Hooray—the weather is starting to get warmer! And with rising temperatures comes changes in your skin care routine. You’re probably starting to become more concerned about wearing sunscreen (although you should always be concerned about this) and you’re also probably stocking up on face mists to get you through the upcoming hotter days of spring. But can problems arise when you’re misting your face while you have sunscreen on? Find out whether using a face mist all day messes with your sunscreen.
A recent Reddit thread posed a question that’s constantly been in the back of my mind: If I use a face mist throughout the day, will it mess with the effectiveness of my sunscreen? The commenters on the thread all seem to come to the consensus that yes, it definitely will. But why? And how can we combat this? Because let’s be real, we’re not going to give up misting all day and we’re definitely not going to give up applying sunscreen every morning.
What a dermatologist says
As you may have suspected, yes, misting will definitely mess up your sunscreen’s effectiveness. “It could cause the sunscreen to slowly wash away or drip off your face,” says Jeremy Fenton of Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City. “Moistening the sunscreen and the skin would make it easier to rub off than when it is fully absorbed into the skin.” He suggests comparing this situation to what happens when you use a face mist over makeup. “If you were to mist your face, your makeup may run off your face or get smeared onto clothing more easily,” he says. “With sunscreen, it isn’t as visibly noticeable, but it is happening.”
What you should do to combat it
The first thing Fenton suggests is to stop misting all together. Gasp! He apparently doesn’t understand the true addiction I have to the E Nature Birch Juice Hydro Mist. So I asked him for an alternative choice. He says instead of giving up on misting, you should simply start wearing a water resistant sunscreen. A great choice is the Missha Waterproof Sun Milk—it can withstand sweat and it’s infused with essence to nourish your skin.
But even if you use a waterproof SPF, Fenton strongly advises reapplying your sunscreen ever two to three hours. “Sunscreen needs to be reapplied regularly for two reasons,” he says. “First, all chemical sunscreens break down with exposure to ultraviolet light, which is why I always recommend zinc-based sunscreens which are more stable, and secondly, sunscreen usually gets rubbed off or gets washed away by sweat or water, which is definitely the case when you’re misting.”
Bottom line
It is possible to mist all day every day and keep your sunscreen effective; you’ll just have to change up your routine or do some extra work. Personally, I think it’s totally worth it to always be able to feel that cool hydrating sensation that only a face mist can provide.