text: what's the best sunscreen?   there's no one brand that's the best - but you do want one with a uva-blocking ingredient as well as a uvb-blocker.  uvb ones are easy to come by - they're in every sunscreen - it's the uva ones that are more difficult to find.  look at the ingredients list - there are only three tried-and-true uva blockers (no matter what the label says).  avobenzone (aka parsol 1789) titanium dioxide zinc oxide  avobenzone is a chemical block - it absorbs the sun's rays and basically neutralizes the effect chemically.  the bad part about avobenzone is that it does degenerate over a period of a few hours, so you need to reapply fairly frequently.  titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are physical blocks - they reflect the sun's rays, so they don't ever hit your skin.  unfortunately, if you have darker skin and are using a product in which the particles of titanium/zinc have not been micronized properly, these products can leave a whitish cast on your skin.  the best thing to do to find a good-quality zo or td sunscreen is to check labels and expect to pay about $10-$12 for a tube.  it may seem expensive but isn't your skin worth it?  [if you live in canada or europe there is a newer sunscreen ingredient available called meroxyl - it's very effective at blocking uva and uvb rays when blended with avobenzone in a product - l'oreal's ombrelle line has this combination and it's great.  it's what i use, but it's not available in the u.s. - yet.]