Sunscreen is something I am a big advocate of and although I’ve already found “The One” it happens to be so pricey that I’m open to trying more affordable options. One that I came across quite recently after reading some raves for it from VivaWoman was this from the Badger Company. Yes, the same company that gave us the Badger Balms.
I’m not usually fussy about using natural or organic skincare but it is worth mentioning for anyone who is concerned, that the Badger Aloe Vera Broad Spectrum SPF30 Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion is a certified natural and organic sunscreen with very high zinc oxide in its formula, which makes it a physical sunscreen. Zinc Oxide is known to be among the best, if not the best UVA and UVB blocker out there, blocking both harmful UV rays.
I was rather concerned about this high zinc oxide content, because I’m one of the rare people I know who actually breaks out from products with high zinc oxide content. It’s part of the reason why I cannot use many physical sunscreens. Titanium Dioxide is fine, but zinc oxide turns my skin into a mess. Yet, I was curious to see if this might work for me.
I got this off iHerb.com for something like US$16 I think. It is a very large 118ml tube which makes it one of the most affordable sunscreens I’ve come across to date.
This is a broad spectrum sunscreen, blocking both UVA and UVB (you should ensure that your sunscreen blocks BOTH UV rays for best skin protection) and is formulated for daily use on face and body. The product contains aloe vera to moisturise and soothe skin and is said to be suitable even for very sensitive skin.
The product itself squeezes out a rather runny lotion that you have to spread out quite quickly or it might end up looking a bit patchy on the skin. It contains uncoated, non-nano zinc oxide 12% and these levels of zinc oxide mean that it can feel drying on skin and leave a white cast. Both of which happens with this product.
I didn’t blend it out here but you may notice that the lotion is a little thick. It isn’t really. It’s like a light lotion but isn’t as light as the Japanese formulas out there. Once you rub it into your skin, it will blend out, but there is also a noticeable white cast to the skin. The aloe vera does help make the formula a little more tolerable on skin so it doesn’t feel so dry.
However, I found it a little weird on me. When I apply it to my face, it makes my skin feel dry initially. Then, after an hour or so, it turns oily so it plays merry hell with whatever foundation I’m wearing on the day.
The second problem I ran into was you guessed it. The zinc oxide. After about a week’s daily use, I noticed that my skin was feeling clogged and bumpy with a lot of clogged pores around my cheek and chin area. I stopped using this sunscreen, slapped on my La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo to get my skin back to normal and then tried it again after a few weeks. Same thing happened. When my third experiment yielded the same results, I knew that I couldn’t use this sunscreen at all.
It’s a pity, because this appears to be a pretty good physical sunscreen that is all natural and organic. If your skin doesn’t get all messed up by zinc oxide then I think this one’s a good one to try, especially if you go for natural and organic products. As for myself, I’ll keep this for use on my body. I’m back to my Shiseido Perfect UV and my skin is behaving itself.
In a nutshell
The Badger Aloe Vera Broad Spectrum SPF30 Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion is a light textured lotion sunscreen that can be used on face and body. It is certified natural and organic, and has high zinc oxide content to act as a physical blocker against UVA and UVB rays. I found that the texture takes some getting used to. While light, I also found it a little drying, which isn’t surprising considering the high zinc oxide content. However, my skin will turn oily after an hour or so which was weird and messes up my base makeup. I also broke out from this which is quite possibly due again to the zinc oxide content as my skin doesn’t take kindly to this ingredient. I’ll keep this as a body sunscreen but I’m not so sure about using this on the face.
Pros: Fully physical sunscreen, Natural and Organic product, High Zinc Oxide content blocks UVA and UVB rays
Cons: Drying on my skin, Makes my skin oily after a while, High Zinc oxide content breaks me out
Who will like this: Anyone who uses natural and organic products, Anyone who wants a fully physical sunscreen
Here is the ingredient list for anyone interested.
Not pictured, but listed on the tube is the active sunscreen ingredient of uncoated non-nano zinc oxide 12%.
I can’t seem to find this particular one on iherb anymore but there are others by Badger as well that you can check out, and they may restock it. If you plan to pick something up and are a first time buyer, use my iherb referral code MPW213 to get you $10 off purchases of $40 and up, and $5 off otherwise (which pretty much takes care of shipping costs ;))
Have you tried this or any other Badger sunscreen product? Is your skin sensitive to zinc oxide?
The interesting thing is that zinc oxide is supposed to be quite inert and safe for most skintypes especially sensitive skins. It is also touted to be the best UV blocker out there. I seem to be the only person I’ve come across so far, whose skin can’t tolerate zinc oxide especially in high doses. It puzzles me, but there you go. We’re all individuals! 😀
Paris B
Badger Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion SPF30 Aloe Price: US$16/118ml Availability: iHerb.com
Hi Paris!
It’s not you only, but I have the exact same problem! Was looking forward to using this but after a few days, I can feel that my skin became oilier and small bumps cropping up here and there. 🙁 Will tryyyyy to be hardworking and use it on my arms instead!
Have a great day, Paris!
Arrghhh! I hate it that you broke out but I’m so glad to know I”m not alone! I now use it on my arms. Don’t want it to go to waste, but I don’t like how it feels on my arms either 🙁
Paris, you are not the only rare one, I breakout horribly with suncreen, I have tried many and none seems to work until I tried Laneige.. I have been using Laneige quite a while now and the price tag is not as bad as the other high end brand 🙂 For those sunscreen that doesn’t work on my face they will end up on my body.. Thank you for the review 😉
Ooh I tried one from Laneige a while ago. I can’t remember which, but I didn’t quite like it >.< Still, I always maintain that our skins are so individual that there's no harm liking or disliking a product that someone else does. Happy to know you found a sunscreen to work for you! I'm super careful now with products that contain zinc oxide. Don't want to take the risk anymore even if it's such a good ingredient.
Fortunately this sunscreen is working fine for me. It didn’t break me out, and I’m half way thru it. Initially it felt dry on me but strangely, it’s normal now. One thing to note is, it takes some time to blend well otherwise will have the white cast XD I’m happy with it for now because it’s affordable and I can use it liberally
Good to know it works for you! Maybe if I really don’t like how it feels on my arms, I’ll pass it over 😛
I love Badger Balm sunscreens and I’m using them on my kids. The kiddies and babies range, rather. My kids love the tangerine flavor 🙂
I’m using the Badger Balm Damascus Rose Face Sunscreen (http://www.badgerbalm.com/p-482-best-sunscreen-for-face-spf-16-rose.aspx) for my face. It’s medium thick but not oily. Works well under makeup, but too bad it contains zinc oxide too, so you can’t try it. Will review it when I can though.
I also recently purchased their Damascus Rose face oil – haven’t tried it yet.
Good to know it works for you! After this episode, I’m steering clear of anything with zinc oxide in it. I think the Shiseido one does too but perhaps in low enough levels that it doesn’t matter? I’m not sure. Still, they’re so affordable! I wished the Badger one worked haha
I think Badger is a recent option as a body sunscreen, but it interferes with makeup and has a whitish cast (like you said) so I wouldn’t use it on my face. It certainly is affordable though.
recent = decent, oops!
Yep, definitely a white cast not untypical of a physical sunscreen. Still I guess using it is a moot point for me since I’d break out anyway. Sigh.
I’m quite okay with the blending maybe cos I’m using MVO which is even harder to blend. Haha. The trick with MVO is to tap on though. Anyway, I use this one mostly on my neck and arms. Don’t like it on my face due to the low zinc oxide content cos I’m paranoid about using 20% and above. I think because the zinc oxide sits on top of your skin to provide coverage, that might have caused the clogging. Also think your skin got oily due to the dryness.
The product should still be available on iHerb. I’ve just re-ordered last week and it’s still sitting in my cart, waiting for me to check out.
I remember using MVO and it wasn’t bad for me. I didn’t break out from that I think which is surprising since it contains zinc oxide too right? Still, a little wary now about anything with zinc oxide. Too many products with it as a primary ingredient have broken me outfor it to be a coincidence. I couldn’t find it on iherb when I checked but it’s not bad for a body sunscreen 🙂
I don’t really experiment around with sunscreens coz often they are the culprits for clogged pores and new breakouts! but since reading the shiseido review..its been in my wishlist and will def give it a try someday..wish it was a bit less expensive!
I think it’s because sunscreens have such an amalgamation of chemicals and also because of the blocking ingredients that will likely clog skin and give breakouts. The trick is to find one that works and then stick with it! 😀
I just wanted to say don’t give up experimenting/testing. i thought zinc was breaking me out too & thought how awful I will never be able to wear the best sunblock & would have to go back to titanium but I kept trying different brands & I found some with zinc that work so it wasn’t the zinc. I agree the badger lotion sunscreen is too drying. I’d rather be oily & put powder than dried up & can’t even smile.