Comments on: What Can I Do If I’m Allergic To Sunscreen?

By: Gio

Gio — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 11:56:41 +0000

In reply to KK.

KK, sorry to hear your skin is so sensitive. I wish fragrance weren’t everywhere. It literally has no place in skincare and most everything else. *sighs* I hope the products mentioned here help. Unfortunately, sometimes, it’s the combination of sunscreen + sun that causes the allergy and that can be hard to detect and treat. Fragrance-free, zinc oxide sunscreens are your best bet here. They can be quite thick and greasy but offer excellent protection and are super gentle. Asian sunscreens use chemical filters like Tinosorb and Mexoryl that usually don’t cause allergies and irritations. They’re also very lightweight and aesthetically pleasing so don’t have the unpleasant textures of most zinc oxide sunscreens. It’s like the best of both worlds. But they’re really hard to get a hold of in the US. You’ll probably have to buy from an Asian website.

By: KK

KK — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 23:53:12 +0000

I have had sensitive skin my whole life(exzema starting when I was about 2 years old), but overall have not had issues with facial products. Starting about 5 years ago, I would get random reactions to products, lipstick would cause a rash around my mouth, certain mascaras would cause a rash around my eyes, etc. So, I have remained almost makeup free since then except on special occasions. Have only used Aquaphor on my lips for years, in fact I have to have it on all day or my lips ache, but everything was “tolerable”. About a year ago everything got worse. Constant rashes, inflammation, burning, itching in multiple places on my face. Have been to the derm multiple times, did a “face diet” from her recommendation, which consisted of only using Vanicream products for 6 weeks. All was going well until I used the Vanicream sunscreen, once again, reaction. Derm said, ” I don’t know what to do anymore”. Just had patch testing done by another derm that was recommended by first derm and found out I’m allergic to fragrance. That explains a lot of what has been going on, but not the fact that all sunscreens irritate my face even if they are fragrance free. New derm is planning further patch testing to figure out which fragrances affect me but also doing photo sensitive testing because the sunscreen seems to have worse reaction on my face when the sun hits it. Also, I only have these issues on my face, no where else on the body. With the new fragrance allergy, trying to cut out all fragrances, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, EVERYTHING has fragrance. This blog has been very informative, I am going to try the physical sunscreens and see what happens. Also, can you tell me more about the Asian sunscreens that you mentioned earlier? It will be interesting to see what happens with the photo sensitive testing. Thank You!

By: Gio

Gio — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 07:27:37 +0000

In reply to Brandi A Stewart.

Brandi, unfortunately, allergies can happen at any time. 🙁 to answer your question, there may be a couple of explanations.

1. the part of the body that reacts more intensely (in this case, the face) is the one that experienced the higher level of sunscreen causing the allergy.
2. when you first experience a bad reaction, some immune cells remain in the area so they respond more promptly when you use sunscreen again.

Hope this helps.

By: Brandi A Stewart

Brandi A Stewart — Sat, 23 Jun 2018 20:23:11 +0000

I had never had a problem until about 3 years ago. I suddenly started waking up a with red, swollen itchy face. it took some time, but then I figured out it was my new make-up. I stopped the make-up of course. then on a trip up north it happened again! I finally realized it was sunscreen (it was in my new make-up which was a CC cream). I tried several sunscreens and nothing worked until I bought Clinique’s mineral based facial sunscreen. I also have to buy make-up without sunscreen or else I can only wear make-up 1-2x/week. the higher the SPF the faster the reaction and the more often I wear it the more of a reaction. It’s hard these days to find make-up without SPF. Anyway, my question is why does my face react to traditional sunscreens, but my body does not???
Brandi

By: Gio

Gio — Sat, 19 May 2018 10:03:49 +0000

In reply to Joy. Joy, I'm sorry this is happening to you. Unfortunately, it's hard to pinpoint which ingredient is doing this without proper testing. I've never heard of sunscreen vapours before. Makes me think that's something else that could be causing it, like a spray agent in spray sunscreens? Or maybe the alcohol?

By: Joy

Joy — Mon, 07 May 2018 13:01:14 +0000

My problem is with the invisible vapors created by sunscreen. They go into my eyes and feel like large grains of sand. It’s worse when we are in the car, usually on the ride home. It’s so bad that I can’t open my eyes. When I was a kid, I was told that I was getting the sunscreen in my eyes. But as an adult, I cover up my body as much as possible and am careful not to go out in the sun for too long. But during those times when we go on trips to sunny areas, I’ve tried different sunscreens and different methods of applying sunscreen to make sure it doesn’t go into my eyes. For instance, I would have someone else apply it to only areas below my head. I still felt like I was getting sunscreen in my eyes. My eyes would still hurt. Then, the other day, I was on a shuttle and someone was wearing a load of sunscreen. It happened then too. So I’m thinking there could be an ingredient in sunscreen that is causing this reaction. If so, what ingredient(s) could it be?