Do you wear sunscreen every day, Dumplings? Applying a light layer on my face in the morning has become part of my daily routine. While I know we all need a little vitamin D directly from the sun, I feel more comfortable when I’m at least covering my face—plus, I like getting an extra layer moisture and antioxidants from my sunscreen.
I didn’t always have such a good relationship with my SPF, however. During my acne-prone teens years, I loathed slathering on sunscreen over my foundation to go to softball practice in the North Carolina humidity. *Shudders*
Clearly, I was making a few skincare errors, but I had the right notion that it’s important to still wear sunscreen even if you’re breaking out and it feels gross outside. Not only does this provide overall protection, it prevents healing acne marks from becoming hyper-pigmented.
Finding a good sunscreen for your face can be difficult. Even if you’re happy with the ingredients list, you still have to like how the sunscreen feels on your skin. Most of us are averse to heavy, oily face sunscreen while others (including me on some days) like something that really packs in the moisture. Whatever camp you fall in, we’ve got a mineral sunscreen for everyone–from lovers of a lightweight matte finish to those who need some skin quenching!
Best Vegan & Cruelty-Free Natural Mineral Sunscreens for Your Face
Best Affordable Mineral Sunscreen
Babo Daily Sheer Facial Sunscreen
This sheer sunscreen is packed with aloe, avocado, rose flower extract, shea butter, and jojoba oil. With soothing and moisturizing natural antioxidants like this, this sunscreen is perfect for complexions in need a little TLC. (On a personal note, I’ve recently fallen for the Babo line after buying their soap and moisturizer for my daughter…I find myself stealing it all the time!)
Best Matte Mineral Sunscreen
Naturopathica Lavender Protective Moisturizer SPF 17 (matte)
Suitable for acne-prone skin, this moisturizer-sunscreen combo won’t leave your face looking ultra greasy like some sunscreens. Plus, it can be worn under or over makeup (if you need an extra hit of SPF in the middle of the day).
Best Mineral Sunscreen for Acne
Juice Beauty Oil-Free SPF 30 Moisturizer
Have blemish-prone skin? Apply this oil-free sunscreen without fear and take heart that organic grape, pomegranate, aloe vera, vitamins (C, E & B5), hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, and nutrient-rich sea algae are nourishing your complexion.
Best Mineral Sunscreen For Super Sensitive Skin
Kypris Pot of Shade Heliotropic SPF 30
Kypris Pot of Shade offers broad-spectrum protection while serving as a moisturizing primer. This zinc-based sunscreen is free of essential oils, so it’s safe for even the most sensitive of skin.
Best Mineral Sunscreen for Combo Skin (Not Too Oily, Not Too Matte)
Designed with combination skin in mind, this environmentally safe, unscented sunscreen is extra gentle on skin.
Best Mineral Sunscreen for Pollution & Bluelight
This ultra lightweight sunscreen also contains a complex to protect your skin from the inflammatory effects of blue light from devices and city pollution. The light peach color prevents it from giving skin a tell-tale white cast.
Best Mineral Sunscreen for Eczema & Other Inflammatory Conditions
Marie Veronique Everyday Coverage Tinted Sunscreen, SPF 30
This non-nano mineral sunscreen is safe for all skin types, including sensitive and compromised. Special ingredients include red raspberry seed oil, which naturally helps prevent sun damage thanks to its high anthocyanin content (it’s also anti-inflammatory and can help prevent rashes, eczema and other skin lesions) and sea buckthorn oil, a carotenoid-rich oil that contains more vitamin c than an orange, more vitamin a than a carrot, and powerful antioxidant dismutase, which protection against free radical damage at the cellular level.
Best Mineral Sunscreen for Dry Skin
Perfect for dry and sensitive skin, this moisture-rich formula feels like a hug for your pores—or maybe that just the anti-inflammatory jojoba oil and bacteria-fighting green tea extract.
Best Overall Sunscreen
This powder sunscreen is pure as it gets: it consists of zinc oxide, powdered aloe leaf, frankincense essential oil, Moroccan roses, and rose geranium, among other powerful, healing ingredients. Because it’s in powder form, it doesn’t have any irritants, fillers, emulsifying agents, and comedogenic ingredients. But that’s not all–this stuff is seriously multi-tasking, because you can use it as an acne spot treatment *and* an overnight mask to heal acne/rosacea/eczema.
Simply use a tiny spoon to mix a pinch of the Veil with your favorite face oil on the back of your hand, and apply a thin layer to your entire face. I also like to spot-dab over any blemishes and dark spots. Whether you put it on as a night mask or as sun protection in the morning, Farizad’s Veil makes your skin *better* after using it. This is because zinc oxide is highly anti-inflammatory–and this is also a great way to feed your skin zinc, which is a skin-loving mineral that many vegans have to watch out for (in mostly animal sources, but also hemp seeds and nutritional yeast).
What’s your favorite sunscreen? Do you prefer natural mineral sunscreen or conventional SPF?
Related: Sparkle Like A Unicorn Without Polluting—4 Glitter Sunscreen Alternatives
Save Coral Reefs *And* Protect Your Skin With These Vegan, Non-Toxic Sunscreens
How To Choose The Purest Natural Sunscreen That Doesn’t Cause Breakouts (Video)
Get more like this–sign up for our newsletter for exclusive inspirational content!
__
Photo: Warren Wong on Unsplash
