Sunscreen Gel Before or After Moisturizer


 You must wonder about the sunscreen and moisturizer, both are gel-based material, and indeed important. One gives protection from the sun's harmful rays that cause many skin problems, and the other one nourishes our skin to improve its elasticity and beauty.

Sunscreen Gel or Moisturizer first? Which one prefers the most? Let’s discuss what will happen in both criteria if you putting on moisturizer first or sunscreen first.

In This Article

  • What if we apply moisturizer first?
  • What if we apply sunscreen gel first?
  • What Happens When You Mix best sunscreen gel With Moisturizer?
  • Can You Mix Sunscreen With Moisturizer?
  • Which is the best sunscreen

What if we apply moisturizer first?

What are the pros?

Dermatologists, who are in favor of the "moisturizing first, sun protection after" option, point out that the primary use of sun cream will impair the effectiveness of subsequent products. 

Moisturizing lotions contain a lot of water. That could dissolve the sun protection. For this reason, according to the theory, you should wait until all other products are completely absorbed into the skin. Only then is the sun cream used.

What are the cons?

To understand why this approach may not produce the best results, it is important to know more about how sun protection works. Not all best sunscreen gel is created equal. Roughly divided, one can speak of sunscreen with a physical UV filter and one with a chemical UV filter.

The former acts like a shield. They reflect the UV rays and turn them away from the skin. Chemical filters, on the other hand, react with the skin. You have to touch them to be effective. A thick layer of moisturizer underneath could therefore impair its protection.

What if we apply sunscreen gel first?

What are the pros? 

As mentioned above, several types of sunscreen exist like mineral sunscreens, chemical sunscreens, and physical sunscreens. You can recognize them by their active ingredients. Sun protection with a physical UV filter mainly consists of organic components. 

These include, for example, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. They also leave a white haze and are easier to wash off.

To identify sun protection with chemical UV filters, look out for the ingredients avobenzone, Mexoryl, and octocrylene. These creams are absorbed by the skin and, as mentioned, need direct contact to be effective. 

What are the cons?

Wear sunscreen primarily also means that subsequent products can no longer penetrate so deeply into the skin. This is a disadvantage for the effectiveness of your care.

What Happens When You Mix best sunscreen gel With Moisturizer?

Mixing sunscreen with moisturizer seems so innocent for a skincare routine. But when you make them mix so close together, two important things happen:

  • You reduce the sunscreen: think about it. To get the SPF level on the package, you need to apply 1/2 teaspoon on the face. If you mix sunscreen with a moisturizer (or any other skincare product, for that matter), you won't be able to apply so much. You can turn Sunscreen SPF 50 into SPF 25 or below!
  • Conflict of ingredients: sunscreens are a delicate thing. Some of the ingredients of your moisturizer or tonal cream can damage UV filters, making them less effective.

Translation: By mixing sunscreen with moisturizer, lotion, serum, or something else, you lose its effectiveness.

Can You Mix Sunscreen with Moisturizer?

Mixing sunscreen gel with moisturizer, tonal cream or lotion may seem like the perfect solution to all your sunscreen problems, but it does your skin more harm than good.

When you mix them, you reduce the effectiveness of sunscreen, making your skin prone to sun damage, wrinkles, and dark spots. Isn't it worth the risk?

Instead, look for the sunscreen you like to use. These days, you can easily find sunscreens with a light texture and built-in hue to avoid fat and white hue.

Which is the best sunscreen

The ideal sunscreen is what suits the sensitive skin type, oily skin type, and dry skin too.

Sunscreen should come with broad-spectrum protection that protects against UVA rays as well as UVB rays emitted from the sun.

The most important factor is Sun Protection Factor also called SPF which represents the ability of a sunscreen to stop how many UV rays. It is ideal to go for Sunscreen gel SPF 50 for the best protection and least harmful chemical.

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