I’m always up for new sunscreens so this time, I decided to try one that’s right up my Nigerian alley; The SkinScience Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 by Pharmasolutions!
YES, IT IS A NIGERIAN SUNSCREEN and I’ll share all the juicy details you’re probably already itching to know. This post contains the product overview, its full ingredients, suitability for different skin types, my overall thoughts and where to purchase it.
About SkinScience Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50
The SkinScience sunscreen lotion is marketed as Nigeria’s first approved SPF50 sunscreen, formulated by a pharmaceutical company called PharmaSolutions. It’s a chemical sunscreen with “very high UVA/UVB sun filters” and gives “absolutely no white cast”. It’s also said to be “moisturising” and “suitable for all skin types“.
It comes in 40ml & 100ml sizes and and you can easily shop it from their website. It has a price range of 2,950NGN – 5,450NGN in Naira and they ship to about 10 African countries (you can also shop in those currencies).
Ingredients
It has a total of 10 ingredients with 4 UV chemical filters; bemotrizinol, uvinul A plus, octinoxate and ethylhexyl triazone. I made sure to check out every single ingredient, although I already knew some of the filters.
Uvinul A plus is a new generation UV filter with high UVA protection and photostability while ethylhexyl triazone and octinoxate blocks UVB rays. Bemotrizinol is an advanced filter that blocks both UVA and UVB rays.
It also has other ingredients like sodium polyacrylate, dicaprylyl carbonate and polyglyceryl-3 caprate. These three form a liquid dispersion polymer, supposedly to give a velvety skin after-feel.
Overall, it has a pretty nice combination of well-rounded UV filters.
The UV filtering ingredients are listed as: bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and ethylhexyl triazone.
Product Details
Unlike my last sunscreen review, this one has a butter color with a thick lotion-like texture . It’s said to be fragrance-free, yet it has a very peculiar smell, one I absolutely do not like. The smell comes off very strong during application but eventually fades away.
Another thing to point out is the text size on the tube. I got the small size to try (40ml) but I wasn’t expecting the inscription to also be small! The labels were written in extremely tiny fonts and it was very hard to read. The ingredients at the back of the tube were practically invisible and I strained my eyes trying to read it.
I assume this is only for the 40ml size and that the 100ml has better readability. For a brand that doesn’t include its ingredient list on the product page, the ingredients list on the tube should be made readable for all sizes.
It’s easier to trust and purchase from a brand that’s transparent with their formulations so I really hope they eventually update their website with the ingredients list.
LATEST skincare posts to check out:
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Thoughts
One thing I appreciate very much about this sunscreen is the fact that it gives absolutely no white cast. Depending on the amount you use, it disappears quite easily when applied and doesn’t require extra effort. It also blends nicely into parts of the body in small amounts.
However, it gave a terribly oily finish upon application to my face. I was really bummed because it was supposedly reformulated to suit all skin types. The last sunscreen I tried that gave a somewhat oily finish was the Altruist SPF 50 sunscreen but that was nowhere as oily as this one.
I was quite sad with the outcome because the thought of a Nigerian sunscreen was exciting and I wanted to advocate for its use. I eventually had to find other ways to apply it:
1. Skip the moisturiser step: If used without a moisturizer, it gives a less oily finish (but it was still too greasy for me).
2. Go with the barest skincare routine: If used with the most simple routine (cleanse-hydrate-protect), it gives a slightly better finish. This is the one I typically go for when I use the sunscreen and I also make sure to spend less than 3 hours in the sun to avoid reapplication.
Not the best routine but it’s what I’ll be using whenever I wear the sunscreen.
3. Use on other parts of the body: If it’s too oily for your face, other exposed areas of your body could use it instead. Personally, I use it for my hands and feet on days I do not want it on my face.
Other sunscreen reviews to check out:
– Affordable Sunscreens in Nigeria: Altruist Sunscreen Review
Overall Impressions?
I think this might actually be a good sunscreen if they find a way to reformulate and get rid of ingredients causing the extra greasiness. Apart from the smell, it has great UV filters and the potential to become a popular sunscreen in Nigeria due to the affordability (and origins).
BUT ONLY IF THEY GET RID OF THE OILINESS.
Will I recommend? If you have oily skin, this one is not for you unless you like your grease or you’re willing to try out the hacks I use. I believe it may be better suited for dry skin as they MAY not experience the greasiness. However, those with normal/combination skin types may also give it a try.
Again, as the saying goes, “skincare is not one-size-fits-all” so you can also still check it out if you want, even if you have oily skin.
Will I repurchase? No (for all of the above reasons).
**All pictures used in this post are mine (do not reuse without my permissions).
Thank you for reading and I hope the review was quite helpful! Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried this SkinScience sunscreen before and what you think of it🖤
Till Next Time,
With Love,
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