I love trying zinc oxide sunscreens. Over the course of 2019, I’ve tried quite a few, including: Bare Republic Face Sunscreen SPF 30, All Good Sunscreen Butter SPF 50+, Coppertone Pure & Simple Sunscreen SPF 50, Badger Clear Zinc Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30, Hawaiian Sol SPF 50 Reef Safe Sunscreen. And that’s just listing the solely zinc oxide-based ones. I’ve also tried other physical sunscreens that contain a mixture of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

Does your local drugstore have a clearance section? I recently scored a few bottles of Bare Republic sunscreen at my local Duane Reade (a subsidiary of Walgreens): Bare Republic Face Sunscreen SPF 30, Bare Republic Tinted Face Sunscreen SPF 30, and Bare Republic Sport Sunscreen SPF 30. They were priced at a deep discount (less than the price of a coffee!) and all of ‘em were still about a year away from expiration. I also checked the bottles to make sure they were sealed. I’ve always…

In the U.S., the only physical sunscreen filter that provides good UVA protection is zinc oxide, and any product that has a high concentration of this ingredient usually screams: “I’m wearing sunscreen!"—which is why I generally have more luck with tinted sunscreens. Countries in Europe and Asia allow a greater variety of sunscreen filters (including ones that provide excellent UVA protection), which means that they’re able to create sunscreens that provide high UVA/UVB…