When your skin is easily irritated by what can feel like everything under the sun, the best sunscreens for sensitive skin may be your saving grace. The ever-growing skin-care market is catering more than ever to those with reactive skin, so it’s breezier to find a formula that will suit you and your sensitivity while providing top-of-the-line protection from cancer-causing sun exposure.
On this list, you’ll find mostly mineral sunscreens—with a handful of chemical-hybrid ones (if that’s what you prefer) that tend to be kinder to those with skin sensitivities. Read on for the favorites trusted and recommended by editors and dermatologists that leave skin soothed and, more importantly, protected from the sun (with proper reapplication, of course).
Our Top Sunscreens for Sensitive Skin
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Overall: EltaMD UV Skin Recovery Red Color Correcting Green Tint SPF 50
Why it’s worth it: A 2025 Best of Beauty Award winner, EltaMD’s UV Skin Recovery SPF 50 Sunscreen is like the Swiss Army knife of sunscreens—sensitive-skin-friendly, non-greasy, and redness-neutralizing, thanks to a green tint that works some color-theory magic. That green pigment comes from Centella asiatica (cica), a skin-care staple that counteracts redness and soothes irritation. The amino acid complex—comprising taurine, arginine, and glycine—was refined through over 100 rounds of testing to repair damage and help prevent future irritation and redness. This mineral sunscreen is also packed with ceramides to strengthen the skin barrier and deliver lasting hydration, ensuring your complexion remains calm, protected, and comfortable throughout the day.
“I love how this green sunscreen tones down the redness I typically experience around my nose and on my cheeks. It feels so good—like a moisturizer—and never ever leaves a white cast.” —Jesa Marie Calaor, senior editor
- Key ingredients: 12.9% zinc oxide, amino acids, cica, ceramides
- Tinted: yes (color-correcting green tint)
- Who it’s for: everyone
- Type: mineral
- Water-resistant: no
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best for Redness: SkinCeuticals Clear Daily Soothing UV Defense Cream SPF 50
Why it’s worth it: Yes, we want our sunscreen to absorb quickly. Yes, we want serious protection. Yes, we want zero chalky cast. But for redness- or irritation-prone skin, sometimes that’s not enough. Enter SkinCeuticals Clear Daily Soothing UV Defense Cream SPF 50—a featherlight mineral-chemical hybrid that goes beyond basic sun care. Calming powerhouses palmitoyl tripeptide-8 and bisabolol work to dial down flare-ups, while glycerin keeps your complexion comfortably hydrated. For protection, it combines 7% zinc oxide with chemical filters and Netlock technology, ensuring the UV filters spread evenly, so you’re fully shielded from the sun that can trigger and worsen redness.
“If there’s one concern of mine that hasn’t changed in 20 years, it’s sun protection. I’m the only person I know who moved from New York to Florida and got paler. What has changed, however, is my tolerance for chemical sunscreens, which I typically prefer over mineral sunscreens because they don’t leave white casts. But Clear Daily Soothing UV Defense leaves out what I’ve found to be the biggest irritation culprit—avobenzone—and provides its broad-spectrum SPF 50 protection with a hybrid of other chemical and mineral filters: homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene, and zinc oxide, among them. It’s formulated to keep skin calm, not to mention hydrated enough to skip a pre-sunscreen moisturizer if you’re not very dry. And even when I apply it very generously (the only way to apply it, if we’re being honest with ourselves), it blends in beautifully and leaves me glowy, not greasy.” —Marci Robin, contributor
- Key ingredients: 7% zinc oxide, 8% homosalate, 5% octisalate, 5% octocrylene palmitoyl tripeptide-8, bisabolol, glycerin
- Tinted: no
- Who it’s for: people with redness-prone skin
- Type: mineral and chemical
- Fragrance-free: yes
- Water-resistant: no
Best for Dry Skin: Lightsaver Triplesome Serum SPF 40
Why it’s worth it: While Lightsaver Triplesome Serum SPF 40 comes in just two shades, it’s less about perfecting your skin tone and more about delivering a luminous, healthy glow. This dermatologist-formulated mineral sunscreen-serum hybrid pairs 15.7% zinc oxide for SPF 40 protection with the brand’s Triplesome Repair Complex-3 (three DNA-repair enzymes) that help minimize UV damage and oxidative stress. Calming botanicals like centella asiatica, green tea, and panthenol soothe and support your skin barrier, while the silky, weightless texture of the serum effortlessly offsets dryness, whether applied under makeup or worn alone.
Tester feedback from commerce editor Sarah Han
“A more lightweight version of the original Lightsaver SPF I love so much? Yeah, I wasn’t surprised either when I tried Triplesome Serum and liked it right off the bat. I’ve said this so many times on-site, but I’m super picky when it comes to mineral sunscreens. It’s a given that any good sunscreen melts into your skin quickly and seamlessly, but it’s simply a hallmark of Triplesome that I can’t stress enough. Ivory blends into my particular skin tone with no issue, but I typically go for the Tinted version because it gives me the perfect no-makeup-makeup coverage but also provides the ideal base (I can skip foundation and/or concealer) to build up my look if I so choose. The lineup of skin-soothing ingredients is the cherry on top of this permanent addition to my SPF rotation.” —Sarah Han, commerce writer
- Key ingredients: 15.7% zinc oxide, triplesome repair complex-3, panthenol, centella asiatica, green tea extract
- Tinted: yes (2 shades)
- Who it’s for: people with dry skin
- Type: mineral
- Water-resistant: no
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best Drugstore: La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Mineral Ultra Light Sunscreen
Why it’s worth it: Shari Marchbein, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City, likes La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios 50 Mineral Ultra Light Sunscreen because it’s ultra-sheer and sinks in so fast that you barely feel like you’re wearing anything. “It has a subtle mattifying effect that’s perfect to wear under makeup,” she adds. It’s also infused with vitamin E oil to nourish and strengthen the skin barrier. If you’re after even more UV protection, opt for La Roche Posay’s Anthelios Ultra Light Fluid Facial Sunscreen SPF 60.
Tester feedback from contributing commerce editor Deanna Pai
“I don’t typically trust untinted mineral sunscreens, since they almost always leave a white cast on my olive skin. Not this one! It’s practically perfect: It doesn’t have a weird scent, absorbs quickly, and even seems to control the shine on my nose, leaving my very oily T-zone looking more matte, but not flat or one-dimensional. The tube also holds a ton of product, too, so it can last me through a beach trip and then some.” —Deanna Pai, contributing commerce editor
- Key ingredients: 6% titanium dioxide, 5% zinc oxide, vitamin E, La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water
- Tinted: no
- Who it’s for: all skin types
- Type: mineral
- Water-resistant: yes (40 minutes)
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best for Deeper Skin Tones: Dr. Few Tinted Mineral Sunscreen
Why it’s worth it: If you think it’s impossible to find a mineral sunscreen that blends seamlessly into deep skin tones, Dr. Few’s Tinted Mineral Sunscreen (a 2024 Best of Beauty Award winner) is ready to prove you wrong. The creamy formula has a lightweight consistency and tan tint that make sure it looks natural (read: no greasy sheen or white cast). Its hydrating ingredients, including hyaluronic acid and shea butter, will give your skin a smoother, softer feel—you might even want to skip applying moisturizer underneath this. And yes, $85 is a lot, but our tester thinks the elegant consistency and moisturizing feel are worth the price tag.
“I came across the Dr. Few Tinted Mineral SPF when one of my coworkers handed it to me in the office and asked me to try it out for our Best of Beauty Awards (Spoiler: It won). I was immediately intrigued by the heavy black bottle—it felt luxurious. When I finally applied it all over my face, the peach-tinted cream melted into my skin quickly, and after a few seconds of rubbing it in, became completely invisible. Not only that, but it also left my face feeling soft and supple—likely due to the jojoba oil and sodium hyaluronate which hydrate and smooth the skin. Now I reach for it almost every morning, though I’ve started using it more sparingly, considering that it is a hefty $85. (It’s worth every penny though.)” —Annie Blay-Tettey, associate beauty editor
- Key ingredients: 25% zinc oxide, shea butter, jojoba seed oil, hyaluronic acid, soothing bisabolol
- Tinted: yes (universal tint)
- Who it’s for: deep skin tones
- Type: mineral
- Water-resistant: no
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best Lightweight: Kate Somerville HydraKate Illuminating SPF 50+ Drops
Why it’s worth it: If you’ve yet to find a sunscreen that makes you excited to re-apply (and re-apply), drop what you’re doing and pick up a bottle of the Kate Somerville Hydrakate Illuminating SPF 50+ Drops. Powered by ectoin—a soothing, free-radical-defending skin-care ingredient found in bacteria (the good kind our bodies need). Shereene Idriss, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City, previously explained: “Ectoin helps protect cellular integrity in extreme weather conditions.” By binding with water molecules, ectoin “surrounds cells, enzymes, proteins, and other biomolecules by forming protective, nourishing, and stabilizing hydration shells around them,” cosmetic chemist Krupa Koestline noted. This Best of Beauty-winning sunscreen leaves behind zero white cast and is lightly tinted to leave behind a glowy finish. Make sure you give the bottle a hearty shake before applying.
“As a woman with brown skin, I usually run away from mineral sunscreen. Zinc? Ahhh! That’s a surefire way to look purple. This lightly tinted formula changed my mind. It’s got a watery consistency and blends seamlessly without leaving my skin looking dusty.” —Jessica Cruel, editor in chief
- Key ingredients: 24.5% non-nano zinc oxide, ectoin
- Tinted: yes (universal tint)
- Who it’s for: people with dry skin
- Type: mineral
- Water-resistant: yes (80 minutes)
- Fragrance-free: no
More sunscreens for sensitive skin we love:
Best for Acne-Prone Skin: Vanicream Facial Moisturizer with SPF 30
Why it’s worth it: Dye-free, fragrance-free, lanolin-free, and grease-free, yet packed with everything your sensitive skin actually needs. Vanicream Facial Moisturizer SPF 30 pulls double duty as both sunscreen and daily moisturizer, so you can skip a separate hydrator without feeling deprived. It blends in easily, making it an effortless one-and-done step under makeup or on bare skin. “It’s non-comedogenic, so it’s safer for acne-prone skin to avoid clogged pores and breakouts, plus ceramides help keep your complexion hydrated,” says Gloria Lin, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group based in New York City.
The addition of glycerin in this SPF keeps your skin feeling soft and comfy without a greasy feel.
- Key ingredients: 19.5% zinc oxide, ceramides, glycerin
- Tinted: yes (universal tint)
- Who it’s for: people with dry or acne-prone skin
- Type: mineral
- Water-resistant: yes (40 minutes)
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best Tinted: Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50
Colorescience
Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50
Why it’s worth it: Tinted mineral sunscreens are notoriously hard to get right, since zinc oxide is white, iron oxides can skew undertones, and the formula still has to melt in smoothly without sacrificing SPF power. Yet, Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50 nails it with a 100 percent mineral formula featuring technology that helps it adjust to your skin tone. “No tinted sunscreen is truly one-shade-fits-all, but these six flexible hues—from fair to deep—come impressively close,” says Geeta Yadav, MD, board-certified dermatologist based in Toronto, Canada. And while the adaptable tint is what hooks you first, the texture seals the deal. “The featherlight lotion morphs from white to tint as you blend, leaving a soft, demi-matte finish,” says Dr. Yadav.
For effortless and mess-free reapplication, try Colorscience Brush-On Sunscreen Mineral Powder. “It’s perfect for touch-ups over makeup because it mattifies without caking, and the built-in brush makes it ridiculously easy to stash in your bag,” says Dr. Lin.
- Key ingredients: 12% zinc oxide, niacinamide, bisabolol
- Tinted: yes (6 shades)
- Who it’s for: people who want a makeup-sunscreen hybrid
- Type: mineral
- Water-resistant: yes (40 minutes)
- Fragrance-free: yes
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I benefit from sunscreen for sensitive skin?
As we mentioned, it can be challenging for people with sensitive skin to find a sunscreen that won’t agitate due to common irritants from chemical sun blockers. If that sounds like you, you’ll want to try a gentler mineral sunscreen.