The best sunscreen for dark skin?

Here are some tips to help cut back on trial and error, says the Kit’s editor-at-large

I’m frustrated. Every sunscreen I try seems to go chalky and ashy on my dark skin. I’m basically ready to give up with it all together at this point, even though I know that’s the wrong choice. How can I find the right sun protection? — Tonya, Toronto

We all know, at this point, that sunscreen is absolutely critical. It protects our health; it keeps our skin looking good. It’s vital, full stop. After all, aren’t we essentially all just slightly vain people who want to live longer?

“But a lot of doctors will say, when asked, that the best sunscreen on the market is whatever one you’re willing to use,” says Toronto-based dermatologist Dr. Renée A. Beach, when I call her to talk through your question. “And I hear the complaint you’re raising from my patients pretty much on the daily. I can sympathize and empathize with them. There’s not a lot of mineral sunscreens that I like on my skin, either. And the reality is that not everybody’s skin is the same.” After all, we must find a sunscreen that works with not only the shade of our skin but also the type, adding another level of scream-inducing complexity.

So it’s tempting to give up when something that should feel good (add to cart, click to buy, pat yourself on the back and use it faithfully forever) ends up feeling depressing (it leaves an ashy tone, it breaks you out, you can’t return it, it adds to the already teetering pile of products that have broken your heart).

“And human nature means that, fundamentally, what you can feel and see is more impactful, so a red-headed person who feels a sunburn on their face within 10 minutes is more likely to adhere to strict sunscreen use,” says Beach. “Whereas a deep-brown-toned person, who may notice a little bit of tan on their sandal foot but has never truly felt a sunburn in their whole life, experiences less of a physical reminder to apply sunscreen.” So while your feelings of frustration are completely justified, you can’t quit on the search; the health implications are too important — even if you spend most of your time indoors since melanoma-causing UVA rays filter right through windows.

“I always remind my patients of all skin tones that sunscreen is vitally important for those among us who are using skin care, particularly those that include retinol or anything called a skin-renewal or exfoliating agent,” says Beach. “The point of all those active ingredients is to reveal the perfect layer underneath, but it’s like lifting shingles off a roof; that deeper layer is now an unprotected layer. So if you’re not willing to protect it, you’re just damaging layer after layer after layer.”

The regimen you’re applying fastidiously at night has to be coupled with careful protection in the morning or you’re actually doing more harm than good, says Beach, who won’t even prescribe a retinoid to someone she thinks won’t take sun care seriously. So, in short, we must persevere in finding sun protection that suit your needs.

“From a product standpoint, there are two things you need to be aware of: There are vehicles and there are sunscreen or block agents. Just think of an SPF product as a soup,” she suggests. “The sun protection agents are the pieces of chicken or carrot, but the broth they are sitting in, which is what makes it all come together, is the vehicle.”

Both of those ingredient groups can have an effect on which product will ultimately be best suited for your skin.

There’s no surefire way to sidestep the trial and error required to find a product that really works for your individual skin, but there are some useful shortcuts. The most appropriate vehicle is likely going to be described as a “lightweight lotion” so be on the lookout for that language on packaging. Creams tend to be too thick and difficult to rub in, and sprays are tricky to use on your face, says Beach.

“Then we need to make the distinction between sunscreen and sunblock,” says Beach. “Sunscreens basically take ultraviolet radiation and convert it to heat, whereas blocks actually reflect the ultraviolet light away from your skin.”

Most sunscreen agents are created equally when it comes to the likelihood of creating a grey cast on your skin — they are all relatively similar chemicals, says Beach. But when it comes to a showdown between zinc and titanium, the two most popular sunblocks — also called mineral or physical ingredients on product packaging — “I would say that zinc is clearly more favourable because it’s as effective and also way less likely to leave that whitish film.”

If you were hoping that a tinted sunscreen might also help fight the unflattering cast, you can forget it. Most tinted sunscreens are still only available in one peachy shade.

The problem with sunscreen formulations is not an unfortunate blind spot or a lack of technical know-how, says Beach. “Product developers, chemists and marketers are just people.”

If that group isn’t diverse, then there simply isn’t a call for better products for dark-skinned people. If we broaden the perspective of that powerful demographic, however, then we will more quickly broaden the range of products deemed saleable or necessary.

“Solutions are often ignored when they’re possible,” she says. “But not when they’re suddenly seen as profitable.”

Send your pressing fashion or beauty questions to Kathryn at ask@thekit.ca