Rosacea Sunscreen Review

A reader emailed me to ask what rosacea-friendly sunscreen I use. She has a sensitivity to oxybenzone. I don't have that sensitivity. But, I do find that products containing glycerin make my skin itchy. I'm going into this test knowing that glycerin is going to cause itching. You'll have your own sensitivities with rosacea, so keep those in mind when you look through the ingredients.

My sunscreen cream expired. I have been using zinc powder over face cream, but it dries my skin out. I really want a moisturizer that offers broad-spectrum protection. Make sure you shop for broad spectrum. You want to protect your skin against UVA and UVB rays.

I've used Andalou Naturals products in the past and had great success. Usually, I stick with their moisturizing face wash. It works well when it's in the middle of winter. We're entering spring now, so my skin tends to be a little oilier. I saw a bottle of Andalou Naturals Oil Control Beauty Balm with SPF 30 on my store's discontinued shelf. I opted to buy it and see what I think.

Ingredients in Andalou Naturals Oil Control SPF 30

The ingredients in Andalou Naturals Oil Control Beauty Balm are as follows.

Active: (The actual broad spectrum protection)

20 percent zinc oxide

The Rest:

  • Organic aloe juice
  • Jojoba oil
  • Sunflower oil
  • Sorbitan stearate (synthetic wax)
  • Glyceral stearate (fatty acid)
  • Fruit cell cultures
  • Fruit stem cells (apple and grape)
  • Uva ursi leaf extract (anti-inflammatory)
  • Triglyceride
  • Hyaluronic acid
  • Sage leaf extract
  • Willow bark extract
  • Pomegranate seed oil
  • Hibiscus
  • Camellia
  • Tangerine peel oil
  • Palmarosa oil

Part of the fruit cells mixture is a BioActive 8 Berry Complex that's designed to get antioxidants into the skin. The fruits in this mix include acai, aronia, bearberry, bilberry (including fruit stem cells), black elderberry, goji, rosehips, and sea buckthorn.

Application Notes

Instructions are to apply an ample amount of the cream 15 minutes before going outside. You can wear it under makeup. It's a matte finish and is untinted. It's not very white, as some zinc products are, but I could see it well enough to know I'd covered all of my face.

It felt pretty oily, so I had concerns, but it says “clarifying for oily skin,” so I hoped for the best. The oily feel lasts, too. You can definitely feel you have cream on if you touch your face hours later. Glyceral stearate worried me because it's a product of glycerin. Glycerin makes my skin itch. This cream did make me itch a little, but it's not as bad as other products. What it didn't do was make me flush. It itched, but my skin actually looked great throughout the day. The itching is something I can deal with if my skin isn't irritated.

I took my dog for a 30-minute walk in full sun. It did a great job protecting my skin. I don't have the scientific equipment that labs do to see if 30 SPF is really 30 SPF, but I was outside for 30 minutes the first time, reapplied and went out for another 30 minutes a few hours later, and reapplied later in the afternoon and sat outside under an umbrella for an hour. My skin shows no signs of getting any sun. I'm impressed.

A Day Later

I didn't put any cream on that night. I went to bed and left moisturizer off for the night. The next day, my skin does feel better. It's softer than it was. I'd been putting on a layer of Vanicream covered with zinc oxide powder. It was leading to redness and my skin felt dry. After three days of using Andalou, it feels well moisturized and the redness is much less prominent.

I would definitely look over the ingredients and make sure none of your rosacea triggers are on that list. If they're not and you need a sunscreen that avoids oxybenzone, give Andalou Naturals Oil Control Beauty Balm a try. It's pretty amazing for a sunscreen for rosacea.
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