PRODUCT REVIEW: SUPERGOOP! DAILY DOSE HYDRA-CERAMIDE BOOST + SPF 40 SUNSCREEN OIL PA+++ - BEST SUNSCREEN FOR FACE, BEST SUNSCREEN FOR DRY SKIN
SUPERGOOP! | DAILY DOSE HYDRA-CERAMIDE BOOST + SPF 40 SUNSCREEN OIL PA+++
This product review was originally part of my blog article titled, Three Amazing Sunscreens I Took with Me to Cabo from Supergoop, Cocokind and Cosrx. You can catch the full piece here.
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As I had done on my trip to Cancun, I brought skincare with me that I could tell a fun-in-the-sun story around. This time, it was sunscreens. Plus, I was overdue for a piece on my latest sunscreens discoveries. I had last featured my finds of the best sunscreens for face on the blog in the summer of 2021 in an article titled, Surprisingly Light Sunscreens for a Hot Summer Day from Glossier, Supergoop! And Zitsticka. You can catch it here.
In the mid-summer article, I featured three of my favorite warm weather sunscreens, including one of the best sunscreens of all time: the Supergoop! Daily Dose Vitamin C + SPF 40 Sunscreen Serum PA+++. If you haven’t yet had the chance to try this remarkably innovative, Vitamin-C powered brightening sunscreen, you’re really missing out.
I also featured Glossier’s Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen+ SPF 35 — one of the most lightweight sunscreens available. If you’re a makeup wearer or have oily skin, the Glossier Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen+ SPF 35 could be just what you’re looking for. It’s the best sunscreen for oily skin that I came across last year.
SURPRISINGLY LIGHT SUNSCREENS FROM GLOSSIER, SUPERGOOP! AND ZITSTICKA - BEST SUNSCREENS FOR OILY SKIN
Rounding out my picks was Zitsticka’s new MEGASHADE Breakout-Proof SPF 50 Sunscreen Serum. Formulated especially for oily, acne-prone skin, it’s a perfectly legitimate sunscreen for the rest of us, too — particularly on a hot, humid summer day.
One of my favorite sunscreens of all time, and a staple for me in the summer or when traveling to a warm place, is the Skin Aqua Super Moisture Milk. I’ve included it in multiple blog articles, including one of my all-time faves, A Complete $100 Skincare Routine with The Inkey List, The Ordinary, Benton & More! (You can catch it here!)
I nearly always have my Skin Aqua Moisture Milk with me. It’s a light, slender bottle, making it perfect for your travel bag. And the formula itself is ridiculously lightweight. While I took it with me to sunny Palm Springs over Christmas weekend, I resisted taking it with me on the trip to Cabo.
PRODUCT REVIEW: SKIN AQUA SUPER MOISTURE MILK SPF 50 – ONE OF THE BEST SUNSCREENS FOR OILY SKIN
When I was working at Kiehl’s, my favorite of the brand’s many philosophies was that it’s essential to wear sunscreen even on cloudy, seemingly sunless days. Of course, the mistake so many people make is in thinking that they can somehow outsmart the sun; that they don’t need sun protection in winter or on a cloudy day. Truthfully, the sun’s rays always find a way to our skin.
It is essential to wear sunscreen even on cloudy seemingly sunless days.
While I make it a practice of consistently applying sunscreen every day, all year round, the one thing that isn’t consistent is the texture of the facial sunscreen product itself. Like most people, I prefer heavier skincare in the fall and winter, lighter skincare in spring and summer.
Of course, in a warmer climate like I was headed for in Mexico, a lighter sunscreen is more ideal. But it’s the dead of winter here in NYC and I need a heavier daily sunscreen. So I thought I’d mix it up on my trip. It’s been just over six months since I did a deep dive into sunscreens of any kind.
I thought it would be cool to take that deep dive in the waters off the coast of Cabo!
I packed three sunscreens, two of which are new and one more of a staple in my vast repertoire of facial sunscreen products. One is a straight up mineral sunscreen, one is a purely chemical sunscreen, and the third is a blend of mineral and chemical filters.
The newest of the three is the Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA+++. If it sounds familiar, it’s an extension of the original Daily Dose Vitamin C + SPF 40 Sunscreen Serum PA+++. The new Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil is a rich oil, ideal for dry, low-humidity air and for a drier skin type. It’s been my go-to sunscreen over the last several weeks as the temperatures have dropped dramatically and my skin is in a constant battle to stay hydrated.
PRODUCT REVIEW: SUPERGOOP! MINERAL SHEERSCREEN SPF 30 PA+++ - BEST MINERAL SUNSCREEN FOR FACE FOR OILY SKIN
The second facial sunscreen I took with me to Cabo is the Cocokind Daily SPF Facial Sunscreen Lotion — the lone mineral sunscreen of the three. I’m a huge fan of Cocokind; it’s one of my favorite brand discoveries of 2021. Formulated with 21% Zinc Oxide, Daily SPF is relatively lightweight, with that bright white texture common to a mineral sunscreen made with Zinc Oxide.
Last is a personal favorite straight out of the Skincarma Vault, the floor-to-ceiling medicine cabinet which houses my regular and daily skincare stash. The COSRX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream is the lightest of the three and a blend of both mineral and chemical sunscreens — including three Asian and European sun filter innovations: Amiloxate, Ensulizole and Tinosorb S.
I’m naturally drawn to sunscreen products from outside the US marketplace as they’re nearly always composed of the most innovative sun filter technologies, something we’re sorely lacking here.
Whether you use a sunscreen made with 1980s technology or one that’s straight out of a modern-day Japanese lab, what’s important is that you find a facial sunscreen you love to use so much that you wouldn’t even think of skipping it. That’s why I’m always talking about sunscreens. If I can get even one reader of this blog to find a facial sunscreen they love, I’d consider my mission accomplished!
With that, let’s take a deeper look at one of the best facial sunscreens I took with me on my trip to magical Cabo San Lucas, Mexico…
Supergoop! | Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA+++
I have a super personal relationship with skincare products. There’s this one indicator that I’m sensitive to when it comes to whether or not I like a product during my initial experience with it. Make that two indicators: Do I believe the formula is pro-skin health and do I like using it.
And that is particularly relevant with a daily sunscreen.
For the better part of the last year, one of my favorite facial sunscreens, one that I literally get excited to use, is the Supergoop! Daily Dose Vitamin C + SPF 40 Sunscreen Serum PA+++. It’s certainly pro-skin health and I actually LOVE using it. As I like to say, it’s important to find a sunscreen you love. If you do, you’re more likely to use it consistently — even on cloudy, seemingly sunless days in Mexico, or wherever you are in the world!
The new Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA+++ is as much of a pleasure to use on a dry, cold, low-humidity day in New York City as the original Daily Dose serum.
I always have to acknowledge Supergoop! for calling out the PA rating in their sunscreens and on the Daily Dose packaging. It’s something you rarely see in US sunscreen products. It’s such a shame and a real lapse in FDA oversight of such an important skincare product.
If you don’t know what a PA rating is, it’s an indicator of a formula’s level of UVA protection — in the same fashion as SPF indicates a sunscreen’s level of UVB protection. And, as UVA rays are more insidious and the cause of most serious skin cancers, it makes more sense to pay close attention to a product’s PA rating rather than its SPF.
When it comes to skin damage and skin aging, UVA defense is where it’s at.
The PA+++ rating on each of the Supergoop! Daily Dose formulas indicates “high UVA protection,” the third highest level and just below PA++++ — an indication of “extremely high UVA protection.”
PRODUCT REVIEW: SUPERGOOP! CLOUD 9 100% MINERAL SUN BALM SPF 40 – BEST ANTI-AGING SUNSCREEN
What Does PA Mean in Sunscreen and What Is the Difference between SPF and PA?
There’s an excellent piece from the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, What Does the PA+ Sunscreen Symbol Mean? on the brand’s website here.
The SPF rating on a sunscreen bottle stands for Sun Protection Factor, a measurement of how long you can stay outside during the day and be protected from the sun’s burn-causing UVB rays (assuming you’re applying sunscreen the right way). UVA rays are present, too; this is where the PA+ rating system comes into play.
Some sunscreens include PA+ rating on their products. The letters “PA” followed by plus signs (PA+, PA++, PA+++, and PA++++) on a label are a rating system developed in Japan to represent how much UVA protection the product offers.
The sun’s UVA rays do not cause sunburn; rather, they cause skin to turn brown. UVA rays are known as the sun’s silent killers because you don’t feel them affecting skin. Despite the lack of pain associated with UVA rays, they penetrate deeply into skin, causing a somewhat different type of damage than UVB rays.
This is what each PA rating means:
PA+ = Some UVA protection.
PA++ = Moderate UVA protection.
PA+++ = High UVA protection.
PA++++ = Extremely High UVA protection.
Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA+++ has the texture of a lightweight facial oil, similar to a conventional “dry oil” that dries down on application. The Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost formula contains a luxurious blend of non-fragrant plant oils, including Squalane, Soybean Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, and soothing Oat Kernel Oil.
In fact, the formula is wonderfully soothing on the skin and, I imagine, an ideal sunscreen for sensitive skin types, too.
In addition to those replenishing plant oils, there are, as the name indicates, ceramides in the formula. Ceramides are lipids, or fats, that are naturally occurring in the skin; they’re essential to skin health. Skin’s ceramide content helps to fortify the skin barrier against moisture loss.
PRODUCT REVIEW: SUPERGOOP! ULTRA DAILY DOSE VITAMIN C + SPF 40 SUNSCREEN SERUM PA+++
What Are Ceramides and Are Ceramides Good for Your Skin?
Of course, I go straight to my most trusted source — the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team. There’s a rather in-depth piece on the site titled, What Are Ceramides and How Do They Work in Skin Care Products? You can read the full piece here, if you’re so inclined. Here’s what I loved most from the article:
As far as anti-aging ingredients go, ceramides have a proven record, but are often overlooked, and rarely explained. Here, we’ll dive deep to clarify how ceramides help skin retain moisture, fortify its protective barrier, and keep its appearance firm and plump—especially given the recent research clarifying ceramides’ unique ability to rejuvenate skin’s appearance. Below, we’ve gathered the research-supported answers to your top ceramide-related questions:
What are ceramides?
Simply put, ceramides are lipids (fats) that are found naturally in high concentrations in the uppermost layers of skin. They make up over 50% of skin’s composition, so it’s no surprise they play a vital role in determining how your skin looks (and how it responds to environmental threats).
What do ceramides do?
Think of ceramides as the mortar between bricks—if the bricks are your skin cells. Ceramides help hold skin together by forming a protective layer that limits moisture loss and protects against visible damage from pollution and other environmental stressors. In addition, ceramides—even more than retinol, niacinamide, and peptides—are one of the anti-aging “powerhouses” responsible for supporting skin’s dynamic nature. Two particular ceramide precursors—phytosphingosine and sphingolipids—actually help skin make more ceramides.
If my skin already contains ceramides, why do I need them in my beauty products?
Age and sun damage reduce the effectiveness of your skin’s natural ceramides—and can eventually deplete them, which weakens your skin’s barrier. The results are drier, rougher skin, wrinkles, irritation, redness, and visible signs of dehydration. This is where skin care knowledge comes into play—because it really is possible to significantly restore what’s been diminished.
Like the original Supergoop! Daily Dose Vitamin C + SPF 40 Sunscreen Serum, the sun filters in the Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil are chemical in nature. The sun filter blend includes 2% Avobenzone, 9% Homosalate, 5% Octisalate and 10% Octocrylene. While I prefer mineral sunscreens, it’s far more important to love your facial sunscreen — and both Daily Dose formulas are simply too pleasurable to overlook based on the fact that they use chemical filters.
In addition to its pro-skin health ceramides, replenishing plant oils and sun filters in the Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost formula, there’s also a touch of moisturizing Vitamin E, nourishing Bacillus Ferment, and humectant Sodium Hyaluronate — the salt form of Hyaluronic Acid that’s more compatible with skin.
If you have dry skin, sensitive skin or are currently living in a cold, low-humidity climate as I am, the new Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA+++ is perfect for you.
What I like about it: The Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA+++ is simply exquisite. The texture is everything. If you have dry, very dry or sensitive skin, there’s literally no sunscreen that’s more soothing and nourishing. You’ll love it.
What I don’t like about it: Of course, I wish it were a mineral sunscreen, but I know there’s simply no way to make a product this luxurious using the available mineral sun filters.
Who it’s for: All skin types, except oily or acne-prone.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA+++ for $46 here.
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The Ingredient List of the Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra-Ceramide Boost + SPF 40 Sunscreen Oil PA++:
Avobenzone (2 percent), Homosalate (9 percent), Octisalate (5 percent), Octocrylene (10 percent), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Dicaprylyl Ether, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Polybutene, Ethyl Olivate, Rosa Canina Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil/Macadamia Seed Oil Esters, Hydrogenated Polycyclopentadiene, Squalane, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Squalene, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Tocopherol, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Germ Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Oil, Phytosteryl Macadamiate, Ceramide NP (Ceramide III B), Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Bacillus Ferment, Phytosterols, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax.
The Ingredient List of the Cocokind Daily SPF:
sii|h 0 0, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice 
so|h, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil aox|emo, Tocopheryl Acetate aox 0 0, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil emo 0 0, Coco-Glucoside surf, Glyceryl Caprylate pres, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emo|vc, Cetearyl Glucoside emu|surf, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside surf, Xanthan Gum vc, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate emo, Lecithin emo|emu, Polyhydroxystearic Acid emu, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate emu|vc, Isostearic Acid surf|emu, Oryza Sativa Starch vc, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate so|h, Bisabolol so, Caprylhydroxamic Acid chel, Sodium Phytate chel, Sclerotium Gum vc, Sucrose h|so, Phaeodactylum Tricornutum Extract h|so, Glucose h, Spirulina Maxima Extract, Tocopherol aox 0-3 0-3, C10 Alcohol emo|surf|vc, C8 Alcohol perfThe Ingredient List of the COSRX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream SPF 50 PA+++:
sii|h 0 0, Propylene Glycol h|solv|vc 0 0, Cyclopentasiloxane emo|solv, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid sunsc, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine sunsc, Dicaprylyl Carbonate emo, Isoamyl p-Methoxycinnamate sunsc, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate emu|surf, Alcohol 
amic|solv|vc, Dimethicone emo 0 1, Butylene Glycol h|solv|vc 0 1, Glyceryl Stearate emo|emu 0 1-2, Titanium Dioxide sunsc|col, C14-22 Alcohols, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Cetearyl Alcohol emo|vc|emu|surf 1 2, PEG-100 Stearate surf|emu 0 0, Triethanolamine buff 0 2, Silica vc, Sodium Hydroxide buff, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer vc, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside emu|surf, Aluminum Hydroxide emo|h|vc, Stearic Acid emo|vc 0 2-3, Fragrance perf, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Phenoxyethanol pres, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer vc, Aloe Arborescens Leaf Extract(1,100 Ppm) h|so, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate so|h, Carbomer vc 0 1, Xanthan Gum vc, Limonene perf|solv, Tocopheryl Acetate aox 0 0, Disodium EDTA chel, Hexyl Cinnamal perf, Linalool perf, Benzyl Salicylate perf, Geraniol perf, Benzyl Alcohol pres|perf|solv|vc, Citronellol perf, Benzyl Benzoate solv|perf|amic, Citral perf
