Kim Ray’s question… I was wondering if mixing equal parts of sunscreen with lotion would yield the same benefit as applying both separately. I want the higher SPF of actual sunscreen and the stronger moisturizer of the lotion. It is really hard to find a product that delivers on both.
The Right Brain responds:
We appreciate how tough it is to find SPF lotions that strike the right balance of moisturization and protection but we don’t recommend that you mix sunscreens with lotion. Here’s why…
Two reasons not to mix SPF lotion
First, as we pointed out in our post on The Wrong Way to Apply Sunscreen, certain ingredients that are commonly used in skin care products can interfere with the way UV absorbers deposit/spread on the skin. The last thing you want to do is compromise the performance of the active ingredient in a sunscreen. Not only are you wasting money but more importantly you’re increasing your risk of sunburn or worse!
Second, as Vananners pointed out in our Forum, if you mix an SPF lotion with a non-sunscreen product you’re essentially diluting the sunscreen. So if you mix your products 50/50 you’d have to use twice as much of the mixture to get the same protective effect. And that’s going to make your skin greasy feeling.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
We’d recommend you keep looking for a sunscreen that provides the right level of moisture for you. Does anyone out there in the Beauty Brains community have any suggestions for Kim Ray?
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She should definitely check out Neutrogena’s Ultra Soft Hydrating Sunblock SPF 45! I love this stuff, it feels exactly like a body lotion going on
There are plenty of good moisturizing sunscreens available, so ditto on keep looking. Of course there’s nothing that says you can’t use both products. Just use the moisturizer first and let dry before applying the sunscreen.
Dang it! I was gonna ask about making my own mixture of face primer and spf… I guess the answer is “no”.
try using the palmer’s cocoa butter suncream. i think it only comes in SPF 15 but it is very moisturising
I use Vanicream SPF 30 on my body. It is very moisturizing, almost creamy. I don’t put it on my face’s oily skin – too moisturizing for that.
Paula Begoun recommends that sunscreen be the last skin care product you put on. You should apply only makeup after the sunscreen. If I use facial moisturizer, I let it sink into my skin for about five minutes (while I brush my teeth or do somethine else), and then put sunscreen on over it. Then I I use a foundation with sunscreen.
So many steps! I used to mix my own brew of sunscreen/moisturizer too but have now switched to Clinque for it’s non irritating qualities. So far I’m happy!
You only mentioned sun creams that work as chemical absorbers and not the physical blocks. Sun creams generally shouldn’t be messed with because that leaves you with a bit of an unknown quantity, but if you use one that works just as a physical block, e.g. that uses Zinc or Titanium Dioxide as the screen, you would be able to add a moisturiser and not compromise the make up of the product, only lower the SPF coverage. I would only do this with a very high SPF product, but it would work.
Lex
I agree with the recommendation for Palmer’s Cocoa Butter body lotion with sunscreen.
For face, I also love Paula’s Choice Skin Balancing Daily Mattifying Lotion – it’s so lightweight you wouldn’t believe it contains sunscreen. It also has a mattifying agent, so it keeps you from getting shiny in the summer heat. Great product.
http://www.paulaschoice.com/product/skin-balancing-daily-mattifying-lotion-spf-15/moisturizers
I’m a cosmetician at the biggest Canadian pharmacy chain, and we get trained about twice a year by each brand we carry(a mix of 6 luxury, 6 Derm, and a few misc well known brands that have claim-to-fame products we have to carry or else we couldn’t compete with Sephora in the beauty/skin sector. That said, I know most of my training is highly biased(especially from the luxury brands vs. the derm brands), which is why I was so pleased to find your blog to balance out my training, and I now subscribe to much of cosmetics design for up-to-the-minute advances and controversies(thank you!).
Getting to my point, one of the trainers from the derm brand said screens with chemical screens(mexoryl xl, tinosorb, helioplex) included are applied as the first layer in your daily regimen because they have to soak into the top layers of the skin so they can absorb UVA/UVB rays, and that if you’re using a strictly mineral screen(like those formulated for sensitive skins) with titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide as the only sunscreen ingredients, you apply those after the rest of your skincare. Intuitively, this makes sense to me, but I look to you guys for some more specific answers regarding the truth of this.
Also, do you have any input on the new use of jet-milling for the mineral screens? It creates a much more appealing product because it spreads easily and disappears quickly, but i feel like i wouldn’t use enough to achieve the full SPF on the package? Maybe though the increased surface area makes a lot less product a lot more effective?
For the face I recommend Olay Beauty Fluid. It’s SPF 15, smooth and easy to apply, nice and moisturising but not greasy at all. I have yet to find a higher SPF lotion to use on my body – mostly I just put up with greasiness!
Is it true that SPF 15 is not enough? It should be at least 30. What about Oxybenzone? Does it give you cancer due to factor of absorption through skin layers? I am so disappointed to see that most of the drugstore brands lotion contain Oxybenzon if this has been proved to be correct. Beauty Brains please help!