If You Only Buy One Sunscreen This Summer, Make It This

While you might already have a favorite face sunscreen or tinted moisturizer with SPF, as any dermatologist will tell you, the best body sunscreen is a key part of your daily routine in order to protect against skin cancer and sun damage from head to toe.

Best Body Sunscreen 2023:

What should you look for, exactly? Unlike a face-specific counterpart, keep in mind a body sunscreen needs to spread easily and evenly over a large surface area, says Nava Greenfield, MD, board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City. And, ideally, you’re reaching for a bottle that’s at least SPF 30 or higher to slather onto the top and back of hands (!), arms, legs, shoulders, feet—anywhere really that’s getting sun exposure.

If you plan to swim or sweat, Hadley King, MD-FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist based in NYC, recommends especially looking for “a formulation that is water-resistant, and that includes moisturizing ingredients to support the skin barrier.”

As for spray versus lotion, Carmen Castilla, MD, a Manhattan-based board-certified dermatologist, recommends the latter. “Sprays can be used for reapplication when absolutely necessary, but they should not be used as your first application of sunscreen,” she says, noting it can be more challenging to get a sufficient amount of SPF with spray alone. And if you do opt for this application, be sure to rub it in. That said, “the best sunscreen for you is the one you will wear regularly,” says King, so stock up on whichever variety you’ll actually use.

To help you find the best body sunscreen for your personal preferences and needs, we polled dermatologists for their favorites, and included some of the picks that Glamour-editors wear year-round.