Vegan Sunscreen: 3 Best Cruelty Free Sunscreen Brands

So I decided to get a few vegan sunscreens to try. I don’t like to waste money but as I’ll be wearing sunscreen daily regardless of spending time in the sun I thought I needed to find the best natural vegan sunscreen; plus it won’t be wasted because I’m pale.

As I’ve stated in my skincare routine post my favourite vegan sunscreen for the face from last year was Yaoh sunblock factor 30, but as I use it on my face and body I was running low (I’m also conscious that it loses it’s sun protection if it’s been open too long.

Unfortunately I made an error to start with though and bought two that I thought were vegan but sadly are not. Green People Facial sunscreen and The Body Shop Vit E cream with SPF are not vegan. Even though I’ve been vegan a few years I still make mistakes so I will likely be gifting these rather than wasting them.  

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Yaoh

The Yaoh sunblock factor 30 is very good for my dry skin, this cruelty free sunscreen has a coconut scent which I don’t mind and leaves my skin feeling very moisturised under make-up. It’s formulated with hemp seed oil, it’s free from parabens and unnecessary chemical substances; although due to the fragrance probably not suitable for very sensitive skin.

Ingredients

Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract Octocrylene, Octyl Methoxy Cinnamate Benzophenone-3, Dicaprylyl Maleate Zinc Oxide, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Ceteareth-20 ,Glycerin, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Olea Europaea Seed Oil, Sorbitan Stearate, Cocos Nucifera oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citrus Grandis Fruit Extract Citric acid, Dimethicone, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Cetearyl Glucoside, Iso-Propyl Myristate, Ascorbic Acid, Parfum.

This vegan sunscreen is currently priced at £10.99 for delivery to the UK. Which is great for 240ml of product!
They also now do a glass jar in factor 25 which is good if you’re trying to limit the plastic you buy.  

For Yaoh cruelty free sunscreen click here please note they only ship within Europe.

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Jason

The Jason facial suncream factor 20 is good if you don’t plan on being outside much that day or if you’re pairing with a tinted moisturiser with SPF which is what I usually do in the summer. I’ve been wearing this one all winter as well as a bit of added protection, despite the low level sun.

This vegan sunscreen feels a little bit thick to start with but absorbs into the skin nicely and there’s no scent which is great. It’s also non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic, oil free, reef safe and it’s paraben free.

Ingredients:
Inactive Ingredients Aqua (Water), Glyceryl Stearate SE, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice(1), Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract(1), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Alcohol(1), Cetearyl Olivate, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sorbitan Olivate, Xanthan Gum, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate
(1)Certified Organic Ingredient

Active Ingredient Purpose
Avobenzone 2.0% …………………………Sunscreen
Homosalate 7.5% …………………………Sunscreen
Octocrylene 5.0%………………………….Sunscreen
Octyl Salicylate 3.0%……………………..Sunscreen

On their website in the UK this vegan sunscreen is currently priced at £9.74 reduced from £12.98 which is a really good price for a decent sized bottle of cruelty free sunscreen.  

This one seems like it would be really good for normal to oily skin, my skin under make-up feels a bit tighter than when I use the Yaoh. I  always prime after sunscreen and before foundation/tinted moisturiser so this one perhaps due to it being oil free doesn’t feel quite so comfortable on my skin.  
That being said, this is definitely a great cruelty free sunscreen if you don’t want to spend loads on cruelty free sunscreen as it’s free of all the usual irritants! For Jason vegan sunscreen click here. 

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Cosrx

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Korean sunscreens and I managed to get this Cosrx vegan sunscreen from a seller on eBay. Not all of them are vegan and cruelty free but this cruelty free sunscreen ticks all of the boxes.  

Ingredients

Water, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Isoamyl P-Methoxycinnamate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Alcohol,Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Titanium Dioxide, C14-22 Alcohols, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Aloe Arborescens Leaf Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Peg-100 Stearate, Silica, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Aluminum Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Triethanolamine Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Edta.

I’ve used this one a lot so far and I love it! It’s very lightweight so it feels just like an ordinary moisturiser, therefore no white cast which you would usually get for sure with a factor 50 cruelty free sunscreen! It does have a slight scent, I can only describe it as smelling like a general face cream if that makes any sense, but it’s not overpowering and not a deal breaker for me.

Due to it being very light it probably would be the best choice for oily skin.  
For my dry skin I tend to prime slightly more than usual with this just because of how well it absorbs in and using a setting spray such as Elf (over make-up) really locks everything in for me.

It’s only 50ml and priced at $16 on their website at the moment so not a bad price for a vegan sunscreen even if it is smaller. I tend to avoid being in direct sunlight for very long anyway due to being quite pale but if I am planning to, I always wear this cruelty free sunscreen and feel confident that it will hold up. For the Cosrx sun cream click here

Setting Spray With SPF

I haven’t spent long periods of time out in the sun this year so far mostly due to the current pandemic but I do have a Body Shop Skin defence setting spray with SPF so that I can keep topped up when I do go out for the day.

Ingredients

SKIN DEFENCE MULTI-PROTECTION FACE MIST SPF30 PA++Alcohol Denat., Homosalate, Octocrylene, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Diisopropyl Adipate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Parfum/ Fragrance, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Aqua/Water/ Eau,Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil/Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Linalool, Palmaria Palmata Extract, BHT, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol.

I  love the idea of this, however I don’t really like setting sprays generally as they usually smell a lot like hairspray, this one included.

That being said, if you were stuck in a situation where you couldn’t avoid direct sunlight this would really handy to have in your bag as a bit of added protection from the sun.

I hope you have found something useful from the best vegan sunscreens that I’ve found in 2020. I’ve heard that Jason do a great Factor 50 cruelty free sunscreen, however I was unable to find this available this year.

My next mission is to find a good facial vegan sunscreen in sustainable packaging and not plastic. The cruelty free sunscreens I have are actually lasting a lot longer than I thought. As soon as I’ve finished them I’ll be looking for a cruelty free sunscreen which is plastic free as well.

Has anyone found a good vegan setting spray with SPF that doesn’t smell strong? Let me know in the comments, on Instagram or Facebook. If you’d like to hear my dulcet tones, check out my YouTube channel.

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