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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.

user66598
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    Did you see this previous question? I don't have an answer, but did look into sunscreen a few years ago and was surprised to find an enormous amount of reviews and excel sheets on Reddit. If you search the web for "Reddit sunscreen cycling" perhaps you'll find something to help your research? – Saaru Lindestøkke Mar 20 '24 at 23:49
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    I’ve never had this particular problem but I was pleasantly surprised by alcohol-based spray-on sunscreen which seems to get absorbed by the skin much better. Avoids the sticky, slippery, goo-y feeling and is my go-to solution for outdoor rock climbing. Biggest disadvantage is actually that you can hardly see it, so it’s difficult to ensure 100% coverage. – Michael Mar 21 '24 at 09:11
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    How about a brim for your helmet (or hat) and do away with the sunscreen on the face? – Criggie Mar 21 '24 at 09:23
  • @Michael I like sunscreen sprays but they say not to use on the face, or at least to spray on the hand and then rub on the face. Like you said it's hard to know if I put on enough and I feel like the mineral stick is better protection. – user66598 Mar 21 '24 at 13:13
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    @Criggie I have seen touring brims attached to helmets (like the stereoypical Aussie hat's brim but without the dangling corks). They need a very upright riding position to be able to see. At any speed, stiffened ones are like wearing an air-brake on your head, unstiffened they flap back and don't provide shade. Fundamentally, your eyes need sufficient angle to see the road ahead (perhaps assuming it rises slightly), shading the cheekbone area then needs something really big and horizontal (so tipped back with respect to your head unless you're riding a sit-up-and-beg shopping bike) – Chris H Mar 21 '24 at 13:19
  • @SaaruLindestøkke Thanks for those links. I switched to "cloth" sunscreen a couple seasons ago. It truly is cooler, cleaner and even cheaper. I'll never put sunscreen on my arms again. I'm just looking for a good solution for the tiny bit of skin that still shows on my face. General sunscreen reviews and lists of "every sunscren" probably have a great solution but I'd have to spend hours digging to hope to find it. You say you don't have an answer but what do you put on your face? – user66598 Mar 21 '24 at 13:23
  • @ChrisH those are actually very good points. When I get groceries from the shop a mile away I don't wear a helmet. I have a hat with a brim all the way around and a chin strap but it doesn't shade me super well and like you said it flaps in the wind, either flipping up and leaving me with no shade or flipping down and blinding me. I would never wear that hat on a real ride and your points about line of sight and aerodynamics make me worry that there's no way to design a brim that would work. – user66598 Mar 21 '24 at 13:28
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    @user66598 I don't fancy them either, even touring (though I'm at the fast/long distance end of touring). I've found a product: Da Brim - and they specifically say not for fast descents or speed+headwind > 25mph (and yes they do make a version rated slightly faster) – Chris H Mar 21 '24 at 13:35
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    @ChrisH that's exactly what my sister wears on bike rides and I've always wondered where to get one! $50 tho, and with the gusty wind around here I probably break a 25mph speed+headwind on every ride. Thanks for the link tho, I'm saving it. – user66598 Mar 21 '24 at 14:02
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    I also don't get on with cycling caps (that don't provide enough shade anyway). With the brim down they get in my line of sight, with it up (with a wide range of helmets they press on my forehead and give me a sore stripe and a headache after a few hours. In dry but sweaty conditions the rubbing has damaged the skin. So I'm generous with the suncream. – Chris H Mar 21 '24 at 14:21
  • The "hat" suggestion and related pros/cons should be an answer. I'll try to make a CW one if no one involved in the current comments hasn't done so in the next few days. – Michael come lately Mar 21 '24 at 14:32
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    @user66598 I use a generic off-brand 50 spf sunscreen (don't know what type, would have to look it up) when I need to, but that's rather rare as there are only a few sunny days on which I have the time to cycle for a long time. – Saaru Lindestøkke Mar 21 '24 at 14:43
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    When I visited Beijing I do remember a pedestrians would wear UV face visors on sunny days, like this one (haven't seen cyclists with it). Perhaps that could work? – Saaru Lindestøkke Mar 21 '24 at 14:49
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    @SaaruLindestøkke I'd like to try a smaller version attached to the outside of my helmet, especially at night when oncoming cars don't dip their lights – Chris H Mar 21 '24 at 15:19
  • https://www.fda.gov/news-events/fda-voices/shedding-more-light-sunscreen-absorption – Sam7919 Mar 21 '24 at 15:42
  • @ChrisH https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6vPrUlzyShM The video is painfully slow, even at 2x, but he shows how to do what you're wanting. I'd probably use epoxy instead of hot glue, or just use a helmet that comes with magnets or snaps on it. – user66598 Mar 21 '24 at 20:57
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    @user66598 removable is essential, and the nice thing about hot glue is it's not too strong, both allowing rework and meaning it would break free. Epoxy can be rather brittle for use with strong magnets. Self adhesive velcro would be another option. The video also uses a lot of hard items rather near his eyes, things that I wouldn't want there in a crash – Chris H Mar 21 '24 at 21:25
  • @ChrisH Don't leave your helmet in a car in the summer. I've had hot glue melt and things fall apart. I think it was on a Burning Man art project but I really can't remember. – user66598 Mar 22 '24 at 00:07
  • @user66598 that implies a rather different climate to mine. I'm wary of hot glue on the bike because it doesn't perform so well in the cold, and it's been fine in my van in what passes for a heatwave here (actually quite unpleasant as we're not set up for heat) – Chris H Mar 22 '24 at 06:32
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    If it is hot and sunny whatever is the sunscreen the problem would still be the same. At least in my case the sweats mixes with the sunscreen and then drops on the glasses. I cannot clean the glasses with alcohol because I have prescription glasses with anti-glare coating that might be damaged. My solution is just to carry a cloth and packaged lens wipes. A first pass with the cloth removes most of the stuff, then I use the wipes to clean the stains. – FluidCode Mar 31 '24 at 10:54

3 Answers3

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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.

mattnz
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    Alcohol (isopropanol) mixed with water is what those individually wrapped glasses wipes are wet with, and why they're good for getting grease off. I always have some with me because they're also good for disc brake rotors. Isopropanol is also what's recommended for cleaning laser glasses, which, like a lot of cycling sunglasses, are made from polycarbonate. And non-mineral suncream does seem to come back out after soaking in, if you sweat enough, certainly at the top of my sunglasses where they touch my eyebrows. – Chris H Mar 21 '24 at 06:58
  • ... But rubbing alcohol and denatured alcohol sold for burning and cleaning are riskier, because of what else is in them; rubbing alcohol can also leave a residue – Chris H Mar 21 '24 at 07:00
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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 enter image description here

MindDBike
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  • My sister has Da Brim (or a knockoff that looks the same); it's excellent and would be perfect most of the time. The problem is that there's a slightly hilly area near here that I go thru on almost every ride. If I pedal on the descent I stay above 22 mph the entire 4 mile stretch. A flapping sun brim would be a serious problem. It's definitely the solution for casual rides and if there's no better option I could always take it off or ride slower on that descent. – user66598 Mar 23 '24 at 12:24
  • That is a good observation about Da Brim, one must consider this before purchasing.
    I wear glasses and have always worn long visors to stop the rain drops falling into my glasses and blurring my vision. I don't think visors would have the same flapping issue as a brim. I don't have an issue with sun on my face although sweat running down on my glasses can be annoying, I keep going until I get a chance to clean them up with my cotton top. Sometimes my glasses get foggy when I stop, but once I get moving the condensation soon evaporates.     – MindDBike Mar 24 '24 at 12:00
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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 look 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 tho. 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 and 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 tho (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 theses 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 beathable 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.

user66598
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