The New Class of Sunscreens That Will Soon Be Everywhere
(Photo: Julep)
Let’s face it; sunscreen is boring on a good day, and greasy and filmy on a day you’d like to forget. Since we’re tasked with applying it regularly, it feels like a chore rather than a luxury. As the number of melanoma cases continue to rise nationwide, it wouldn’t be too far off-base to say sunscreen needs some help with its image.
That’s where gels come in. They’re hip! They’re fun! They’re new! And if I know anything, we’ll be seeing many more gel sunscreens in the near future.
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Gels are unlike any other formulation of SPF. For one, they are completely clear. The chalky-white ghosts of sunscreens-past don’t exist in a gel world. In terms of viscosity, they take after the hair gels you’ve come to despise (or love — no judgment here). Gels aren’t sticky, and most of the ones I’ve tested are fragrance-free.
To settle the icky matter of greasy skin after sunscreen application, gels dry quickly with a matte-to-satin finish. The elegant formula in Cover FX’s Clear Cover doesn’t pill under makeup, which is very considerate, and Julep’s No Excuses feels smooth — like an airy cloud — on skin.
Gel sunscreens are able to harness clear, bouncy formulas because they are chemical-based. This means that they protect you by absorbing the sun’s rays so that our skin will not — unlike chalky mineral sunscreens, which serve as a liquid shield against the sun. (And while we’re on the subject of chemical sunscreens, they certainly won’t kill you, but they might not work well with very sensitive skin.)
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The formulas are accented with silicones to engineer their gel-like feel. They won’t clog your pores, if you’re wondering (silicones have long-been cleared from pimple-inducing infamy), and their mattifying effect actually works best with oily, acne-prone skin.
