5 Best Cruelty-Free and Vegan Moisturizers With SPF in 2023

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You already know that sunscreen is a good thing if you’re here, so I won’t waste any time trying to convince you.

But most sunscreens are not vegan, and some of the ones that are will leave you with dry skin.

That’s why I set out to find the best vegan moisturizers that have a decent SPF level.

All-in-one protection, that also doesn’t smell bad, leave chalky residue, or cause any other skin issues.

It took my about 4 hours of researching to come up with these 5 options, mainly because it often takes a lot of research to find out if a product is or isn’t vegan.

I am very confident that the 5 moisturizers on this page are vegan. I’ll explain why for each one individually later.

Non-Vegan Ingredients in Moisturizers With SPF to Avoid

If you end up looking at products not from this page, you should know what to look for.

It’s tough to know just from the ingredients label if a sunscreen or moisturizer is vegan, but here are a few ingredients that are clear signs that it isn’t vegan:

  • Beeswax – often used in moisturizers and isn’t vegan.
  • Chitin – Mainly comes from crushed up insects and crustaceans.
  • Collagen – Comes from animal connective tissue (lab-made collagen isn’t quite there yet).
  • Lanolin – Comes from the oil in sheep’s wool and isn’t ever vegan.
  • Stearic acid – Can come from plants, but usually comes from animals. You’ll need to contact the company.
  • Glycerin/Glycerol (same things) – Glycerol can be vegan if it comes from plants, but it often comes from animal sources. Vegan glycerol is usually clearly labeled “vegetable glycerin.”

The Top 5 Vegan Moisturizers With SPF by Cost, Rating, and SPF Level

I included all of the best products I could find on this page because everyone’s looking for different things.

The table below will let you sort by price, SPF level, EWG score, or average review rating.

If you’re not familiar with the EWG score, it’s a score from 1-10 that rates how safe the ingredients in a cosmetic is. A lower score is better, “1” is ideal. (Not surprisingly most vegan products are fairly “natural” and safe, and have a good EWG score).

Also note that the “cost” score is based on the price per mL (or oz). That let’s us fairly compare the cost.

I’ve gone into more detail for each product below the table.

NameSPFEWG ScoreCostRating (/5)
Andalou Naturals Daily Defense182$4.4
Mario Badescu Aloe Moisturizer15N/A$$$4.3
Beauty By Earth Facial Sunscreen201$$4.1
Earth Science Almond Aloe Moisturizer 152$3.9
Block Island Organics Face Moisturizer 301$$3.8

It’s hard to go wrong with any of these, but one is probably better for you than the rest, so hopefully this helps you find it.

Andalou Naturals Daily Defense Facial Lotion Review (SPF 18)

andalou naturals daily defense

SPF 18

Size: 2.7oz (80mL)

Highlights:

  • Amazing reviews – it seems universally loved.
  • About as cheap as you’ll find for a vegan moisturizer with SPF.
  • Contains CoQ10 with resveratrol and antioxidants for moisturizing.

Andalou’s facial lotion with SPF was the highest rated overall, and somehow costs the lowest per mL/oz.

It’s certified vegan and cruelty-free on the label, which made it easy to identify as vegan.

All the ingredients are “natural,” which basically means you can understand what the ingredients are. For example, here are the main ingredients:

Aloe leaf juice, aqua, vegetable glycerin, cetyl alcohol

There’s no weird chemical names that you have no idea if they are vegan or not.

It’s meant to be applied daily, either by itself or under makeup. It should last for 2 hours of sun exposure each time it’s applied.

As far as safety concerns go, it’s rated 2/10 by EWG, which is a very good score (although not perfect).

andalou ewg score

In summary: Andalou Naturals Daily Defense is a highly effective moisturizer with a decent level of SPF, and is surprisingly affordable. It’s the best overall in my opinion.

Mario Badescu Aloe Moisturizer Review (SPF 15)

mario badescu aloe moisturizer

SPF 15

Size: 2oz (59mL)

Highlights:

  • Lightweight – good if you have sensitive or oily skin.
  • Combines well with other skin products.
  • Intended for day use only.

This aloe moisturizer is highly rated overall, and has very few “bad” reviews. Even then, most bad reviews are silly complaints about shipping.

I had to do some research to confirm that it was vegan, because there’s no clear label. But all the ingredients on their official site appear to be vegan to me.

Additionally, Ethical Elephant lists this specific product as vegan. They evaluate products not just based on ingredients, but any records of animal testing as well.

That’s enough for me to be confident that it is vegan.

Back to the product…

It’s definitely on the expensive side, but it’s a very lightweight moisturizer, so you only need a small amount. It should last a reasonable amount of time.

Unfortunately, it was the one product here that hasn’t been tested by EWG, so there’s no score we can look at. If you care at all about EWG scores, go with any of the other 4 here.

In summary: Marios Badescu Aloe Moisturizer is very popular and offers a baseline of sun protection. It’s lightweight and goes well with makeup. However, there’s no EWG score available, which may influence your decision.

Beauty By Earth Facial Sunscreen Review (SPF 20)

beauty by earth facial sunscreen

SPF 20

Size: 2oz (59mL)

Highlights:

  • Organic ingredients.
  • Rated a 1/10 by EWQ (as good as it gets).
  • Contains aloe vera leaf extract, vitamin E, and green tea extract to moisturize.
  • Active sunblock ingredient is zinc oxide (doesn’t get absorbed into skin).

This is clearly labeled as vegan-friendly and cruelty-free.

Beauty By Earth is the type of company I like buying from, they’re very concerned with ethical products in general.

This might be the most well-rounded moisturizer with SPF. The price, SPF content, and even ratings are all in the middle of the products on this list.

EWG doesn’t have data for the current product, but they do for the 2015 formulation of it. It scored 1/10, which is perfect, and I doubt that score would change much if updated.

beauty by earth ewg

In summary: Highly rated product created by an ethical company. It’s as safe as you can get, and offers a little extra SPF than most of the other moisturizers here.

Earth Science Almond Aloe Moisturizer Review (SPF 15)

earth science sunscreen moisturizer

SPF 15

Size: 5oz (150mL)

Highlights:

  • Most people rate highly, but a few reports of it causing breakouts.
  • Very little scent.
  • Cheap.

I think this is a good product, but Earth Science does a really terrible job on packaging and marketing.

There’s not too much information on their product pages, so while I was able to dig up on their FAQs that the product is vegan, and it’s not tested on animals, it shouldn’t be that hard.

There’s not too much more information about the product, so I can’t say much about it.

A few things to be aware of is that it is intended to be used with makeup. It can even be used in place of a makeup primer.

On EWG, Earth Science scores 2/10, which is very good.

earth science ewg

External reviews are largely positive, although a decent amount of customers don’t like the smell.

In summary: Earth Science’s Aloe Moisturizer provides a bit of SPF protection, for a good cost, and is good if you’re not too picky about scent.

Block Island Organics Natural Face Moisturizer Review (SPF 30)

block island face moisturizer

SPF 30

Size: 3.4oz (100mL)

Highlights:

  • Highest SPF on the list here.
  • 1/10 EWG rating.
  • Sunblock’s active ingredient is zinc.
  • Many complaints of it being too “sticky”.

While this is “last place” on this list, it’s still a good product for the right situation.

It’s more of a sunscreen than a moisturizer. The SPF being 30 is relatively high, and while it does have some moisturizing ingredients (Aloe vera gel, shea butter, green tea extract, etc.), sun protection is the main goal.

This is the best option for you if you’re intending to be out in the sun a lot. But it’s not the best for everyday casual use, mainly because it’s thicker than all the others, which are lightweight.

One other positive aspect of it is the 1/10 score it has on EWG:

block island ewg score

It’s safe to use and a decent product at a medium price point.

In summary: Block Islands Natural Face Moisturizer with SPF is best if you care more about sun protection than moisturization. It has a thicker, “sticky” texture, that makes it more ideal for beach use than office use.

 

About the author

Dale Cudmore

Your friendly neighborhood vegan from Toronto. I've spent over 6 years as a freelance nutrition writer and researcher. During this time, I've tested over 50 vegan protein powders, and over 100 other types of vegan supplements.