In the late eighties, at the height of maximalism, two-in-one formulas made their first appearance in Pert Plus, a dual shampoo-conditioner that got hair clean and kept it smooth. Nearly 40 years later, the grooming industry is awash with multi-tasking products—yet one product remains curiously siloed: SPF, with formulas for your body and your face.
Given that the active ingredients are the same, it’s enough to wonder if that needs to be the case. Here, a dermatologist and cosmetic chemist break down both formulas and when you should reach for each one.
Is body sunscreen alright to slather on your face?
In short: yes. Both body SPF and face SPF contain the same active ingredients that all protect you from the sun. If you have a mineral formula, your SPF will tap zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the active ingredient and if you have a chemical formula, your SPF will likely include some combination of avobenzone, octinoxate, homosalate, and octocrylene (though, soon, the U.S. is poised to add new chemical filters, which should help to update formulas to be more elegant).
“From a purely regulatory standpoint, SPF protection is measured the same way, whether the product is marketed for the body or the face,” says Jenna Queller, MD, FAAD a board-certified dermatologist and founder of DermWorks. “If two sunscreens both say SPF 30, they should provide the same level of UVB protection when applied properly.”
So from a protection standpoint, if you have an SPF 30 that’s a body formula, you’ll be just as protected as if you have an SPF 30 face formula. The primary distinction between the two products tend to be in the other ingredients that are used in the formulas. Body SPFs are usually thicker, and contain ingredients that can clog pores and cause acne when used over time.
What is the main difference between body and face SPF?
Body SPFs tend to be built to withstand all the grueling elements that we come up against in summer like body sweat, intense UV rays, and water from oceans and pools. To help protect you from the sun throughout the day, cosmetic chemists like Ginger King, create body formulas with stronger film formers so that they stick to your skin despite clothes rubbing against them or water threatening to wash them off. Because “these products are often designed to be sweat resistant and water resistant,” she says, the grippiness can require emollients (the skin-softening ingredients) that are often heavier and can be occlusive and comedogenic. For people with acne-prone skin, this can be a problem. Over time, using a body SPF regularly on the face could contribute to clogged pores and the formation of acne. When this happens, Dr. Queller says that people will often ditch a formula that gives them trouble and skip SPF altogether.
“The challenge is that heavier body formulas may be less comfortable to wear on the face, which can lead people to apply less product or skip reapplication,” she says. “While the protection rating is technically the same, facial sunscreens are often designed to make consistent daily use more likely.” One final distinction Dr. Queller makes: Body SPFs often tap fragrance, “which increases the risk of irritation, especially on the more delicate skin of the face.” One study found that fragrance was a culprit that often contributed to contact allergies, which can range from mild irritation and redness to full-on rashes.
Contrarily, King says that, “face SPFs contain ingredients that are gentler for facial skin and can be more calming.” Because facial skin has sebum and oil on it already, facial SPFs tend to be lighter and less occlusive, so they don’t tend to cause acne, clog pores, or stoke irritation in quite the same way that body SPFs can. Face SPFs, too, usually tap popular skin care ingredients like antioxidants (found in SkinCeuticals Daily Brightening UV Defense Sunscreen, $65) or peptides (found in Kiehl’s Better Screen UV Serum, $45) to combat other effects of the sun, such as brightening or collagen degradation. Others, use powders or oil-control components to help from acne formation, such as Cetaphil Dermacontrol Oil Absorbing Face Moisturizer with SPF 30, $15.
Source:
www.gq.com
