I regrettably have far too many photos of myself lathered up in natural mineral sunscreens, my ghost-like countenance staring back at the lens. For some of these images, I can be forgiven. Years ago, zinc oxide sunscreens sat on the face with a whitish cast that no amount of rubbing could remove.
Thus began my search for a better sunscreen. I only seemed to find brands that left me glistening or tacky or looking like a ghost—sometimes all three. A youthful dewy look is not a bad thing in my book. But wearing said sunscreens had people asking if I was okay, as they pointed out I was sweating profusely on my face. Nope. It was the sunscreen. Beach outings weren’t easy either with minerals blends that applied thick and tacky to my skin. I’d miserably find pieces of sand stuck everywhere. And if I rubbed the sand off, I removed the sunscreen as well.
Years of searching and I’ve finally found a brand that applies like a lightweight moisturizer. Pipette Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 is my best find yet. It offers broad-spectrum UVA/UVB coverage. It’s marketed to babies and families, but it happily works for me.
The brand is made from 100 percent mineral, non-nano zinc oxide, along with gooseberry to calm the effects of infrared light. It also contains renewable sugar-care derived squalane to help the product glide over the skin. I like that this product steers clear of common sunscreen ingredients like oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are reef-damaging chemicals. Pipette is also non-comedogenic and fragrance free.
The manufacturer points out that no mineral sunscreens are completely clear, as these types are meant to sit on top of the skin to reflect the sun’s rays. But I found the product went on lightly, absorbed quickly, and was easy to blend without being tacky (hurray!). I noticed very little, if any, whitish cast to my skin after application.
If you need a well-formulated sunscreen check this one out. It retails for $15 and is 4 ounces.
