Advice from the Aisles: Summer Sunscreen

It’s hot, it’s sunny, and it’s humid out there during our Vermont summers. We’re in the thick of it now, and many of you may still be struggling with your facial care routine. Let’s take a look at the options when trying to pack on as little as possible while also protecting our skin.  

Less is more in the summer when we *glisten* right through our morning facial routine. Or, if you’re me, you just plain sweat it off. In the brightly lit glass shelving section of facial care at City Market, you’ll find lotions that contain a small SPF rating for daily sun protection. These 2-in-1 wonders reduce the layers of product needed to stay moisturized and protected. Alaffia, Alba, Andalou Naturals, and Earth Science offer a facial moisturizer, in range of scents and textures, at various strengths of SPF.

You might find, however, that the shea butter rich formula of Alaffia’s coconut facial lotion with SPF 15, while fabulous during the cold and dry winter months, proves too heavy in the densely hot and humid summer months. Instead, try Badger’s Face Sunscreen, which offers more sun protection at SPF 25 and a lighter coverage. It provides just the right amount of moisture without suffocating your skin in the heat. If you’re worried about the Zinc oxide, which Badger uses as an alternative to chemical sunscreens, looking white on your skin, they also offer a tinted version which flawlessly blends with your skin tone allowing you to skip the extra foundation as well. This facial sunscreen is a sunscreen first, but is designed to be light, breathable, and gentle enough for your face.

Finally, you may notice scattered throughout our seasonal sunscreen endcap some options that are for facial use. Specifically, Alba brand makes two facial options: a chemical and a mineral sunscreen, formulated so they won’t clog pores or irritate the skin. The chemical option offers water resistance and an SPF 30 rating, the highest we have for facial sun protection. The mineral option tops out at SPF 20, but may be a healthier alternative for the skin. Whichever of the options sounds right for you, make sure you choose one of them to protect that beautiful face of yours.