Is there a facial sunscreen that won't smear all over my riding glasses?

Question

I use a mineral sunscreen stick on my face before bike rides and always try to rub it in well.

Somehow it usually ends up on my sunglasses anyway and cleaning them mid-ride is a gamble. Sometimes using my shirt works but other times, especially if the lenses are very dirty, it just smears it around and makes my entire field of vision blurry so I have to finish the ride with no glasses.

I'm not going to carry alcohol and a microfiber cloth. My current solution is to not clean (and try not to touch) the lenses at all during rides but then clean them super well after each ride to prevent build up. It's a hassle.

Is there a sunscreen that either won't rub off on my glasses or that would be see-thru if it did?

The skin between my beard and my glasses is often the only exposed skin while I'm riding even during the summer (sun sleeves actually do make me cooler than bare skin). I'd prefer to cover it than use sunscreen but I gave up on finding a way to do that and still breath.

Answer 1

Mineral sunscreens sit on top of your skin, as such, can always rub off. You may want to consider a non-mineral based sunscreen that soaks into the skin. It won't be a problem once its soaked in- typically 20-30 minutes.

If you are not prepared to make that tradeoff, then the best solution would be sachets of glasses cleaner's that are a small cloth with cleaning solution - not particularly environmentally friendly especially if you do not take the rubbish home with you. Alternately a small bottle of glasses cleaner and micro-fibre cloth. I would not use alcohol on glasses.

If you use the microfiber cloth, it does need regular washing.

Answer 2

There is head gear that would help protect your face from the sun, if that is the issue. I hope this helps. Da Brim Cycling Helmet Brim

Answer 3

faceGlove SUN FLEX

(a forthcoming variant of the faceGlove FLEX) It has a pocket that grabs the tip of my nose without blocking the nostrils, and a bendable metal piece to hold it's shape in the center.

I finally got to go on a ride with this and I loved it! I rode for four hours with no sunscreen and it shaded all the areas on my face where I normally put sunscreen.

If I ever shave I'll cover my chin and lower cheeks with a light neck gaiter or balaclava intended for sun protection.

It looks a little silly but so does skin cancer and mineral sunscreen too unless I waste time rubbing it in really well.

It was 52F (11C) when I left home and 77F (25C) when I got back. Despite being a little darker grey than I'd normally choose, the faceGlove wasn't hot. Towards the end of the ride it started feeling slightly warm but I started sweating and that went away. I fear it will be hot at temps above 85F (30C) but I'll have to test that later in the summer.

I've been biking for decades but today was the first time I ever biked with my nose covered. Normally the wind makes a lot of turbulence around it and in my nostrils. Apparently that's a big part of what bothers me about the wind but I never knew.

I noticed immediately after turning onto the highway today that I could breath more easily than normal and within a couple miles I realized it was just more comfortable in general. The air in my nose felt still between breaths. Surprise #1!

Normally when I bike in weather below about 60-65F (15-18C) my nose runs like a faucet (google Russell Spout). It's a combination of allergies and cold rhinitus, which is the nose reacting to cold air as if it was an allergen. I use nasal sprays and still blow my nose a handful of times on every ride. On a bad ride I have to snot rocket both nostrils every mile.

This morning I forgot one of my nasal spray doses, so I only got half. Then I biked 59 miles (95km) thru pastures and ag fields where I normally get a runny nose. It warmed up fairly quickly but even so I would have blown my nose at least 4-5 times and that's with a normal dose of the nasal spray.

I didn't blow my nose at all today. Not even once! Surprise #2.

I don't understand why not and I'm even wondering if it's a freak coincidence. It does remind me of something I read on the Bikepacker's Foundry page about cold weather biking tho. It's the "EYE & FACE PROTECTION" section about halfway down the page. Here's an exerpt:

So he got the same result as me, "no runny nose." The only similarity I see is that we're both shielding our noses from the wind.

It seems too good to be true but I'm crossing my fingers that it keeps working and I really have solved the problem. After a few more successful test rides I'll probably accept this answer.

I hope this helps others enjoy biking more too, and I'll leave you with some pics of the faceGlove FLEX packaging.

Answer 4

The best solution might be a mask of some sort. Here are my mask search/brainstorm results (from most promising idea to least):

• faceGlove and/or faceGlove FLEX looks perfect, exactly what I need, except that it's made for warmth, not sun. I'm not riding with fleece on my face, but I might be able to copy their pattern and make my own. I just don't know if this would be a realistic sewing project for a beginner or how I would find appropriate fabric. Attaching to me instead of my glasses probably has both advantages and disadvantages that I still need to think thru.

  UPDATE (3/25/24): A warm weather, sun protection version of the faceGlove FLEX will be available soon. I was able to place an early order to get one for testing. This is currently my most promising solution, and I'll update this again with the test results.

  UPDATE (3/29/24): It just got here, fits well and looks like it will work great. It's way too windy to ride this weekend though. As soon as I go on a ride and confirm it works, I'll post an answer with pictures and info about the forthcoming "faceGlove SUN FLEX!"

• NoSun is for ski goggles and I don't see a way to keep it on my face while biking, but the Leather Nose Shade and Etsy "bestseller" NosKon attach to glasses and might work if it's reshaped to be more like NoSun with cheek covers. Both are hand made, suggesting there may be a good DIY solution. The existence of the CoolNESS Nose Shield and a few similar manufactured products for mountaineering give the idea credibility. I found pictures of a couple nose shield products that appear to cover the cheeks, too, but the links are broken (even at archive.org), so DIY may be the only option for full coverage.

• A full face helmet, like my motorcycle helmet, but lighter. The ones for bikes don't look like they shade the cheeks, though (maybe so they don't interfere with goggles?). There probably are some that do but I didn't find them with a quick search. Does anybody know of one?

• VisorX might have been perfect, but it's not available for purchase. There are shield glasses tho, and magnetic visors that can be added to other helmets by attaching magnets. Many other options are available using snaps. I'd have to swap my glasses mirror for a helmet mirror and there could be issues with heat and fogging per one review. Most of these visors look like weird Chinese junk, probably too cheap to even block UV.

• N0U (that's N-zero-U) or N0U Lite would provide great protection and might be exactly what I need, especially if I ever shave. My concern is that I might not be able to tolerate breathing thru it and that'd be a real shame after spending $35+tax/shipping. Anybody tried it?

  I haven't been able to find any reviews or even a single person who's tried these masks. Naroo doesn't take returns, so the only way to try it is to buy it. If they won't stand by their hard-to-believe claim that the masks are suitable for strenuous hot weather exercise, I'm not going to waste my money proving them wrong. So this option's out for now.

• A basic UV shield like the one Saaru linked to looks effective but I'm afraid would flap around way too much (wind gusts are unusually high here).

• A sports nose guard, like soccer players wear. I'm not sure it would cover all the exposed skin tho and it might interfere with my helmet. Doesn't look breathable or comfortable.

• A stiffer costume mask, maybe like a large Zorro mask, trimmed to only cover my cheeks and not interfere with glasses. Probably not breathable at all and uncomfortable.

• Cloth sun protection face masks intended for exercise might work, but the ones I'm seeing online don't look very breathable and they're made of fabric I think I would swallow or suck into my nostrils when breathing hard.