The Best Sunscreens for Face and Body

Sunscreen only works if you actually wear it. That sounds obvious, but it's the whole game. The formula you like — the one that doesn't sting your eyes, doesn't pill under makeup, doesn't leave you looking gray in photos — is the one you'll reach for on a random Tuesday, not just before a beach day. A high SPF number on a bottle you avoid protects nothing. So the real question isn't which sunscreen is strongest. It's which one you'll keep using.

No sunscreen nails everything at once. Mineral formulas with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the only filters the FDA currently considers Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective, but they're the ones most likely to leave a white cast on medium and deep skin. Chemical filters disappear on every skin tone, though a JAMA study found several of them show up in the bloodstream after a single day of full-body use. And almost nobody applies enough — studies suggest most adults use a quarter to half the recommended amount, which quietly cuts your real protection in half.

You also have to decide what you're protecting. A face sunscreen fights breakouts and plays nice with makeup. A body sunscreen has to cover a lot of skin, survive a swim, and not cost a fortune per ounce. Some products try to do both, and a few actually manage it. We think that the EltaMD UV Clear is the best sunscreen for most people, and that the La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-In Milk is the one to buy if you burn easily and need something that works from your forehead to your ankles.

This guide is for anyone buying sunscreen for regular use — a daily face product, a bottle for the beach bag, or both. The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by age 70, and that daily use of SPF 15 or higher cuts squamous cell carcinoma risk by about 40% and melanoma risk by roughly half. That's a strong argument for owning a sunscreen you'll actually finish. We paid particular attention to people with acne-prone or sensitive skin, people with medium and deep complexions who've been burned by white cast, and anyone spending real time outdoors.

We cover face and body lotions, sticks, and mineral formulas that a general shopper can buy easily. We don't cover sunscreens made specifically for infants, prescription photoprotection, or SPF-labeled makeup, which usually isn't applied heavily enough to hit its stated number. If you're managing melasma or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, note that visible light — not just UV — makes those conditions worse, and only tinted formulas with iron oxides block it. An untinted sunscreen, however good, won't solve that part of the problem.

We started from a few non-negotiables and worked down. SPF and spectrum: broad-spectrum labeling and SPF 30 minimum, the AAD's daily-use floor, with extra weight given to brands with a credible testing record after Consumer Reports found some SPF 50 products falling short in the lab. Filters: we noted which products use zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, the only filters the FDA's proposed monograph calls GRASE, against chemical filters that a JAMA study found entering the bloodstream after one day of full-body use. White cast: we leaned hard on owner feedback from people with medium and deep skin, because a sunscreen that dries gray goes unused. Texture: lightweight, non-greasy, and stable under makeup, with eye stinging and pilling counted as real flaws. Water resistance and value: the 80-minute rating is the highest verified standard, and cost per ounce matters because cheap sunscreen gets applied generously.

If you want something you can reapply without washing your hands: The Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Face Stick SPF 40 ($27.20) — The Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Face Stick is the most practical reapplication tool here. It twists up like a deodorant, glides on over makeup, and leaves nothing on your fingers — which is the whole reason people skip that 2 p.m. reapplication in the first place. The clear formula uses silica powders to absorb shine and marine bamboo extract aimed at blue light, and owners report no cast and no greasy feel. Parents say kids will actually put it on themselves. The catches: it's SPF 40, it's small at 0.7 ounces, and it's expensive for how little product you get. Getting a full, even layer from a stick also takes more passes than most people make, so it works better as a top-up than as your only sunscreen.

If you want a cheap stick for hiking, boating, or the golf course: The Banana Boat Spf#50+ Ultra Sport Stick 1.5 ($19.98) — The Banana Boat Ultra Sport stick is SPF 50+ with 80-minute water resistance, and it comes as a two-pack, so you can leave one in the car and one in a bag. Owners like that it applies without messy hands and doesn't leave residue on car interiors or steering wheels. It's the pragmatic option for sweat and water. But the listing is thin on detail, the review pool is small compared to everything else here, and at least one owner received a stick that was long expired — worth checking the date on arrival. It also can't match the texture or skincare extras of the face-focused picks, so treat it as a sports product rather than a daily face sunscreen.

This is what our research surfaced, not a survey of every sunscreen on the market. The category is enormous — EWG's annual guide found only about one in four U.S. sunscreens met its standards for safety and efficacy — and plenty of good bottles exist beyond this list. Here's the one product we looked at that didn't earn a spot above.

The CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 Face ($16.97) — CeraVe's Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 gets a lot right on paper. It's 100% mineral with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, it's Hawaii-compliant, and it includes the three ceramides plus hyaluronic acid that make CeraVe's moisturizers so widely recommended. Both the Skin Cancer Foundation and the National Eczema Association back it. The problem is the white cast, and owner feedback on this point is loud and consistent — people describe it as difficult to blend and visibly gray even after careful application in thin layers. CeraVe's own listing acknowledges the issue and tells you to apply thinly, which conflicts with applying enough. If you have fair skin, need a pure mineral formula for an allergy or sensitivity, and don't mind working it in, it's an affordable and effective choice. For most people, and especially for medium and deep skin, the other mineral options here disappear better.

Use more than feels right. The standard is a full teaspoon for your face and neck and about an ounce — a shot glass — for your whole body, and studies show most adults use a quarter to half that, which cuts your real protection roughly in half. Apply 15 minutes before you head out so the filters have time to set, and reapply every two hours, or right after swimming or toweling off. Fewer than 30% of beachgoers ever reapply, which is where most sunburns come from. Don't forget ears, the back of your neck, the tops of your feet, and your hands. Store bottles somewhere cool — a glovebox in July degrades the filters — and check expiration dates, since sunscreen does lose potency. If the texture has separated or gone grainy, replace it.

For this guide:

• We compared manufacturer specifications, ingredient lists, and labeled water-resistance ratings across every sunscreen in this guide.
• We reviewed published guidance from the American Academy of Dermatology, the Skin Cancer Foundation, the FDA's proposed sunscreen monograph, EWG's annual sunscreen guide, and Consumer Reports' SPF findings.
• We read owner feedback across skin tones and skin types, paying close attention to recurring themes around white cast, eye stinging, greasiness, and how formulas behave under makeup.
• We read owner reviews on every listing, weighted toward the critical ones, because that is where the recurring failures show up.
• We have a systematic way of automatically fetching the latest prices, so the numbers on this page stay current.
• This is a research-focused guide, so the team may not own every product listed — though we often do own the top winners, which gives us extra context for the recommendations.
• We don't accept free products, and the retailer commission never changes which product we recommend.