u/migueels

All the sunscreens I've tested.

Following my last post, I've decided to go ahead with my little experiment and text a bunch of sunscreens in terms of how much they would stain a white 100% cotton tshirt 😅.

These are the sunscreens I've put up to the test. I also decided to include an emollient heavy moisturizer (Geek and Gorgeous Happier Barrier) to see if it would also wash off (to test the hypothesis that maybe it's the lipids in the formula that cling to the fabric).

TLDR: Sadly, none of them washed out completely in the settings I've selected. The one that did better were the Skin Aqua ones.

Here's the list of products, UV filters and the number of the sample in the shirt:

Product	UV filters
Geek and Gorgeous Happier Barrier	-
Eucerin Oil Control SPF 50+ Gel-Creme	Avobenzone, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb S, Uvinul A Plus, Ensulizole
P20 Sensitive Face SPF 50+	Uvinul A Plus, Tinosorb S, TriAsorB, Uvinul T 150
Garnier Sensitive Expert+ SPF 50+	Octisalate, Uvinul T 150, Avobenzone, Tinosorb S, Mexoryl XL
Biodermal Sun Milk Kids SPF 50+	Tinosorb M, Octisalate, Uvinul A Plus, Tinosorb S, Uvinul T 150
Hema Sun Milk Sensitive SPF 50+	Uvinul A Plus, Octisalate, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb S, Ensulizole
Skin Aqua Super Moisture Barrier UV Essence SPF 50+	Octinoxate, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb S, Tinosorb M, Uvinul A Plus
Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Essence SPF 50+	Octinoxate, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb S, Tinosorb M, Uvinul A Plus
Geek and Gorgeous Zero Feel SPF 50	Uvinul A Plus, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb S, Ensulizole
Beauty of Joseon Rice + Probiotics SPF50+	Uvinul A Plus, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb M, Uvasorb HEB
Eucerin Sensitive Protect Kids Dry Touch (with their Anti-Stain After Wash technology)	Avobenzone, Tinosorb S, Uvinul T 150, Uvinul A Plus, Ensulizole, Uvasorb HEB

Methodology

I've coated the bottom of the fabric with aluminum foil to prevent the sunscreen from migrating to the other side (and also so that the stain can stay pretty soaked).

https://preview.redd.it/fjlmlaggup1h1.jpg?width=1118&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c28070df6a775d9d7cb7950443b49caf5773973

https://preview.redd.it/8b1r9onbqp1h1.jpg?width=1118&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab5c4bf5567f5b48367b41c2565dea5855ecabbf

I used precisely 1/32 tbsp of sunscreen for each sample and I've sampled each sunscreen twice. Then I left them for 48h and washed it. Note: I sampled the Eucerin Kids sunscreen the next day, but I then repeated the sample for other 2 sunscreens.

• In the wash I've selected the Cotton program for 1h12min at 40 degrees with 2 rinses.
• I've used no stain removers nor oxygen bleach and just a All-in 1 capsule for white clothes (like this one).
• I've added other 4 white tshirts to balance the load.

Here's the results:

Before the wash

After the wash

Product	Sample Number
Geek and Gorgeous Happier Barrier	1, 2
Eucerin Oil Control SPF 50+ Gel-Creme	3, 4
P20 Sensitive Face SPF 50+	5, 6
Garnier Sensitive Expert+ SPF 50+	7, 8, 24
Biodermal Sun Milk Kids SPF 50+	9, 10
Hema Sun Milk Sensitive SPF 50+	11, 12
Skin Aqua Super Moisture Barrier UV Essence SPF 50+	13, 14, 23
Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Essence SPF 50+	15, 16
Geek and Gorgeous Zero Feel SPF 50	17, 18
Beauty of Joseon Rice + Probiotics SPF50+	19, 20
Eucerin Sensitive Protect Kids Dry Touch (with their Anti-Stain After Wash technology)	21, 22

Stains before wash (close up)

Stains after wash (close up)

Conclusion

I think they all... sort of failed? Some of the moisturizer also didn't wash completely, so I am guessing some of these stains also have to do with the oils in the sunscreen.

Based on this I would rank them the following way:

S tier: Skin Aqua sunscreens (the Skin Aqua Super Moisture UV Essence SPF 50+ seems be sliiightly better)
A tier: Garnier Sensitive Expert+ SPF 50+
B tier: Everything else seems pretty consistent.

I guess my next step would be to try a stain remover (and maybe some oxygen bleach like Vanish) and see which one gets removed more easily. Happy to take suggestions on what to try next to remove these!

I need a sunscreen for the summer that is the most lightweight/matte possible, while at the same time:
- Having high UVA protection
- Being waterproof/water resistant
- Having (mostly) new generation filters.
- Being suitable for sensitive skin.

I know such a thing does not exist in this world but I am wondering what comes closer to it from all the European-available SPFs we have.

P.S.
- I don’t do well with the Uvmune line because it irritates my skin if I use it everyday in the summer.

Which one is more likely to be effective?

I've wore this sunscreen for a few days and I've tried to apply it in the eye area (including eye lids) in a quite reasonable amount. My experience is that when it migrates to the eyes it does slightly sting the eyes (way less than sunscreens with Avobenzone, like the Altruist one - if that one got in my eyes it was an awful experience).

However, I've realized this only happens IF I put it in my eye lids. If I put it close to my eye area it's fine. I suspect this is caused by the Ensulizole, as this filter is one of the most stinging UV filters since it is water-soluble and it can easily end up in your eyes).

In conclusion for me: I think this is pretty ok to be applied in the eye area, but it's still not the perfect sunscreen to be applied in the eye lid area.

Has anyone had any similar experience?

The standard across the industry is 12 months, so I am wondering why this is lower with G&G products.