Top Sunscreens We Can’t Live Without | Dermatologist Favorites

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]It is sunscreen season. It's actually always sunscreen season. And in this video, we're going to be talking about our top sunscreens that we cannot live without. My name is Dr. Sha, >> Dr. Max, >> and welcome back to our channel, Dr. Lee, where we talk about all things skincare and dermatology. So, whether you're into Korean skincare, which we are finally going to spend some good dedicated time on our favorites from Korea, whether you have acne prone skin, dark spots, we'll have different options tailored towards you so you can find the perfect fit.

[00:00:23]>> So, our favorite sunscreens of the season. Here we go.

[00:00:26]>> Here we go.

[00:00:31]So, we'll just kick it off with Korean sunscreens to start off. So, what are the Korean sunscreens we cannot live without? So, we have a lot of really good options behind us. And you've probably heard us talk about each of these sunscreens individually at some point. And it's really hard to choose between all of them, but if I had to pick one and one only, I think I'd go with the Skin 10004 sunscreen. This is their Madagascar Sentella. It's got incredible ingredients. It is SPF 50. It does have that broadspectctrum coverage, especially very strong in the UVA range, which is very helpful for that aging skin. This is actually what I'm wearing on my skin right now. We're in Denver.

[00:01:05]The sun is brutal. But this is just sort of a watery finish that then kind of gives you just a slight dewy glow. It's not greasy at all. And this is the Korean version to be specific. So, this is the one with the Korean filters in it.

[00:01:16]>> Right. And I'll read off the rest of the roster because we have, I feel like, just the best lineup here that have stuck with us over the years. We also have the Isentry hyaluronic acid watery sun gel. We also have the Haruharu Wonder Black Rice. We have the Round Lab Birch Juice. We have the beauty of Josson Sun relief. And I feel like each one of these has had their viral moment on Tik Tok for good reason. And if I had to pick one, which like Dr. Shaw said is really difficult, I'm still going to go with the Beauty of Josan. This one is just my go-to. I feel like it's just such a good hydrator. I still say it is better than almost 90% of the moisturizers you're going to put on your skin, especially I think if you have like a little bit of a normal to oily combination skin. I think it just lays nice and I actually picked one of these up in Europe. I didn't get anything else. I love shopping European sunscreens, but I went out of my way to pick up what I knew to be the Korean version in Holland there. So, one of my favorites of all time, still a go-to years later. I literally said, "Don't do the whole He goes in this." I was in Holland like all right you know all right we got the backstory >> every sunscreen has a story every sunscreen has a story of the moments they share with you in your life so >> okay >> he just has no moments >> it's like I was in my house and I got this one and the next day I was also in my house tinted sunscreens so I've always been a huge proponent of tinted sunscreens and that's because not only do they give you some coverage of the skin so It can give you just a nice covering some blemishes here and there, but they also help you give you that additional protection against visible light, specifically the iron oxide. So, if you're somebody who's really prone to hyperpigmentation or uneven skin tone, it's going to give you that added layer of protection that your sunscreen is maybe not already blocking against. And so, there's two that I really like in this category and the ones that I kind of keep reaching back for. So, this is your Ulta MD. And they have this for almost a lot of their products now. So, you know, UV daily, UV clear, UV hydration. They have them all in tinted.

[00:03:10]I kind of go for the medium tint personally. And then of course, Dermatology, their universal tinted sunscreen.

[00:03:15]>> Yeah, that I'm glad you said that last one because I think over the years I've tried so many of these, but I've really gone back to what I've started with, which is Dermatology Universal Tinted Moisturizer with SPF. Now, they have a hybrid one, which I do love. I think that one's probably my favorite. So, they have a hybrid tinted moisturizer. I think it's just a staple, a go-to for everyday wear. Now, there's one that we mentioned in a previous video, haven't mentioned it again, but ended up actually using it pretty consistently post-procedure. When my wife had Fraal done, she was using it pretty consistently. And this is the Sunsolve MD tinted sunscreen that's specifically targeted towards hyperpigmentation. Now, this has other ingredients that treat hyperpigmentation. It's extremely expensive, but for a pure mineral sunscreen, it blended incredibly well with the skin. Now, when it comes to mineral sunscreens, we can never say it's going to blend well with everyone's skin. No matter which brands make this promise, it never tends to be true, >> right? So there I say we can go to dark spots or for pure mineral sunscreens.

[00:04:04]But let's go pure mineral sunscreen because I think this is a category that has evolved and with an emphasis on the P in pure. So this has become a pain point for Dr. Shaw. I remember the first time we talked about this. A lot of mineral sunscreens have boosters in there and I think part of the reason is to make the formulation more elegant to lower the mineral concentration so it's more blendable but get the SPF coverage.

[00:04:23]But now pure mineral sunscreens, which one do you love? So, I think one of my favorite sunscreens in this category, especially because it's so affordable, is going to be the Van Cream mineral sunscreen. This is a pure mineral sunscreen. It doesn't have the octal salicyellate, which tends to be the booster that you'll find in your inactive ingredient list. So, just quick quick little education if this is one of the first times you're ever seeing our videos before. Mineral sunscreens are your zinc and your titanium. Now, they work very similar to chemical sunscreens, but they do have more of that white cast and they tend to be better for sensitive skin. Then you have your chemical sunscreens and that's going to include ingredients like octinoxate, aobenzone and other ingredients like that. They work similarly to mineral sunscreens, but they tend to not have a white cast and people tend to be more allergic to them if they do develop an allergy. And then there's this sort of like nefarious group of ingredients. They're not really nefarious, but salicyate for example is not a sunscreen filter technically, but acts like a sunscreen filter. And so a lot of brands will take a mineral sunscreen and then they will put a beetleactyl salicyate actually making it hybrid sunscreen of chemical and mineral and they'll call it pure mineral so that consumers who are looking for pure mineral seek this ingredient out but since this is a breakdown product of actali it's very chemically similar to octaali you're kind of tricking the customer into using something that they didn't intend to use at times.

[00:05:33]>> Now the key thing here is chemical sunscreens are not dangerous inherently.

[00:05:37]Most of the ingredients have been very very rigorously tested for safety. But octoal salicyillate is not a dangerous ingredient for you but it's just in a way that it targets the person who you know for whatever reason is looking for a pure mineral sunscreen and then it kind of doesn't deliver and is devious in that way. So that's the history of dilicate. That's why pure mineral sunscreens are a little different. Now for me I will say is one I've tried recently is just the one from native and they did a whole ad campaign. We're both part of it about pure mineral sunscreens. But I applied this and when I applied it I fell in love with it. I was actually shocked with how good this felt on the skin. Like it just feels good. They did a great job with their formulation, how it feels, how it sets, and how it protects.

[00:06:18]>> So a massive bottle. So it's SPF 30, so it's not going to have so much zinc in it that it's going to leave a white cast on everybody. But if you have deeper, darker skin tones, you probably will notice a bit of a white cast, especially on your face with this product if you're applying the right amount. But it's a massive bottle, so you can use it on body and face. And most sunscreens are actually quite expensive. And so when we encourage you to wear them every day and also reapply them frequently, that can get very expensive when you're dealing with a 1.7 oz bottle. I think 4 oz and you're going to get more bang for your buck at an affordable price point. Next category, chemical sunscreens, but specifically US filters, not Korean or European filters. And so this is where we're dealing with less sophistication here, but some brands have still made incredible sunscreens in this category that blend invisibly on the skin.

[00:06:59]>> Yeah. And that's the thing is like, okay, do I want like a really invisible one cuz they're just always fun? But I actually like the feel of the Rock Am moisturizer with SPF. I just think it's one of the most moisturizing, hydrating sunscreens out there. And I've said this before in other videos, I think for an aesthetic standpoint, it's the closest you can get to a Korean sunscreen feel with US filters. So, I am a big fan of this one.

[00:07:18]>> Yeah. So, this is a white sunscreen, but then when you start blending it in, like any type of lotion or emulsion, it's going to blend seamlessly into the skin and leave you with that hydrating finish. And so, still invisible, chemical, comes out white. And then you have other categories of course that come out purely invisible. We'll talk about those next. So when we think about this, I also like the Anua ZeroCast sunscreen. This is a pure chemical sunscreen with US filter. So even though it's a Korean brand, they did formulate this one in the US so that it could be available in Ulta. It has a little measuring cup so you can measure out exactly how much you need. And I really just like this sunscreen. I think it blends elegantly. It's not too dewy, but it's got that nice dewy glow that I like to the skin. And then let's talk about the invisible filters here. So this is where Super Goop comes into play. But now you actually have some other brands that are also playing in this space.

[00:08:01]>> The OG dupe for this is the Trader Joe's one. And I'm surprised in the comments how many times it still gets mentioned because I thought this was going to be like, oh, the Super Goop dupe is the Trader Joe's one and that's like its viral moment and it's gone. But I think even years later, we'll mention unseen sunscreen and people still propose the Trader Joe's. Why? Because it feels so similar, but also it's very affordable.

[00:08:20]And now that Trader Joe's isn't just in California, it's a much more accessible for people across the country.

[00:08:25]>> Yeah. So super affordable. And now, Neutrogena even has an invisible sun gel themselves. So, a lot of people playing in this space at a more affordable price point. Next up, hybrid sunscreen. So, this is a combination of your zinc and titanium and your chemical filters.

[00:08:37]There aren't a lot of hybrid options out there, and if there are, they don't have a lot of visibility. Now, I've always actually said this is a weird way to position your sunscreen because it does make it a little more difficult to blend because you have the mineral component and it doesn't appeal to the purely mineral people because it has the chemical component. But Dr. Shaw reminds me that yes, it also provides extremely consistent, reliable protection. So the one I think I've used most consistently and recommended is still the UV clear.

[00:08:59]Like LMD UV clear is just a staple for dermatologists in terms of what we like to wear and what we use for patients. So one of my favorite sunscreens.

[00:09:07]>> Yeah, a lot of the sunscreens from LMD are actually hybrid. They have a few pure mineral and I think they have no fully chemical. I think zinc is sort of the core. The brand started in in burn units I believe and so the core of that was using zinc on the skin and so a lot of them are based in zinc and then will have some type of chemical filter in it usually octinoxide I believe. And so, uh, UV clear, I think UV hydration, I think even maybe even the new UV recovery, which brings us into our next category, which is green tinted sunscreens. Now, this is something we talked about early early days. My favorite products at the time was Dr. Jar because it had this like green brown tint to it. Uh, but it was loaded with a lot of essential oils, but it was really the only option that could do this to like immediately take away redness and a sunscreen. And then now you have the one from Ulta MD, their UV recovery, but I think the green is nice and it probably reduces the redness by about 20%, but it's not really a thick green coverage, so it's not going to completely block out your redness. I would actually like to see more green tinted sunscreens. I think not only does it help mineral zinc like blend better. I think the laborator green sunscreen is a great example of that, but I do love the way it either strongly or subtly decreases the red hue in your skin. So, I still also like the LTMD one the best, but it is a very soft cushion for redness. So, these were a list of some of our absolute favorite sunscreens. And a sunscreen is evolving.

[00:10:22]One of my favorite things in the space is how they're active ingredients now.

[00:10:24]So, it's both protection and treatment.

[00:10:26]If you have acne, if you have dark spots, you have things that treat that or even if you just want peptides. This all exists and we'll do a whole separate video on that in the future. But, so with what we've given you, if you want a chemical, if you want mineral, if you want hybrid, if you want Korean, gives you a good place to start. And if you have a favorite sunscreen, we want to hear it because if we haven't tried it, we want to soon. So, put that in the comments below. So, hot off the press, we know a new filter is finally coming to the United States. It's been multiple decades since a new filter has been approved. So, we've been dealing with the few sunscreen filters that were able to use, but this new filter is coming called BMT is already currently being used overseas. And so, there's a lot of brands that are already working on formulas. I know this for a fact from industry knowledge. And so, once these products hit the market, we'll be the first to review them. but they're going to give us better coverage and also a bit more elegance and just more flexibility in what we're able to use in our sunscreens going forward. So, very exciting news for the sunscreen community and we'll let you know when they're out.

[00:11:16]>> Yep, I cannot wait for those to drop.

[00:11:17]We'll probably do a dedicated video to that. But, thank you so much for being a part of this and we will see you next time. See you next time.