Five of the Best Men’s Moisturizers with an SPF

The sun’s rays are getting stronger, and the beach isn’t the only place you’re soaking up drying, burning radiation. That’s why we’ve put together this list of some of the best SPF-rated skin moisturizers for men.

Sol: it’s the massive orb of violent fire that makes life as we know it possible. It’s also a terrible and indifferent space deity that doesn’t care if your ancestors evolved melanin levels appropriate for cave-dwelling in Northern Scotland thousands of years ago.

Some cultures adapted by living in complex, underground habitats. Someday, so will we, but until then we must suffer the sun’s terrible gaze.

And hell, even when the sun ain’t so bad, like in the winter, dry air—hot or cold—is trying to turn your skin into salt flats. Fight both of these things with a two-in-one solution: skin moisturizer that keeps your skin hydrated and childlike, while also offering sun protection—sans that greased-up sunblock feeling.

Jack Black Double-Duty Face Moisturizer (SPF 20)

Take it easy, overexcitable Tenacious D fans. This isn’t that Jack Black (whose name is actually Thomas Black). Instead, in this case, Jack Black is a brand of face moisturizer. “Single-duty moisturizer?” you ask, sheepishly.

No! Double-duty! “Does it have green algae extract?” you ask, steeling yourself for further admonishment.

Again, no. You’re so close. This face moisturizer has blue algae extract, with sea parsley for garnish. “But why?” you say, betraying your relative ignorance on the topics of both skin care and marine biology.

The answer is so simple that you’ll be mildly embarrassed to learn the truth: Blue algae extract is motor-yacht-registered-in-the-Cayman-Islands rich in vitamin E. It reduces inflammation. Inflammation is bad. Blue algae also increase the suppleness of your skin. Suppleness is good.

And that sea parsley? It ain’t just a garnish. Its cup runneth over with vitamins A and C. That’s it, though. You can’t fit more than three good things in a moisturizer.

Oh, wait! Rosemary. It’s got rosemary, which is great on chicken but also on your face, where it murders bacteria.

Look, brass tacks: this stuff’s got antioxidants, vitamins, and SPF 20 UVA/UVB protection. It’ll make even a 40-year-old look fresh-faced enough to join a K-pop band.

CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion (SPF 30)

This CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion provides all-day hydration for your skin. You can try and replicate this effect without the lotion by sitting in a tub of rainwater for 12 hours. Technically, you would be hydrating your skin, but the real benefits to your health and appearance would be dubious. As a terrestrial mammal, you are simply not meant to be waterlogged.

Anyway, don’t waste your time on that. Just use the CeraVe lotion—it moisturizes your skin all day and contains ceramides. Lotion companies prefer this term, “ceramides,” because what they actually are is fat. But hey, we’re all adults here. We can say the word while understanding that not all fat is bad. In fact, ceramides are the types of fat your skin naturally produces, and they keep your skin looking like skin. Ceramides are some of that good fat.

Other than that, this lotion won’t clog up your pores and provides SPF 30 sun protection.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer (SPF 50)

If you need a daily moisturizer and constant protection from the sun, without feeling and smelling like you’re constantly coated in beach grease, the Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer will kill both of those birds for you with one stone. Of course, that’s just a metaphor—this moisturizer comes in a two-pack.

The lotion is lightweight, oil- and fragrance-free, nonirritating, and doesn’t cause blackheads. It also happens to offer the strongest UVA/UVB protection on this list. At 50 SPF, so your precious, pasty skin will be protected from 98 percent of the sun’s UVB rays.

Of course, you don’t have to be pasty to use it: the Cetaphil lotion is great for all types of skin: normal, sensitive, or skin prone to rosacea.

NIVEA Men Maximum Hydration Protective Lotion (SPF 15)

For some of us, sure, the sun burns—but that’s not the only thing. Windburn can be pretty rough in the winter. And, did you know, the sun also exists and can burn you in the winter (or when it’s completely overcast)?

You probably knew that. Everybody knows that, but we mostly ignore it. Well, STOP it. Enrich that tight, dried out skin of yours all year with this NIVEA Men Protective Lotion.

This hydrating sunblock is on the lower end of the SPF spectrum, SPF 15, offering some more mild sun protection. Nestled deep within every dollop of this stuff are provitamin B5, vitamin E, and Aloe Vera, keeping that skin of yours moist (sorry) over the long term. And, of course, it’s oil-free, so your pores stay porous.

Neutrogena Triple Protect Men’s Daily Face Lotion (SPF 20)

We’ve thrown around some pretty bombastic terms on this list so far. “Double-duty.” “SPF 50.” Et cetera.

Buckle up, and maybe step away if you have a heart condition, because this facial lotion raises the stakes: Neutrogena Men Triple Protect Face Lotion. Let’s take a moment to unpack this opulent promise.

Here, we’ve got one step (put it on your face), but three protections: 1) It soothes razor irritation; 2) it heals dry skin; and 3) it fights the signs of aging.

Now, all of these lotions are going to help fight the signs of aging and moisturize your dry skin. They are, after all, moisturizers. And, like the others in this list, the Neutrogena lotion provides UVA/UVB protection (SPF 20, here)—oil-free and pore-friendly, of course.

But the special thing about this lotion is this: it’s an aftershave, which means you will actually apply it. It will become part of your morning routine (hey, even beard guys shave their necks and cheeks), and so it will always be on your face, doing not once, not twice, but three times the job that your old aftershave did.

What better way to get men to adopt a skin care regimen than by hiding it inside something traditional and practical, like aftershave?