking or surfing because it stays on so, so well,” one 2022 Healthy Beauty Award tester wrote. And once you’ve gone through it, you can easily reuse or recycle the metal tin.
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredient: vitamin E
- Water-resistant for up to 80 minutes
Best for Dry Skin: This 2023 Healthy Beauty Award winner is “creamy and dreamy” according to one tester, who also says it’s like a “moisturizer that makes you instantly feel better about yourself.” Along with protecting your skin from the sun, this sunscreen gives your complexion a pretty glow, according to our tester, and works to minimize dark spots and even out your skin tone with the help of tranexamic acid.
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: aloe vera, hyaluronic acid
- Oil-free | Water-resistant for up to 80 minutes
Best Stick SPF: Easy to take on the go? Quick and mess-free to apply? Great for your face and body? This 2022 Healthy Beauty Award winner checks all the boxes. “It’s like a grown-up version of the face stick we all grew up with,” one tester wrote. “I really like the size and how portable it is to throw in a bag or backpack. It rolled on smoothly and my face enjoyed the process of applying sunscreen—a rarity!”
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: cacao seed and shea butters to hydrate, bisabolol (a soothing and skin-softening ingredient)
- Water-resistant for up to 80 minutes | Fragrance-free | Oil-free
Best Spray SPF: You still need to rub spray sunscreen into your skin to make sure you get adequate coverage, but there’s something about spritzing it on that makes it feel a little less high-maintenance (and, as a nice bonus, this formula isn’t sticky or greasy either). Dr. Garshick says this is an especially great option “for people who are active and spend a lot of time outdoors,” since it’s easier to apply and is water- and sweat-resistant for up to 80 minutes. Just make sure to apply an even layer, even if that means asking a friend to get your back!
- Mineral SPF ingredients: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide
- Other notable ingredients: aloe vera, glycerin, bisabolol
- Vegan
Best for Deeper Skin: Biossance’s face SPF earns major points from Mona Gohara, MD, associate clinical dermatology professor at the Yale School of Medicine and president of the Women’s Dermatologic Society. “This sunscreen is particularly good for those of us with melanin-rich skin, as I’ve found it does not leave a white cast,” she tells SELF.
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: squalane, glycerin, bisabolol, ectoin
- Fragrance-free | Vegan
Best for Oily Skin: This tinted sunscreen is a solid choice for folks with sensitive, oily, and/or acne-prone skin, since it’s free of potentially irritating fragrances and oils and is formulated to not clog pores. “It offers a fast-absorbing, easy-to-apply, lightweight texture that leaves behind a matte finish,” Dr. Garshick says.
- Mineral SPF ingredients: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide
- Other notable ingredients: vitamin E
- Water-resistant for up to 40 minutes | Fragrance-free | Oil-free | Non-comedogenic
Best Powder SPF: A powder sunscreen shouldn’t be your first line of defense against the sun but it’s an easy way to touch up your SPF throughout the day—and this one from Colorescience is a super-popular option. “It has a very subtle shimmer that helps give that enviable glow yet still manages to mattify on a hot summer day,” Rachel Westbay, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Marmur Medical in New York City, previously told SELF.
- Mineral SPF ingredients: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide
- Other notable ingredients: hyaluronic acid, glycerin
- Fragrance-free | Water-resistant for up to 80 minutes | Non-comedogenic | Oil-free | Vegan
Best Lip Balm With SPF: Your lips need sunscreen, too! This balm delivers a pretty, glossy pop of color in addition to sun protection. You’ll get a moisture boost thanks to mango, shea, and murumuru butters too.
- Mineral SPF ingredient: zinc oxide
- Other notable ingredients: peptides, bisabolol
- Vegan
Mineral vs. chemical sunscreen, explained
There are two types of sunscreen: mineral and chemical. “The key difference [between them] involves the active ingredient that’s screening the sun,” board-certified dermatologist Jerome Potozkin, MD, founder of PotozkinMD Skincare & Laser Center in California, tells SELF. “Mineral sunscreens typically have zinc oxide or titanium dioxide [or both]. With the mineral SPF, the sunscreen actually sits on the skin’s surface and reflects the light hitting the skin.” That’s why you’ll sometimes hear mineral sunscreens referred to as “physical” sunscreens—they form a physical barrier between the skin and the UV rays.
Meanwhile, chemical sunscreens contain ingredients like avobenzone and octisalate, among others, David Kim, MD, a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist at Idriss Dermatology in New York City, tells SELF. “They absorb the heat from the UV rays and dissipate it. The chemical filters don’t physically block the UV rays from penetrating the skin, but rather absorb the damage caused by the UV rays.”
Mineral and chemical sunscreens each have pros and cons, depending on your skin type and tone, but remember the general rule of thumb: “The best sunscreen is the one you will actually use,” Farah Moustafa, MD, board-certified dermatologist and director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, tells SELF. That said, “mineral sunscreens tend to irritate skin less and cause less allergic reactions and irritation,” Dr. Moustafa says. For that same reason, Dr. Kim recommends using a mineral SPF over a chemical one if you have rosacea, eczema, or another chronic skin condition.
What to look for when shopping for mineral sunscreen
Pick a sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 30 and broad-spectrum protection, which means it protects against UVA (linked to skin aging) and UVB rays (associated with skin burning). Mineral formulas are notorious for that dreaded white cast, so if you’re worried about that, go with a tinted sunscreen that’s designed to offset that ghostly look (and in some cases, add a bit of coverage).
For face sunscreens specifically, ingredients like niacinamide and hyaluronic acid are nice, but they’re not imperative—especially if you already apply a serum and face moisturizer in the morning.
Again, the best mineral sunscreen is the one that you’re actually going to use (and reapply, ideally every two hours!). “There’s nothing that damages the skin as much as the sun,” Dr. Kim says. Sure, your SPF can stave off premature signs of aging and dark spots, but let’s not forget the main reason why we need and love it: It is one of the best tools we have to prevent skin cancer.
SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.