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As a beauty editor, I know that a few things are taboo to admit -- confessions that would make a whole room gasp in horror. Mine is that I didn't start wearing sunscreen until I was about 20 years old. Despite having enough conversations to understand how essential sun protection is to skin health, I couldn't care less throughout my teen years.
Fast forward to today and I'm somewhat of an SPF connoisseur -- my collection is stacked, if I do say myself. While most of my favorite formulas are chemical, I switched to mineral sunscreens at the start of my pregnancy because of the American Academy of Dermatology's recommendation that pregnant people use mineral sunscreen. "Mineral sunscreens sit on the skin surface and reflect UV rays off the skin surface [whereas] chemical sunscreens are absorbed into the skin and convert UV rays to heat energy, which then dissipates from the skin surface," says Brendan Camp, MD, a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology.
Before beginning my hunt for the perfect mineral sunscreen, I knew I had to prepare for a ghastly reality: white cast. "The UV filters in mineral sunscreens, titanium, and zinc, can leave a white residue on the skin because they are opaque, meaning they remain visible on the skin surface after application," says Dr. Camp, adding that this white cast is more visible on darker skin by contrast.
So what's a pregnant, dark-skinned, and soon-to-be mama to do but soldier on and attempt to find a mineral sunscreen that doesn't make me look like Casper. I tried mineral sunscreens from high-end luxury formulas to drugstore staples and three emerged as champions. Ahead, discover the only three mineral sunscreens I use that never, ever leave a white cast.
When Tatcha launched this sunscreen in 2021 and sent me a sample, I immediately put it in my donation pile. I saw the word "mineral" on the short purple bottle and assumed it would leave that dreaded white cast. My mom ended up rummaging my donation pile for gold before I sent it off and not before long, I began noticing it in her beauty stash.