Product Overview
A lightweight 100% mineral sunscreen developed for sensitive, redness-prone and post-procedure skin. The formula pairs 12.9% zinc oxide with AA Complex Barrier Repair Technology, centella asiatica and ceramides to protect while supporting a stronger, calmer-looking skin barrier.
Recommended For
Sensitive, redness-prone, stressed-looking and post-procedure skin.
Texture and Experience
A fast-absorbing mineral lotion that blends easily without a heavy or greasy feel.
Care Step
Protect SPF — final morning skin care step; follow post-procedure guidance from the treating professional.
Key Ingredients
- 12.9% Zinc Oxide — 100% mineral broad-spectrum UV protection
- 2% AA Complex Barrier Repair Technology — patented amino-acid blend
- Centella Asiatica — helps calm sensitive-looking skin
- Ceramide Blend — nourishes and reinforces the skin barrier
Conscious Formula
100% mineral, fragrance-free, paraben-free, oil-free, hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic.
Available Size
1.7 oz / 48 g
Professional Recommendation
This is the formula we hand to guests whose skin is easily set off — by weather, by a new active, or by an in-studio treatment. It is 100% mineral, with zinc oxide as the only filter and no chemical UV filters at all, which is what sets it apart from UV Clear SPF 46 and from the Hydration+ line. Where Hydration+ is built around moisture and UV Clear around blemish-prone skin, Skin Recovery is built around a calm, undisturbed barrier: ceramides and centella sit alongside the filter, and the finish is deliberately unfussy. If visible redness is your main concern, the Green Tint version is the same formula with a color-correcting tint.
Apply it last in the morning, over whatever your skin is tolerating that week, and use a full, even layer rather than a thin veil — mineral filters only work where they physically sit. Press it on in sections instead of rubbing; on reactive skin, dragging is what causes the flush, not the product. Give it a minute to set before makeup. After a salon facial, dermaplaning or a VI Peel, the professional who treated you will tell you when daily sun protection can resume and how carefully to apply it in the first days.
Safety Information
Apply liberally 15 minutes before sun exposure and reapply at least every two hours, and again after swimming, toweling off or heavy sweating. Sun protection works alongside shade, a wide-brimmed hat and covering clothing, not instead of them, so keep time in the midday sun limited as well. For external use only. Avoid contact with the eyes; if the product gets into your eyes, rinse thoroughly with water.
Not recommended for:
- Children under 6 months of age.
- Broken, freshly wounded or bleeding skin.
- Anyone with a known sensitivity to zinc oxide or any other listed ingredient.
- Use straight after an in-studio treatment, before the professional who treated you has cleared it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the Green Tint version?
The formula underneath is the same — same 12.9% zinc oxide, same AA Complex, same ceramides and centella. The Green Tint version adds a soft green pigment that sits opposite red on the color wheel, so it visually neutralizes the look of redness as it blends out. Choose this untinted version if you would rather have no color at all, or if you apply your own base on top.
When can I go back to sunscreen after a salon treatment?
There is no single answer, and the timing depends on what was done and how your skin responded — a HydraFacial and a VI Peel are not on the same schedule. The person who performed your treatment sets that window, so follow their instructions. Once you are cleared, a 100% mineral formula like this one is usually the gentlest way back in.
It is 100% mineral — will it leave a white cast?
It uses a transparent zinc oxide finish and blends out further than most mineral sunscreens, but on deeper skin tones a light cast can still show if you apply too much at once. Work in thin passes and blend down onto the neck; if you want the cast fully cancelled, the Green Tint version handles it better.
Can I use it every day, or only after treatments?
Every day. Post-treatment skin is what it was designed around, but sensitive and redness-prone skin benefits from the same fragrance-free, mineral-only approach year round.
Does it work under makeup?
Yes, as long as you let it set. Give it a full minute, then press base products on rather than buffing them in — buffing lifts a mineral layer and leaves gaps in the protection.
Pairs Well With
- EltaMD UV Skin Recovery Green Tint SPF 50: the same formula with a green tint that counteracts the look of redness.
- EltaMD UV Lip Balm SPF 36: protects the lip border, which stays exposed after most facial treatments.
- EltaMD UV Lotion SPF 35: covers neck, chest and body with the same fragrance-free approach.
- Explore the full EltaMD collection.