Best Sunscreens For Kids 2023

Eucerin is well known for its gentle, eczema-friendly skincare products, and this zinc oxide sunscreen is well tolerated by children of all skin types. It’s water-resistant and easy to spread. It also rubs in much more effectively than many zinc oxide products (one of the biggest complaints about mineral sunscreens is that they leave a distinct white cast on the skin, which isn’t every parent’s favorite look in those cute poolside pics). The Eucerin sunscreen comes highly recommended from Dr. Joshua Zeichner, MD, associate professor of dermatology and director of Cosmetic & Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. It’s also affordable and free of all the junk: fragrance, oil, dyes, parabens, phthalates, oxybenzone and octinoxate.

The Forbes Vetted team named this pick the best sunscreen for babies after extensive recent testing. It’s a mineral sunscreen that goes on the smoothest of any others we tested. The writer said it wasn’t greasy at all and in fact, “felt like one of my favorite face lotions—moisturizing, gentle and soft.” It comes with an SPF of 50 and water resistance, and it’s also truly fragrance-free, making it ideal for sensitive baby skin.

A budget-friendly choice from a well-known skincare brand, Cetaphil’s Sheer Mineral Sunscreen lotion is another SPF 50 zinc oxide sunscreen that works great for kids. It rubs in without leaving a residue and includes Vitamin E to help keep skin hydrated. This formula is water-resistant for up to 80 minutes, so if applied properly can help provide protection at the pool or the beach. Water-resistant doesn’t mean waterproof, so be sure to reapply this sunscreen as you do with others. It’s also labeled as reef safe and fragrance free and paraben free.

This extra-gentle zinc oxide sunscreen from California Baby is a great choice for babies 6 months and up. The formula is vegan, free of allergens (including food ingredients), free from chemicals and fragrance-free. Its ingredients are also highly rated by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) for safety. It’s water resistant for 80 minutes and safe for the coral reef. Many parents reported excellent coverage and no skin irritation when using this sunscreen for their babies. It’s one of the few sunscreens that guarantees no cross-contamination with a number of common food allergens, too, including tree nuts (except coconut), peanuts, sesame, dairy, gluten and soy. While on the pricier side, this baby sunscreen is a great choice for the littlest littles.

If anyone knows how to handle the sun, it’s Australian-based skincare company Blue Lizard. This clear mineral sunscreen is a fan-favorite for those with sensitive skin, eczema or allergy-prone skin and comes highly recommended by the Forbes Vetted baby and kids gear editor, Rose Sala. “This has been my go-to sunscreen for the kids for years, and therefore my fair, freckled skin, too,” she says. “It really works. We’d spend all day at the pool or beach, and they truly never burned, though I do reapply and deck them out in hats and long-sleeve rashguards when I can. It also goes on smoothly for a mineral sunscreen, especially when compared with some of the thicker kids’ formulas that tend to leave a heavy white cast.”

Blue Lizard is fairly affordable, too, reef-friendly, water-resistant and unscented. This formula uses zinc oxide and titanium dioxide to protect skin from UVA and UVB rays.

A solid choice for easy-to-apply, non-greasy, broad-spectrum, SPF 50 mineral sunscreen, this lotion from Neutrogena covers all the bases at a great price. One complaint about mineral sunscreens (especially the ones that actually rub in well) is that they are pricey. If you’re applying as directed all summer long, you’ll be going through a lot of sunscreen! You might also want a tube in the car, in the pool bag, at camp or daycare and so on. This Neutrogena Kids lotion is a bit thicker and more prone to leaving a white cast than some of our other options, according to reviewers, but it’s also formulated without fragrances, dyes and parabens and is water resistant, too.

A recommendation from Dr. Marmon, this SPF 50 mineral sunscreen from Babo Botanicals gets great reviews from parents and physicians alike. It is a gentle, fragrance-free, water-resistant zinc oxide lotion that rubs in well without leaving a white cast. The plant-based ingredients such as calendula, shea butter and cocoa butter give this lotion a really nice texture, but may not be for all. It is specially formulated without certain common allergens, including: gluten, soy, dairy, peanuts, almonds and walnuts. The company is a B Corp, meaning it abides by high standards for social and environmental impact, too. They also abide by cruelty-free standards and are reef safe. This sunscreen enjoys one of the highest ratings on EWG for safety and transparency.

This organic mineral sunscreen from Badger is water-resistant, reef friendly and made by another B-Corp, cruelty-free New Hampshire-based company. It ranks highly on the EWG guide to sunscreens and also comes highly recommended by Sala. She found this formula gentle and effective for her eczema-prone kiddo’s skin. “While Blue Lizard remains our go-to, this Badger sunscreen, despite the addition of a light scent, has proved less irritating to my youngest’s skin,” explains Sala. “We have tried at least half a dozen brands on her skin (she also has severe food allergies, so that rules out some options), and the Badger sunscreens go on easily and protect her best without any post-sun rashes, skin irritation or eczema flare-ups.” The clear zinc rubs in without leaving a white residue, and a lot of parents enjoy the non-synthetic-fragrance tangerine and vanilla scent.

If you are looking for the quick convenience of a sunscreen stick, the Supergoop sunscreens come highly recommended by a number of our Forbes Vetted editors as well as thousands of parents online. This stick applies more smoothly than many competitors (which tend to be dry and hard to apply in stick form), and is the perfect size to toss in a purse or backpack. While sunscreen sticks do not provide as much coverage as a lotion, any amount of sun protection is better than nothing, so this is a perfect option for swiping on some quick SPF on the go. During testing, the team really liked the Hello Bello sunscreen stick for babies, too.

With clean ingredients and no added fragrance, it’s easy to feel good about this zinc oxide sunscreen from Pipette. It provides SPF 50 and uses non-nano zinc oxide, which placed it on Dr. Marmon’s recommended products list. Some parents felt it had a slightly unpleasant smell since it doesn’t contain any masking fragrance, but most loved the coverage and the safety profile for this sunscreen for their kids. Keep in mind that it is not water-resistant, so that may be a drawback for some.