Mostly not but some sunscreens can cause acne by blocking your pores, especially those with heavy, oily ingredients. Pay close attention to the ingredients list when choosing a sunscreen.

Wearing sunscreen before heading out is a must. Sunscreen not only protects your skin from harmful sunrays but also seals and guards your skin against premature aging, sunburn, dryness, discoloration, and even skin cancer.

Given the benefits, plenty of skincare brands offer various kinds of sunscreen depending on your skin type. However, you should highly consider the content. Some sunscreens are rich in oils and minerals. These ingredients may cause acne breakouts especially if you have acne-prone or sensitive skin.

Does Sunscreen Cause Acne?

It does not, however, there are certain skin types that are sensitive to the active ingredients in most sunscreens.

Comedogenic sunscreen tends to clog your pores thus giving you those little bumps or worse, breakouts.

Some chemical sunscreen also absorbs UV light and converts it to heat. Your body will then release the heat and trap the sweat, leaving you with much sebum clogging your pores.

If you have a sensitive skin type or acne-prone skin, it is recommended to pay attention to your sunscreen’s ingredients.

Ingredients In The Sunscreen May Cause Acne

• Synthetic ingredients – Ever saw avobenzone, octinoxate, oxybenzone, octisalate, and homosalate in the ingredients list? Be careful of these synthetic ingredients because they are stored in your system for a long time; even detected in breastmilk. Oxybenzone, in particular, causes allergic reactions and other harmful health impacts.
• Comedogenic Oils, Wax, Minerals, and Butters – Heavy oils are breakout-inducing ingredients for acne-prone skin. They excess oils get stuck inside the pores and are accumulated over time that can lead to major breakouts. Some popular oils found in sunscreens are cocoa butter, coconut oil,cocoa butter, mineral oil, soybean oil, silicones, and wheatgerm oil.
• PABA And Other Chemicals – Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) is a chemical compound that occurs naturally in the body and in grains, meat, bran, milk, kidney, liver, and eggs. However, recent studies show that PABA is carcinogenic and promotes photosensitivity and allergic dermatitis.
• Benzophenones or BP-3 – Another natural occring chemical is BP-3 commonly found in flowering plants. It is popualr in  dissolving ultraviolet (UV) rays. But then, it is not safe to use. Sunscreens with this ingredient alters the activity of body organs including the skin, brain, kidney, endocrine, haematological system, reproductive orgrans, and neonatal developments.
• Fragrance – Although one of the best features of selling a product is its fragrance, those with sensitive skin prefers non-fragrant sunscreens. Most fragrances cause allergic contact dermatitis or skin irritation.
• DEET – Skincare products with versatile uses are attractive, just like a sunscreen with a bug-repellant additive. However, this is a huge No-No. Sunscreen products with N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide or DEET defies its overall sun protection feature by up to 30%. Cases of skin irritation, redness, and swelling are often the cause of long term use of DEET.

6 Best Mineral Sunscreens to Look For

Choosing the right sunscreen for an acne-prone skin may be challenging especially with a long list of harmful ingredients. If you are having a dilemma of what brand to look for, here are 6 of the best mineral sunscreens that you can consider.

Benton Mineral Sun Stick

A portable and travel-ready mineral sunscreen with SPF50+/PA++++ and all-natural ingredients. It is also popular for its non-greasy texture and hydrating features.

Its main ingredients are Titanium Dioxide, -3-Hyaluronic Acids, and Vitamin E -Tocopherol. Hyaluronic acid helps hydrates your skin and even improves skin appearance by reducing scarring and making skin smoother.

Espoir Water Splash Sun Cream SPF 50+++ PA 60ml

Putting on makeup after adding sunscreen can sometimes be messy. Fortunately, Espoir Water Splash Sun Cream is super lightweight and has a pink tone-up for a healthy glow.

Its key ingredient Titanium Dioxide acts as the UV absorber while the Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract gives the cooling effect.

Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics 50ml

Infusing rice bran water and grain ferment extract as sun protection is a superstar. Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics comes with all the natural ingredients to give you ample shield from the damaging effects of UV rays. It also contains moisturizing benefits from Niacinamide.

Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics comes in alcohol-free content and fragrance & essential oil-free for those with acne-prone and sensitive skin.

Supergoop! Glowscreen Sunscreen SPF 40

Searching for a mineral sunscreen can be intimidating specially if you are looking at an aisle of choices. Good thing Supergoop! Glowscreen makes the search more convenient. It comes with a No-list of all the harmful ingredients including oxybenzones, octinoxate, parabens, and 1600+ more.

Apart from giving you SPF 40, it also contains hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and vitamin B5 for good to glow add-on.

Neutrogena Sport Face Sunscreen SPF 70+

Acne-prone skin can take advantage of Neutrogena Sport Face Sunscreen since it is less greasy. If you are out in the sun more often, you can benefit from the unique Helioplex. This is a sunscreen technology that features an electrolyte complex that aids in nourishing the skin.

Since it is specially designed for outdoors, it is certified oil and PABA-free which will not clog pores or cause acne breakouts.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Clear Skin Dry Touch Sunscreen SPF 60

People with oily skin find it challenging to get a sunscreen that is crafted for their skin type. Thanks to La Roche-Posay Anthelios Clear Skin Dry Touch Sunscreen. It has SPF 60 for overall sun protection plus oil-free and Oxybenzone-free.

Its key ingredients are perlite and silica. These two airy powders reduce shine and absorb excess oil from the skin. You’ll also get 80 minutes of waterproof protection.

Summary

It pays to check the labels. All the time. Understanding the active ingredients in your sunscreen can greatly save you from breakouts.

Take note, sunscreen does not cause acne if you use the right product suitable for your skin type. For optimum protection, use mineral sunscreen to avoid long-term harmful effects.