The Best Sunscreens for Ski Season

The telltale marking of goggle-shaped burn lines may be a sure-fire way to silently boast about a recent trip to the Alps, but for your skin, it’s certainly not the best kind of brag…

When it comes to sunscreen – your skin routine’s most important step, by the way – it’s often overlooked heading into winter. As evenings draw dim and the sun clouds over, what people tend to forget is that temperature doesn’t always reflect the UV index. Just because it’s minus five outside, doesn’t mean you can’t burn!

So, as we enter the year’s sunniest yet coldest stretch – ski season – we’re sharing a selection of the best sunscreens to keep your skin protected on the slopes.

The 6 Best Sunscreens for Ski Season

Best for Durability - P20

Vouched for as a ski season essential by dermatologist Dr Sonia Khorana, P20 Sensitive Face is perfected for the pistes with its durable SPF50+ UVA and UVB protection. “Skiing and snowboarding are some of the highest-risk situations for UV exposure,” says Dr Khorana. “At higher altitudes the atmosphere is thinner, which means UV radiation increases. On top of that, snow reflects UV rays so you are not only getting direct exposure from above but also intense reflected exposure from below.” It is the sunscreen that sticks without ever being sticky, with a light fast-absorbing non-comedogenic formula that offers up to 10 hours of highly water and sweat resistant protection, shielding your face from the moment you click on your skis to the last lift of the day.

Available via boots.com

Best for High Altitude - Piz Buin

If there’s one sunscreen that can protect your skin from every element the world throws at it, it’s Piz Buin Mountain. Designed to guard your face against harsh cold winds and the intensified reflective rays you meet at altitude, this formula is built for the highest destinations. If Mallory ever had a sunscreen on his Everest expedition, it would’ve been this.

The water and sweat-resistant formula features a cold-shield complex with shea butter, trehalose and glycerine to ensure long-lasting hydration throughout your days spent slaloming across the mountaintops. Available in both SPF30 and 50+.

Available via lookfantastic.com

Best for Lightweight Soothing - Beauty of Joseon

Very few do skincare quite like Korean brands, and Beauty of Joseon has quickly taken the UK market by storm after surging through TikTok explore pages and landing on the shelves of Boots. Its Relief Sun cream is a great choice not just for your ski bag, but all year round.

This lightweight formula is made with 30% rice and fermented grain extracts, rich in amino acids and vitamins to soothe the skin. It’s designed to stay light and non-sticky no matter how many layers you apply, meaning you can top up between runs and it will melt seamlessly into the skin without ever clumping. It also doubles as a brilliant primer for drier skin types, leaving a dewy base that pairs beautifully with BB cream or foundation when getting glammed for the après. What's more? It’s SPF 50+.

beautyofjoseon.com

Best for touch ups - Coola

The ability to touch up your sunscreen with, firstly, the press of a button and, secondly, without the hassle of stripping off your ski gloves, is a luxury indeed. Coola’s classic SPF50 face mist does just this, dusting your face with broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection in one spritz. With a 70% certified-organic formula, the product is non-greasy and gentle on skin, allowing you to simply mist over makeup or use as a cooling refresh on the go.

Let's not forget our lips – they need protection from the sun too, and Coola’s Liplux is here to the rescue. Similarly to its spray-on sibling, the lip balm guarantees 80 minutes of water-resistant protection and boasts a 70% organic formula, rich in antioxidants and packed with jojoba seed oil and cupuaçu butter.

Available via lookfantastic.com

Best for Deep Hydration - Kiehl's

If you didn’t think the cult classic Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream could become any more ultra, it is now available with SPF30 broad spectrum sun protection. Formulated with soothing fountain plant, squalane and antarcticine (a glycoprotein derived from Antarctica used for its anti-freezing and repairing properties) this surprisingly light lotion provides 24-hour deep hydration and skin barrier protection against extreme weather conditions both hot and cold. Already cemented in the skincare world as a reliable cream for drier skin types, hydrating up to 10 cell layers deep and helping repair the skin barrier within one hour, it can now also help to minimise the effects of both UVA and UVB rays as you carve down glistening slopes.

Available via lookfantastic.com

Best for Gifting - Ultra Violette 

Whether as a gift to yourself to tuck into your ski bag, or to ribbon up and pass on to someone in need of some winter-proof suncare – this is a neat little package that's hard to refuse. Ultra Violette’s Ski Screen SPF Duo includes both a 75ml of its Vibrant Screen SPF50 and an SPF50 minty fresh Sheen Screen lip balm. Both protecting against both UVA and UVB rays, Vibrant Screen provides two hours of water-resistant protection in an invisible water-gel cream while Sheen Screen nourishes the lips, shielding them from the sun and adding a plump glossy shine.

Available via spacenk.com