Banana Boat Dry Balance Sunscreen review

This sunscreen is designed to deliver a matte finish (non-greasy feel). How does it live up to those claims?

Sometimes I marvel at how far humans have come from the days of putting leeches on our skin as a form of medicine. I feel so lucky to live in a world that offers many types of sunscreen—not just chemical and physical, but also tinted sunscreen and even sunscreen that’s designed to provide a cooling sensation. The latest innovation I spotted in the drugstore was “dry” sunscreen—not “dry” in the sense that it’s actually a powder, but sunscreen that doesn’t feel sticky or greasy after you apply it.

Banana Boat Dry Balance sunscreen is designed to be lightweight and non-greasy. It also says that it dries with a matte finish. Let’s take a closer look at how it achieves these claims.

Side note: Banana Boat’s official YouTube account posted this video announcing the “new” Dry Balance sunscreen in May of 2017. However, as of October 2018, when I took the picture below, the bottle still says “NEW!” in the bright yellow banner.

banana boat sport cool zone sunscreen review

Banana Boat Dry Balance Sunscreen ingredients

My Dad the Chemist’s review of Banana Boat Dry Balance Sunscreen

And then he sent this follow-up email:

According to my dad, the two main ingredients that contribute to the “drying” (or oil-absorbing) effect of this sunscreen are silica and tapioca starch, but mainly silica. This is actually not that surprising, since silica is also included in another sunscreen that I love: Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Sunscreen. Australian Gold dries with a matte finish (as Banana Boat Dry Balance Sunscreen claims to do) and is the only facial sunscreen that doesn’t make my skin feel super oily at the end of the day.

Banana Boat Dry Balance Sunscreen: Is it worth trying?

I haven’t personally tried Banana Boat Dry Balance Sunscreen, but it seems like it’s worth a shot if you really hate the greasy feel of traditional sunblock. However, if chemical sunscreens normally tend to irritate your skin, I’d invite you to try a Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Sunscreen. This physical sunscreen is unlikely to irritate your skin, and will still give you that matte, non-greasy finish you’re looking for.

This formula also contains fragrance, which may be a concern for some people. It also contains sodium hydroxide, which was the only new ingredient added to the updated version of CeraVe PM moisturizer—so if you reacted poorly to the new formula, but loved the old version of CeraVe PM, it might be worth avoiding this particular sunscreen as well.

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