What Are the Benefits of Tinted Sunscreen?

At ZO® Skin Health, we offer a wide range of professional grade sunscreens. Formulated with Triple-Spectrum Protection®, our daily facial sunscreen products are core to the ZO® Protect protocol, a calibrated approach that helps prevent sun and light damage and ultimately promotes your skin health.

Many of our sunscreens for the face are tinted sunscreen products. You may be curious about the unique advantages and benefits of tinted sunscreen. Below we explore why as a part of our sun protection protocol, we believe that tinted sunscreens are a better option for your skin.

Is tinted sunscreen better for you?

The question of whether a tinted sunscreen is better for you, and in turn your skin health, is not entirely cut and dry. While your choice of a particular sunscreen comes down to personal preference, there are advantages and disadvantages to all facial sunscreen products, including tinted sunscreens.

Notably, tinted sunscreen benefits go beyond those of an untinted facial sunscreen product. In short, a tinted sunscreen is better for your skin health day after day as it offers enhanced protection against a broader range of light wavelengths, specifically UV and VL (Visible Light), including blue light.

A tinted sunscreen is most often formulated with adaptive color pigments derived from iron oxides. These naturally tinted minerals allow a mineral SPF to blend into a broader range of skin tones. The improved blendability minimizes, and can even eliminate, the white cast common to a mineral sunscreen, making them more cosmetically elegant – and a better option for darker skin tones.

What are the advantages of tinted sunscreen?

The advantages of tinted sunscreens go beyond merely facial sunscreen with added shade. Among the most important benefits of tinted sunscreen are:

Sun Protection:

As most well-formulated facial sunscreens, a tinted sunscreen protects your skin from the sun’s damaging UV rays and, consequently, from photoaging – a leading cause of premature signs of aging and skin cancer.

Visible Light (VL) Protection:

Tinted sunscreens are often formulated with iron oxide color pigments that boost their efficacy by broadening their ability to protect your skin from Visible Light (VL), including blue light. All ZO® tinted sunscreens feature iron oxides.

Lightweight Coverage:

With mineral color pigments, tinted facial sunscreens offer natural, lightweight coverage that can even out skin tone and blur imperfections and the look of fine lines.

Versatility:

Due to their adaptive color pigments, tinted sunscreens eliminate the white cast common to mineral sunscreens, making them a suitable option for darker skin tones. Additionally, tinted sunscreens come in a variety of textures to suit all skin types – from very oily to very dry.

Simplicity:

By combining your daily facial sunscreen with your makeup foundation or concealer, a tinted sunscreen simplifies and consolidates your routine. Fewer products means less effort, time, and cost.

What are the disadvantages of tinted sunscreen?

As with untinted facial sunscreens, whether you like a particular sunscreen product comes down to personal preference. Comfort on the skin is among the top concerns that consumers give for not wearing sunscreen – and this applies to tinted facial sunscreens, too.

As with all mineral sunscreens, a tinted sunscreen is formulated with mineral UV filters, including Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide, and the texture of a specific product may not suit your preferences. While a tinted sunscreen is designed to eliminate the white cast that mineral sunscreens can leave, a specific product may still be too thick, cakey or thick for your skin.

Is it okay to use tinted sunscreen daily?

Yes, you can use a tinted sunscreen daily. Of course, it is essential for your long-term skin health to use a facial sunscreen each morning before UV exposure. Finding a sunscreen that you enjoy wearing and that blends into your skin well makes it more likely you will use it consistently. Doing so will help preserve your skin health while defending against the premature signs of aging that directly result from sun damage.

Can tinted sunscreen replace foundation?

Depending on your texture preference and the level of coverage you’re used to, a tinted sunscreen can replace your foundation. By combining the coverage benefits of makeup and the protection benefits of a daily facial sunscreen, a tinted SPF simplifies and consolidates your routine.

Think of a tinted sunscreen first and foremost as a sunscreen for the face that offers the defense you need against photodamage, aka sun damage – the leading cause of premature signs of aging.

As a replacement for makeup, a tinted sunscreen can address uneven skin tone and blur imperfections and the look of fine lines – depending on the level of coverage. Some tinted facial sunscreen products like the ZO® Sunscreen + Primer Broad-Spectrum SPF 30 are even formulated with the added benefits of a primer to even out skin tone and hold makeup in place.