There are probably 100 different sunscreens available at drugstores, but of those 100, there’s only a few I would bother buying. I firmly believe Zinc Oxide is the best sunscreen ingredient, and there are almost no drugstore sunscreens that contain decent levels of Zinc Oxide.
Blue Lizard is the only drugstore brand I currently buy. They have a few different products, and the Zinc Oxide ranges from 6%-10%, which isn’t spectacular, but it’s the highest concentration of Zinc Oxide I’ve seen in a drugstore brand.
Blue Lizard Sport SPF 30+
This is what I’ve been using for the past year as a sunscreen for my body. It’s Very Water Resistant, so it’s good if you’re going to be outside sweating, or going to the beach or pool. It has 6% Zinc Oxide, and other chemical sunscreen ingredients (Octinoxate, Octocrylene, and Oxybenzone). I personally like water resistant sunscreens, since it gets sooo hot in the summer here, and I end up sweating the second I leave the house. Their Regular sunscreen is the same as the Sport, but it’s not water resistant.
Blue Lizard Sensitive SPF 30+
I just picked this sunscreen up today. I hadn’t seen it on the shelves until recently, or I would have grabbed it a long time ago. It’s not water resistant unfortunately, but it has 10% Zinc Oxide, and 5% Titanium Dioxide. This is great for people that have sensitive skin and can’t handle chemical sunscreen ingredients. It’s also good for children 6 months and older. This sunscreen appears to have the exact same ingredients as their Baby version. I’ll probably use this every day, but if it comes off when I sweat, I’ll go back to the Sport version.
While I’ve been obsessed with sunscreens that have the highest percentage of Zinc Oxide possible, as well as super high SPFs, I am satisfied with the Blue Lizard sunscreens because they are affordable (they cost about the same as regular drugstore sunscreens, or maybe a few dollars more) and they offer adequate sun protection. The good thing about cheaper sunscreens is that people tend to use the proper amount of sunscreen because the cost isn’t outrageous. When I use expensive sunscreens, I get stingy with my application and probably don’t use as much as I should.
The bad thing about Blue Lizard
I personally wouldn’t use Blue Lizard on my face. It contains pore clogging ingredients, and even their new Face sunscreen has pore cloggers. If you are not prone to acne at all, using it on your face should be fine. If you are prone to acne on your body, this sunscreen could also pose a problem, so be aware of this issue I haven’t ever tried it on my face, so I don’t know if the product leaves a white cast at all, and I don’t know how it looks under makeup. On my body, I don’t really notice a white cast. For my face, I use these sunscreens.
This sunscreen doesn’t smell like coconuts (which I personally love). The Sensitive version has no fragrance (great for people that are allergic to fragrance), and the Sport has a very faint, yet pleasant scent.
Where to find Blue Lizard
You can buy it online at Drugstore.com. I picked up mine at CVS, and according to the Blue Lizard website, other retailers that carry it include: Rite Aid, Ecker, Stop & Shop, Longs, Ralphs, Duane Reade, Kroger, and a few other stores. On Drugstore.com, you can get a 5 ounce bottle for the same price as the 3 ounce bottle (about $9.50). It’s too bad it’s not sold at Target, Wal-Mart, or Kmart.
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May 13th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I keep hearing about Blue Lizard online and can never find it even at CVS! I’ll have to buy it online. Thank you for posting about it. I didn’t know it was zinc oxide based, and ten percent too. I think that will definitely make it worth an online purchase. Maybe I could even hope for a spray version in the future. :)
May 13th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I want to invest in Blue Lizard from your reviews (esp due to its zinc oxide content)… I think my only concern is that I am pretty dark skinned so when I hear “Zinc Oxide” I am so hesitant because some products can leave an ashy residue (Oil of Olay’s broad spectrum moisturizer in an SPF15 surprisingly does not have an ashy or white cast… but I want to up the SPF… so I’ll probably try Shiseido at the makeup counter)
Great posts - I love this blog so muc and try to suggest it to as many people as possible (I was the one who won the Sephora brushes awhile ago). Keep on posting! :D
May 14th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Does anybody know of an online store based in Europe that offers Blue Lizard? The taxes are simply monstrous when ordering from the USA (or anywhere else outside the European Union).
May 14th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Is titanium Dioxide a good sun protection ingredient? I’ve been using Murad. I love the feel of it and it’s tinted. Here’re the ingredients. What do you think? Is titanium enough?
Active Ingredient:
Titanium Dioxide 5.5 %
Other Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Cetyl Alcohol, Oleth-10 Phosphate, Silica, Magnesium Aluminum Silcate, Punica Granatum Extract, Chitosan Ascorbate, Zinc Aspartate, Lysine Lauroyl Methionate, Rice Amino Acids, Lecithin, Tocopherol, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium PCA, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Palmitoyl Hydroxypropyltrimonium, Amylopectin/Glycerin Crosspolymer, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Extract, Propylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Aluminum Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Aminomethyl Propanol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Oil, Talc, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)
May 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Kristina - I, too, have had trouble finding it - I live in the Midwest and Walgreens doesn’t have it here. Gonna chk Walmart - if not, I saw it on Drugstore.com and alot of the sun protection clothing companies have it (like Coolibar and Sun Precautions I think)
May 16th, 2008 at 10:28 am
This is very true. I would not think Blue Lizard is the best, but it is definitely the best and economical solution for a healthy sunscreen. I wrote a similar article at my website.
May 18th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Karmen,
Titanium Dioxide is decent for sun protection, however it doesn’t cover the same range of UV rays that Zinc Oxide or Mexoryl cover, so I much prefer Zinc Oxide. I’ve also personally had problems with Titanium Dioxide clogging my pores, but it could just be me. http://www.savvyskin.com/zinc-oxide-vs-mexoryl-sunscreen-ingredients is an article about the UV spectrum. I personally would switch to a zinc oxide-based sunscreen, but I know it’s a hard choice if you love that sunscreen. I’m also not sure what the SPF is of the Murad sunscreen.
May 18th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Marie,
Almost all zinc oxide sunscreens are “micronized” now so they go on relatively clear. However, most of them have a very slight white tint. On my light skin, I don’t usually notice the white tint, but I see how it could be a problem for darker skin types. Yeah I would test out the Shiseido at the makeup counter. Most stores let you return products, so if you end up hating it, you should be able to get your money back. I always apply a light foundation over my sunscreen on my face, so if there is any white cast, it’s invisible under the makeup.
May 18th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Kristina,
It’s funny because I’ve never heard a single person mention Blue Lizard before. I just saw it at the store one day, and happened to read the ingredients. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll come out with a spray version. On the Blue Lizard website, they sort of mock spray sunscreens: http://www.crownlaboratories.com/bluelizard/why.html and say they just aren’t as effective - “No, Blue Lizard doesn’t come in a spray, gel or mousse. To do so would be to compromise the best formulated sunscreen on the planet and we just can’t do that.”
May 29th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Jeni,
Have you ever tried the Renee Rouleau sunscreen or any of their skincare products? They seem to have non pore clogging ingredients and I was wondering what your opinion on them was.
Thanks…
June 13th, 2008 at 4:58 am
I didn’t love it, because it was so thick and greasy. My daughter burned slightly after a few hours at the zoo wearing the baby version
July 13th, 2008 at 6:02 am
i use a sunscreen that contains no pore-clogging oil or fragrance, does not have a weird smell to it and is said to be gentle enough for sensitive skin. it has 10% zinc oxide and 5% titanium dioxide. it’s from dhccare.com and it’s called white sunscreen. i just thought i’d let everyone know about this one too in case they would be interested in a sunscreen for the face that has no oil and a high content of zinc oxide.
July 13th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Hi,
Blue Lizard is great! I get it from my derms office but am going to buying it in the store now…also…spray on versions of sunscreen are worthless, according to my derm.
Have a happy day everyone!
Jo