Doctorly are two dermatologists who have worked through more than 60 sunscreens together, and their record is one of the more generous ones out there. They approved about four in five, gave a mixed take on a few, and skipped only a handful. That said, the ones they skipped, they skipped hard.
What does Doctorly recommend in sunscreen?
What Doctorly keep coming back to is blendability, especially for medium and deeper skin tones. White cast is not a minor quibble for them; it is a dealbreaker. They praised Black Girl Sunscreen Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30 for nailing that finish and being affordable enough to find anywhere. They called Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum SPF 50+ PA++++ their pick if they had to choose just one Korean sunscreen, praising its watery, non-greasy finish and its especially strong UVA protection. Strong UVA coverage comes up repeatedly in their approvals, and so does overall feel on skin. They named only a handful of products outright winners, and those range from SPF 30 all the way to SPF 50, which tells you the SPF number alone is not what they are chasing.
Doctorly's sunscreen picks, in their words
"This is just an excellent excellent finish for people who struggle with any sort of cast. Plus, the ingredients are also on point. Fragrance-free, it has jojoba oil, which I really like in skin care products. And just the blendability—that's the main thing I'm emphasizing. [...] So, it's their SPF 31. I really like it. Blends very well. And it's actually very affordable as well. And you can pretty much find it anywhere."
"I love Eucerin's Radiant Tone line, it has thiamidol, an ingredient for dark spots that's proprietary to Eucerin. I specifically love their sunscreen from this line because it's a new wave of sunscreen that both protects and prevents dark spots and will actually help treat dark spots you already have. Thiamidol is a resorcinol derivative and it works quite well at treating dark spots."
"Think Sport is very cost-effective and extremely gentle. They have a nice mineral sunscreen as well. The blend is acceptable, not exceptional, but it's good and extremely gentle."
"I like Cetaphil's Dermapro line, which is their oil absorbing sunscreen. It's probably my favorite sunscreen that I often recommend to my patients, especially with oily skin, because it's just a phenomenal product."
"I also like the EltaMD UV Restore Tinted one, phenomenal tinted sunscreen for somebody who's got normal skin but is also trying to fight dark spots and wants to make sure they have coverage of that visible light."
"I [...] just love this. I love how it feels. It's extremely effective. The [...] UVA protection is exceptionally good. I just love the aesthetic and how it sits on my skin. It sits on the skin really nice. My POV [...] is I find it a little bit hard to rub in. [...] It has that grippiness that isn't smooth like a moisturizer, [...] but it does lay nicely. [...] It's not heavy but it is like a grippier one, but you can blend it and it ends up sitting very nicely on the skin."
How many sunscreens has Doctorly reviewed?
Doctorly has reviewed 65 sunscreens, for an approval rate of 77%. 50 approved, 9 mixed, and 6 skipped.
What has Doctorly skipped in sunscreen?
Most of the products they skipped fell down on texture or cast. They called CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 'unwearable' and 'a criminal release' for how badly it cast on darker skin tones. Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV Sunscreen SPF50 Clear drew even sharper language: 'absolutely awful' and 'one of the worst sunscreens I've ever tried in my life,' thanks to a green-white cast they said was worse than a standard white cast. La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 50 was skipped for being too heavy and hard to rub in. One skip, Allies of Skin One SPF 50 Invisible Sunscreen Gel, was gentler: they said it came down to personal aesthetic preference rather than a flaw, and noted the brand was doing the right things.
"It's [...] very casty. I [...] would classify this as unwearable. [...] This is a criminal release from CeraVe. Unless you have the lightest skin tones or you really don't care about a white cast, you will otherwise hate this sunscreen. It's a pure mineral, it's like a paste. It just doesn't blend really well at all and it'll sit on your face kind of just all white. [...] You can't tell how it doesn't essentially blend very well with my skin."
"This sunscreen is absolutely awful. I'm not even joking, it's probably one of the worst sunscreens I've ever tried in my life. Extremely disappointed in this purchase. It's very green and clumpy. It leaves a terrible green white cast. I don't know who, like maybe if you have a super light skin tone it could look better on you, but if you have any tan at all this thing leaves a terrible, terrible white cast, a white green cast. It's even worse than a white cast."
"Allies of Skin is definitely doing the right things. This is just more of an aesthetic preference. Some people will like it, some people won't. I just didn't personally like it."
"I found this sunscreen to smell terrible. And I think for both of these products, given that they're meant to target dark spots and treat dark spots and protect, I wish that both of these were actually tinted sunscreens. I'd be really nice to see this use in one fragrance-free and tinted because I think it would give you an extra boost, especially for those people with dark spots. For me, the Mela B3 was a miss."
What should you take from Doctorly's picks?
Doctorly's record across more than 60 sunscreens points clearly toward two things: a finish that blends across a wide range of skin tones without casting, and strong UVA coverage for protection against aging. Those are the two filters they keep applying, and the products they named winners all clear both bars. If a sunscreen fails on blend or leaves a noticeable cast, they say so plainly, whatever the brand's reputation.
Watch Doctorly say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- DRMTLGY Universal Tinted Moisturizer SPF 46Named a winnerWatch at 120:28
- Trader Joe's Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40Named a winnerWatch at 7:59
- Neutrogena Collagen Bank SPF 30 Facial MoisturizerNamed a winnerWatch at 1:40
- EltaMD UV Skin Recovery Sunscreen Green TintedNamed a winnerWatch at 9:43
- Cetaphil Derma Control Oil Absorbing Moisturizer with Sunscreen SPF 30Named a winnerWatch at 3:43
- CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 23:52
- Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV Sunscreen SPF50 ClearSkipped itWatch at 14:04
- Allies of Skin One SPF 50 Invisible Sunscreen GelSkipped itWatch at 15:43
- La Roche-Posay Mela B3 UV Daily Moisturizer SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 7:14
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios UV Correct Daily Lotion SPF 70Skipped itWatch at 8:13
- Vacation Super Spritz SPF 50 Face MistSkipped itWatch at 16:58
- Black Girl Sunscreen Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30Rated itWatch at 17:28
- Eucerin Radiant Tone Sunscreen SPF 30Rated itWatch at 1:21
- ThinkSport Sunscreen SPF 50Rated itWatch at 27:25
- EltaMD UV Restore Tinted SunscreenRated itWatch at 14:55
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 SPF 50+Rated itWatch at 14:34
- Purito Daily Soft Touch Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++Rated itWatch at 13:45
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid SPF 50+Rated itWatch at 14:03
- CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30Rated itWatch at 24:41
- Beauty of Joseon Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen SPF 40Rated itWatch at 13:40
- e.l.f. Suntouchable Whoa Glow SPF 30Rated itWatch at 11:22
- iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Mineral Sunlow Broadspectrum SPF 43 PA+++Rated itWatch at 63:52
- Naturium Dew Glow Tinted Moisturizer SPF 50Rated itWatch at 6:14
- Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Air-Fit Suncream Plus SPF 50+ PA++++Rated itWatch at 10:30
About this expert
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This guide reflects what Doctorly said across their videos about 65 products in sunscreen, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products they approved. It is general information, not medical advice.