Sunscreen for Your Face or Day Cream with SPF: Which is the Best Choice?

Yvonne ZuurbierOrthomolecular Therapist16 may 20245 min. reading time

We often receive questions about whether a day cream with SPF is sufficient to protect your skin from UV rays or if sunscreen is still necessary. We completely understand this, as it seems ideal to have a day cream with added SPF. You need fewer products, and with one application of cream, you can care for and protect your skin. However, you might wonder if the added SPF works as effectively as a facial sunscreen. We've looked into it and gathered the facts for you.

What Does SPF Mean and What Do You Need for Your Face?

Let's start with what SPF actually stands for. SPF (Sun Protection Factor) in a day cream or sunscreen is the measure that indicates how long someone can stay in the sun without burning at a certain sun strength. In other words, if someone burns after 10 minutes without sun protection, with an SPF 15, they would burn after 15 x 10 minutes.

The duration before you burn depends on several factors: including your skin type, the intensity of the sun, the time of day, the latitude where you are, and the amount and type of protection you use. Generally, the higher the UVB intensity, the quicker you can burn.

Your skin tone plays a role in choosing how high the SPF should be to offer optimal protection, so check the SPF before purchasing a product. A fair skin is much more sensitive to UV radiation and will need more protection than darker skin. But regardless of skin colour, it remains wise to apply sunscreen. Even if you have a nice tan from the sun, DNA damage can still occur because the pigment in the skin is not always distributed evenly.

The advice for fair, sensitive skin is at least SPF 30 throughout the year, while darker skin is sufficiently protected with SPF 15 in winter and SPF 30 in summer.

SPF 50 is recommended if you have very fair skin and are highly sensitive to burning. During prolonged sun exposure, especially during peak hours (between 10:00 and 16:00), a sunscreen with SPF 50 provides extra protection.

Which is Better: Day Cream with SPF or Sunscreen?

“A day cream with SPF can adequately protect your skin from UV rays in winter, but in summer, a facial sunscreen is recommended alongside your day care,” says Dr Jetske Ultee, a research physician in cosmetic dermatology.

The downside of a day cream with SPF is that it cannot contain high concentrations of active ingredients such as vitamin C or niacinamide, as these simply do not fit into one product. And you do need these ingredients to protect your skin against, for example, skin ageing or pigmentation spots. Additionally, the active substances that are present may penetrate the skin less effectively due to the combination with SPF. Using a natural facial sunscreen alongside your day cream already gives you the best of both worlds for these reasons alone.

The correct order of applying creams is also very important for optimal skin protection.
This is how you can best proceed: first apply the day cream to cleansed skin, perhaps brush your teeth in the meantime, and apply the SPF after about 10 minutes. This allows your day care to be absorbed well into your skin, preventing it from mixing with the SPF. Apply the facial sunscreen evenly and do not be too frugal, as often a thin layer is applied, reducing protection (don’t forget your lips!). For the same reason, it is wise to apply your foundation only 15 minutes after the facial sunscreen so that it has dried properly. A foundation with SPF is discouraged because it is applied in a thin layer and therefore offers less protection to the skin.

Thinking, help, I really don’t have time for all this in the morning, and opting for a quick application of day cream with SPF? No worries, that is also possible if you then continue to apply it every 2 hours. So don’t forget to put your day cream in your bag when heading out on sunny days. Have you consciously chosen a day cream with high SPF so that you are well protected for the rest of the day with one application? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

An SPF 15 protects against 94% of sun rays, an SPF 30 against 97%, and an SPF 50 reaches 98%. To maintain this coverage, you must continue to apply the day cream with SPF every 2 hours, just like sunscreen. This is because you lose part of the protection throughout the day due to perspiration and because you unknowingly touch your face regularly.
There goes the advantage of quickly applying the day cream with SPF in the morning and being ready for the rest of the day. During sunny periods of the year, opt for that nourishing day cream with many active ingredients and take the natural facial sunscreen for extra applications in your bag.

Can You Use Regular Sunscreen for Your Face?

While using regular sunscreen on the face is better than no protection at all, using a specific facial sunscreen can lead to a better experience and protection, especially for people with sensitive skin or specific skin issues.

For optimal protection, it is wise to use a facial sunscreen alongside your day cream during sunny months, but there is a significant difference in quality. You can read more about the difference between synthetic and mineral filters in sunscreens in our blog why choose a natural sunscreen. According to research by the Consumer Association on 19 March 2024, a third of the tested synthetic facial sunscreens do not provide sufficient protection. Besides being expensive, they are also not sustainable. They therefore advise choosing a less environmentally damaging facial sunscreen.

We support this advice and recommend a natural facial sunscreen alongside a nourishing day cream so that your skin is well protected against skin damage. Previously, these mineral filters left a white cast on the skin, but nowadays brands like Dr. Hauschka, MÁDARA, and Caudalie use a natural brown pigment. This makes applying facial sunscreen very pleasant, and it also gives you a nice summer glow. We say, let the sun shine.

Good to Know

A day cream with SPF has less room for active ingredients like vitamin C and niacinamide, which your skin really needs as protection against skin ageing and pigmentation spots. A day cream with high SPF must also be applied every 2 hours in sunny periods to provide sufficient protection. A day cream without SPF, alongside a natural facial sunscreen, thus offers you the best protection to optimally nourish and protect your skin.

Sources:

Consumer Association via https://www.consumentenbond.nl/zonnebrand/zonnebrand-gezicht
Radar, Avro Tros via https://radar.avrotros.nl/artikel/biedt-spf-toegevoegd-aan-make-up-of-dagcrme-voldoende-bescherming-tegen-de-zon-50292
Dr. Jetske Ultee via https://www.dr-jetskeultee.nl/voorlichting-zonbescherming/