Sunscreens for Different Ages & Skin Types

There are many different types of sunscreens on the market and I think making the correct choice for your age and skin type is more difficult.

Therefore I’m going to try and clarify the matter and give recommendations for different age groups and skin types.

Infants & Young Children

In babies up to 3 months of age, I would not recommend using sunscreens, but rather avoiding the sun completely and wearing the appropriate clothing. Some manufacturers will recommend their products from 3 months of age whereas other manufacturers recommend them from 6 months of age. These products will generally follow a minimalist formulation ie. have fewer ingredients and therefore carry a reduced risk of irritation and allergy to the skin. Manufacturers will often use fewer chemical filters and rather favour mineral or physical filters which reflect ultraviolet light.

From Early Teenager until Late ’20s

With the onset of puberty in girls as well as guys, the skin becomes more oily and prone to blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples. Therefore, the sunscreens they use should be of a lighter formulation that does not clog the pores. These sunscreens will generally have a matte or dry-touch finish.

From the mid to late 20s, women of this age who are either pregnant or on the oral contraceptive pill will be more prone to pigmentation or melasma. Visible light has been shown to make pigmentation worse, therefore these patients should have a sunscreen that covers UVB / UVA as well as Visible Light (often expressed as High Energy Visible Light or HEVs). The VL blocker is usually Iron Oxide, and this results in the sunscreen having a slight tint, which is often beneficial in disguising the pigmentation as well.

Late 20s to late ’40s

At these ages, people are mainly concerned with the ageing effects of the sun. As one gets older, one’s skin generally gets drier, so you might want to use sunscreen with a more creamy formulation. People working in crowded cities are generally exposed to more air pollution, and here one would want a sunscreen that blocks UVB / UVA / Visible Light as well as contains proven antioxidants that would help protect against pollution. Additionally, recent studies have shown that infrared radiation emitted by artificial light sources such as cell phones, TVs and tablets can also contribute to accelerated skin ageing and free radical damage, so the role of antioxidants in sunscreens is becoming even more important.

50’s and Onwards

Signs of ageing, as well as pre-cancer and skin cancers, will appear especially in people with fair skin living in South Africa. Here the sunscreen I would recommend would have a creamy base and should cover UVB / UVA / VL / Infrared and at this stage to have chemicals to help repair DNA ie. help reverse some of the damage to the DNA in skin cells, and therefore reduce the risk of skin cancer.

People who Play Sport

Many athletes, in general, complain about sunscreen running into their eyes when they play a sport. So for these people, one needs to look for safe, eye-tech sunscreens that have been specially formulated to limit stinging. Such sunscreens are the La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMUNE 400 Invisible Fluid SPF 50+ or Heliocare 360 Water-Gel. People who play watersports should look to a broad-spectrum sunscreen with good water resistance. Contrary to what is often marketed and referenced, no sunscreen is completely waterproof, therefore reapplication every 2 hours is crucial if you’re in and out of the water.