Best Sunscreen for Summer

The summer months can bring a lot of fun. School’s out for most everyone, and with the warm weather and shining sun most of us can’t resist spending more time in the beautiful outdoors.

For some of us that’s shopping – with lunch al fresco of course. For others it means swimming, lying by the pool and taking the perfect selfie, or even going on an interesting hike.

All this extra time in the sun makes it even more vital than normal to make sure that your skin is protected from the sun’s harmful rays.

Summer can also mean special sunscreen needs for you and yours, depending on where you live and the types of activities you like.

If you want to make sure that you’ve got exactly what you need to safely navigate the summer months without putting yourself at risk, this guide can help!

Buyer’s Guide

 

To guarantee your skin is properly protected this summer, make sure your next sunscreen has the following must-have features:

Broad spectrum protection

If you really want the best sunscreen cream for summer, you should make it a priority to look for products offering broad spectrum protection.

This level of protection assures your skin is shielded from both UVA and UVB rays, rather than just UVB. These rays aren’t visible to the naked eye, but they are what’s to blame for skin damage due to sun exposure.

UVA rays penetrate through glass if it hasn’t been specially treated to prevent this – even working in a sunny office or driving in a car you can be exposed to ultraviolet rays.

This type of ray penetrates more deeply into the skin, causing oxidative damage to the actual DNA of your skin cells. This is similar to what happens normally as you age, but with sun damage the process accelerates.

This can leave you with skin that is wrinkled, saggy, thickened and leathery before its time in addition to contributing to your risk of developing skin cancer.

UVB rays cannot penetrate through glass – you’re only exposed to this type of ray when in direct sunlight.

This type of ultraviolet ray affects skin on a surface level and is more immediately noticeable. Exposure causes skin to become tender, and then red, and eventually the skin can blister and become quite painful. This type of damage is what we know as a sunburn.

A bad sunburn in childhood greatly increases your risk of developing skin cancer later in life, and repeated sunburns in adulthood can cause skin discolorations known as sun spots.

These are areas where your skin has increased melanin production in an attempt to protect itself from the damage caused by UV ray exposure.

Both types of ultraviolet rays can contribute to skin cancer, and neither one provides any particular benefit.

If you want to enjoy the summer sun worry free, it’s best to only choose products that give you the most complete sun protection possible. That’s broad spectrum, every time.

Best SPF for Summer

If a sunscreen’s broad spectrum status tells you about the quality of the protection it offers, then the SPF rating should give you a clue as to how much of that protection it provides.

The trouble with SPF ratings is that they are very widely used and not as widely understood.

Sunscreen manufacturers take total advantage of this, subtly leading you to believe that more is always better in order to get you to pay premium prices for sky-high SPF ratings.

The good news is that you don’t need to shell out all that extra dough. Let me give you a simple breakdown:

SPF stands for sun protection factor.

The idea is that an SPF rating is used as a multiplier to figure out how much longer you can stay outside before burning if you use that particular product.

For example, if you normally burn in 5 minutes without protection, and SPF 10 product would allow you to stay outside for 50 minutes without burning. There are a few problems with this way of thinking about SPF, though.

For starters, no sunscreen if going to be effective for more than a few hours at a time. This means that SPF 50 and 100 products can provide a false sense of security or be misleading about how long they work.

Also, the effective life of a single sunscreen application can be shortened even further by water, perspiration, or even very strong sunlight.

A more useful way to look at SPF ratings is in terms of the percentage of overall UVB protection each offers. Take a look at the table below for a clearer picture:

SPF Rating	UVB Protection
None	0%
2	50%
15	93%
30	97%
50	98%
100	99%

As you can see when looking at the percentages, SPF 100 is definitely not twice as strong as SPF 50, either. It’s logical to think that it would be, but because of the way SPF ratings work that simply isn’t true.

To get optimal sun protection, most dermatologists agree that SPF 30 is sufficient for most people.

If you’re very photosensitive or at risk for skin cancer and choose to go for an SPF 50+ product because you need the extra bit of protection, just make sure you aren’t paying a boatload of extra money for only 2% more protection.

Physical is better than chemical

There are different ingredients used by sunscreen manufacturers to provide you with sun protection. Not all of these ingredients work the same or provide the same benefits.

Based on what type of ingredients a product uses we can broadly classify them as either physical sunscreens or chemical sunscreens – whenever possible you should always choose physical sunscreens over their chemical counterparts.

Physical sunscreens are made with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, or both. Both ingredients provide broad spectrum protection, but zinc is a little bit better at shielding from UVA rays than titanium is.

These ingredients work by sitting atop your skin, providing a barrier that UV rays cannot pass through. When the rays reach the barrier they bounce off and your skin is unharmed.

This type of sunscreen is effective immediately upon application, and the ingredients used are generally considered to be calming to the skin.

Because they are minerals, however, physical sunscreens can leave a white cast on the skin after application – how noticeable this is depends on your skin tone as well as the individual product.

Chemical sunscreens are typically made with a mixture of active ingredients. These can include: avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene, and oxybenzone.

Not all of these ingredients provide broad spectrum protection on their own – this is why they are mixed together to provide a more balanced level of protection.

These ingredients work by soaking down into the skin, where they absorb UV rays before the rays have a chance to cause harm. This method takes longer to become effective, so chemical sunscreens need to be applied about 20 minutes before sun exposure so that they can soak in all the way.

With repeated use, chemical sunscreens can cause skin allergy, and ingredients such as oxybenzone have been shown to cross into the bloodstream where they can mimic hormones and disrupt the endocrine system.

Chemical sunscreens are typically far less noticeable after application than physical sunscreen products.

It’s true that the chemical sunscreens may be easier to apply and may be less noticeable after application. However, when you consider the risks that they present it really makes more sense to stick with physical sunscreen products whenever possible.

If you really can’t deal with the idea of the white cast, there are lots of tinted physical sunscreens to help combat that effect (I’ve included one below).

Suited to intended use

If you buy a pair of shoes, throw away the receipt, and then notice that every time you wear them they give you a little blister on your toe, what will you do? You probably won’t throw them out for only a tiny blister, but they certainly won’t become a part of your regular rotation.

The same is true for sunscreen – even though you know it is important, if you buy a product that just isn’t quite right for your needs you may end up neglecting to use it as often as you really should.

In order to help avoid this, it’s a good idea to try and tailor the sunscreen you buy to a specific intended use.

How do you spend your summers? Are you a hiker, a surfer, a sunbather? Or maybe you just like enjoying the beautiful day after you wander from store to store doing some heavy duty window shopping. Perhaps you spend time in tropical climates and need a sunscreen for humid weather?

The answer can affect what you ought to buy, and focusing on aspects of sunscreen like the water resistance and the finish can help you decide.

If you have dark skin, wear makeup, or just can’t stand the white cast left by most physical sunscreens, consider a tinted option. These have varying levels of coverage – some are just strong enough to not make you look like Casper the ghost, while others offer full coverage more similar to a foundation.

If you will be sweating a lot or spending time in the water, you really need to invest in a water resistant sunscreen. These are typically rated for 40 or 80 minutes of water resistance. It is important to note that the more water resistant a product is, the higher the likelihood is that the finish will be thick, slightly greasy, or may leave a noticeable white cast.

There isn’t a right or wrong answer – it’s all about what you need.

As long as you tailor your sunscreen to your intended use to ensure you really do use it as often as you ought to, all will be well!

Best Sunscreen for Summer Comparison

 

5 Best Sunscreens for Summer

 

After thorough research that combined discussing issues with customers, reviewing customer feedback, examining manufacturer specifications, and participating in skincare forums, SimplySunSafe has chosen the 5 best sunscreens for summer.

All of these sunscreens provide broad spectrum, physical protection of SPF 30 or greater, do not contain oxybenzone, and are great for a variety of summer uses.

1. All Good Sunscreen Butter SPF 50+

Last update on 2023-10-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

The top pick for overall best sunscreen lotion for summer is All Good’s Sunscreen Butter.

This stuff is easy to use, dependable, and the cute little package can slip into a pocket or bag and go with you anywhere!

It provides broad spectrum, physical protection of SPF 50+ using zinc oxide (25%) as the only active ingredient. This is a high concentration of active ingredient, reassuring you that you’re getting your money’s worth from this moderately priced product.

The one ounce package is a little metal tin, similar to the way some lip balms are packaged. No worrying about plastic containers degrading in the heat if you take this outside with you!

The sunscreen butter is also rated water resistant for up to 80 minutes, making it a great choice for athletes who love the summer sun, or just want to lounge by the pool.

The finish is non-greasy but does leave a white cast given the high zinc content.

2. Australian Gold Botanical Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50

Last update on 2023-10-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Australian Gold Botanical Sunscreen Tinted Face Mineral Lotion SPF 50 comes next in the rankings. It provides Broad Spectrum UVA/UVB protection against the breakout of free radicals. It is a mineral sunscreen made out of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide that provides protection form burn causing UVA and skin aging UVB rays.

It is infused with extracts of Kakadu plum, eucalyptus and red algae that form a unique combination of antioxidant-rich botanicals, these ingredients provide protection for, moisturizes and reinvigorates the skin while keeping it hydrated. The sunscreen works well for sensitive skin, does not clog the skin pores or irritate and is anon-chemical sunscreen. It is oxybenzone, fragrance, paraben, PABA free, petrolatum free, SLS (sulfate), and oil-free. 

 To prevent white cast, it is tinted to fit most skin colors. The universal tint, however, does not always fit for people with pale skin. It is Water Resistant for up to 80 minutes. The finish is dry and non-greasy it can be worn under the makeup. If you want a sunscreen that gives a refreshing and dry finish. It works on you for the beach and a regular July day in the city.

3. Suntegrity 5-in-1 Natural Moisturizing Face Sunscreen SPF 30

Last update on 2023-10-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

If you’re less concerned about hitting the pool and more focused on sunscreen that doesn’t interfere with your flawless summer look, you definitely need to give Suntegrity’s 5-in-1 Natural Moisturizing Face Sunscreen a look.

This tinted product isn’t water resistant so it isn’t great for lots of physical activity or water sports, but it blends flawlessly with makeup and even comes in 4 different shades so you can match to your skin tone and other cosmetics (see table below).

This sunscreen provides broad spectrum, physical protection of SPF 30 using zinc oxide (20%) as the only active ingredient.

It is also rather expensive compared to the other products you’ll find listed in this guide. This is because, rather than a general sunscreen, this is closer to a cosmetic product that focus on providing strong sun protection.

This tint is moderate coverage – you could wear it by itself or with other makeup products and you won’t notice a white cast on your skin.

You also won’t have to worry about having to sacrifice happy, healthy skin just because you want to wear makeup or avoid the ‘mime’ look during the summer months.

	Fair Fair skin similar to Dakota Fanning, Emma Stone, and Anne Hathaway.
	Light Light skin tones similar to Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and Carrie Underwood.
	Golden Light Golden skin tones similar to Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu (when they have a tan).
	Medium Medium and olive skin tones similar to Eva Mendes, Halle Berry, and Kim Kardashian.

4. Badger Kids Sunscreen Cream SPF 30

Last update on 2023-10-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

While this one is designed with kids in mind, it’s great for the whole family.

Badger Kids Sunscreen Cream provides broad spectrum, physical protection of SPF 30 using zinc oxide (18.75%) as the active ingredient.

The tangerine and vanilla scent is pleasant without being overpowering, and is actually created using tangerine and vanilla – no mysterious ‘fragrance’ chemical in this list of ingredients.

In fact, the formula has only a handful of ingredients, all of them natural and most of them organic.

The sunscreen is water resistant for 40 minutes, giving you a measure of protection from water and sweat. If you plan to be outside a lot it is vital to reapply as directed – after that 40 minute mark in the water your sunscreen can no longer be considered reliable to protect you from the sun’s harmful rays.

A thicker formula, this will leave a bit of a white cast – just think of it as another reminder to reapply often!

Badger’s products are also very budget-friendly, giving you a high quality sunscreen that won’t break the bank.

5. Goddess Garden Face the Day Sunscreen and Firming Primer SPF 30

Last update on 2023-10-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Incorporating sun protection into your daily routine whenever possible is always a good idea. Goddess Garden’s Face the Day Sunscreen and Firming Primer helps with that.

Not only do you get broad spectrum, physical protection of SPF 30 (using 19% zinc oxide), you also get noticeable firming effects that don’t come from Retinol (vitamin A).

That means no extra sun sensitivity from the anti-aging part of your skin regimen, and a great primer that will save your skin from the sun while still allowing you to wear whatever makeup you like.

This isn’t water resistant, however, so if you plan to hit the pool please choose a water resistant sunscreen to use in addition to this product.

This primer can be a little drying depending on your skin type. If you are on the drier side, you may want to use a serum before applying the primer to avoid drying your skin too much.

This applies very easily – the formula is a little bit thin so it spreads well and can be used just like any other primer. It’s a must-try that only appears last on this list because of the lack of water resistance.

Conclusion

I hope that this guide has been helpful and gotten you prepared to find the best sunscreen for your summer.

Although SimplySunSafe does recommend All Good Sunscreen Butter SPF 50+ as the best sunscreen for summer, all of these products are great choices. It’s important to remember that everybody has different skin and different needs.

Sometimes when choosing a sunscreen that may mean you find yourself going through a few different products before you find one that works exactly the way you need it to. This is a normal part of the process, so don’t worry!

My goal is always to provide my readers with reliable information and high quality product recommendations. If there’s a sunscreen you love that you think should’ve made the list – let me know!

---