NIVEA Protect & Moisture Sun Lotion SPF50+ for combination skin
High
- SuperiorCombination Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- HighSafety
A great choice for combination skin; a few sunscreens fit it even better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with combination skin: an oily T-zone, enlarged pores, and dry cheeks. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers excellent UV protection for your combination skin, with butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane and bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine shielding against sun damage, while glycerin and dimethicone provide balanced hydration and a smooth finish without clogging pores.
- While it offers general hydration benefits from glycerin and tocopheryl acetate, it does not specifically target the oily shine you are concerned about.
- The formula is safe for your combination skin, as it lacks prohibited or harsh ingredients that could cause irritation.
How to apply
- Apply this moisturizing sunscreen AM daily to protect your skin and control shine. Reapply as needed throughout the day.
- Use it as the final step of your morning routine after applying your moisturizer. It combines hydration and sun protection in one.
- Gently smooth a nickel-sized amount evenly over your face, avoiding harsh rubbing. Let it absorb fully before putting on makeup.
- Apply it directly to clean, dry skin for the best oil-controlling finish. Ensure your face is completely dry so the product sets properly.
- Avoid the immediate eye area during application. Do a patch test before your first use to check for any sensitivity.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 800+ reviewsUsers generally praise this lotion for its reliable high-level protection and moisturizing benefits, making it a favorite for those with dry skin who enjoy the classic "holiday" scent. Some users find the texture greasy or sticky on the face, and a significant number report that it can leave stubborn yellow stains on light-colored clothing.
Highlights
Reliable protection Mostly Mentioned
- “didn't burn once”
- “great protection for pale skin”
- “reliable in tropical sun”
Classic fragrance Often Mentioned
- “smells like holiday”
- “lovely traditional scent”
- “classic Nivea smell”
Moisturizing formula Often Mentioned
- “skin feels moisturized”
- “good for dry legs”
- “leaves skin soft”
Easy application Sometimes Noted
- “rubs in easily”
- “absorbs quickly”
- “good consistency”
Good value Sometimes Noted
- “great price”
- “good value for money”
- “affordable family option”
Greasy finish Sometimes Noted
- “too greasy for face”
- “leaves a shiny film”
- “feels sticky”
Stains clothing Sometimes Noted
- “ruined my white t-shirt”
- “yellow stains on clothes”
- “stained swimwear”
Eye irritation Rarely Noted
- “stings my eyes”
- “eyes watered badly”
- “burns if it gets in eyes”
Strong scent Rarely Noted
- “smell is too strong”
- “perfume irritated skin”
- “overpowering scent”
White cast Rarely Noted
- “leaves white marks”
- “ghostly look”
- “hard to rub in completely”
Sources: lovi.care, boots.com, superdrug.com, influenster.com, hometesterclub.com, amazon.co.uk, and more
Questions and answers
What makes NIVEA Protect & Moisture Sun Lotion SPF50+ a great fit for combination skin?
This sunscreen is a great fit because it offers strong sun protection while providing balanced moisture and a smooth finish that is unlikely to clog pores. It is also safe for your skin type, lacking harsh ingredients that could cause irritation.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2019
Which ingredients make this lotion a good fit for combination skin?
Butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane and bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine make this lotion a great fit by offering strong sun protection, while glycerin and dimethicone help keep your combination skin feeling smooth and hydrated without clogging pores. Chemical UV filters like avobenzone are also well tolerated and unlikely to cause skin irritation.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1987
What does Vitamin E do for combination skin?
Vitamin E helps balance combination skin by boosting moisture while calming redness and reducing oiliness in shiny areas. It is generally well-tolerated and may help protect the skin barrier, keeping both dry and oily patches comfortable and smooth.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020
What does Glycerin do for combination skin?
Glycerin helps keep combination skin soft and smooth by pulling moisture in and keeping it there. It improves hydration and supports your skin barrier, which is unlikely to cause irritation.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2008Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
Where does this lotion go in a skincare routine for combination skin?
This lotion goes as the final step of your morning skincare routine, right after your moisturizer. It provides strong sun protection and balanced hydration while remaining safe and gentle on your skin.
Can I use this lotion with retinol, and in what order?
Yes, you can use this moisturizing spf during your morning routine after applying your retinol treatment once it has fully absorbed. This product provides reliable sun protection and balanced hydration, which helps keep your skin comfortable throughout the day without causing irritation.
How often should I use this lotion?
Apply this sunscreen every morning as the final step in your daytime routine, reapplying throughout the day if you are out in the sun. Daily use helps shield your combination skin from sun damage while keeping it hydrated.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1987Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025
Can this lotion clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for combination skin?
This lotion is unlikely to clog pores on combination skin, as glycerin and dimethicone provide a smooth finish without blocking pores, and the formula lacks harsh ingredients that typically cause irritation or breakouts. Chemical sunscreens like the ones in this formula show minimal risks of skin irritation and sensitivity in human subjects.
Is this lotion fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It contains fragrance (linalool, benzyl alcohol, citronellol, and parfum) and drying alcohol (alcohol denat).
What the research says
Parsol 1789 and Eusolex 8020 provided slightly better photoprotection than oxybenzone in both normal and sensitized human skin when assessed using pigmentation end points, whereas all three sunscreens performed similarly against UVA-induced erythema.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1987Incorporation of avobenzone and oxybenzone into ordered mesoporous silica SBA-15 significantly reduced their cutaneous penetration and transdermal permeation in porcine skin compared to free filters, while enhancing the sun protection factor by 94%.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2019Encapsulating avobenzone in low-porosity TiO2-embedded mesoporous silica (TiO2/SBA-S) reduced cutaneous avobenzone absorption from 0.76 to 0.50 nmol/mg while providing effective pollutant adsorbability, UVA protection, and a two- to three-fold reduction in photoaged skin cytokines/chemokines compared to the non-treatment control.
European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2023Chemical sunscreens containing avobenzone, octocrylene, homosalate, and octisalate showed no to minimal risks of dermal irritation, sensitization, photo-allergy, and photo-irritation in human subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025Topical application of an antioxidant serum containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented particulate matter-induced degradation of extracellular matrix components, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the skin of 15 female volunteers compared to untreated controls.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Dermatological products containing d-alpha tocopheryl acetate showed non-comedogenic potential with less than a 50% increase in microcomedones in 12 healthy male subjects compared to octyl palmitate.
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021Topical application of an antioxidant mix containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented PM and UV-induced skin barrier perturbation, lipid peroxidation, inflammatory markers, MMP9 activation, and Type I collagen loss in 15 healthy females compared to untreated exposed skin.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Encapsulation of ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane in lipid microparticles significantly reduced their in vivo human skin penetration compared to nonencapsulated filters.
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2011Microencapsulation of the BMDBM/HP-beta-CD complex in lipid microparticles significantly decreased the percutaneous penetration of the UV filter into the stratum corneum of human volunteers compared to the non-encapsulated sunscreen agent.
Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 2011Following human skin application of an O/W emulsion containing 2% BMDBM loaded in lipospheres, 15% of the sunscreen accumulated in the uppermost layers of the stratum corneum without remarkably modifying skin permeation compared to unencapsulated sunscreen.
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2008Microfine titanium dioxide does not penetrate human skin when formulated in an oil-in-water emulsion with the pigment dispersed in the aqueous phase, compared to oily dispersions and liposomal encapsulation which allow deeper skin penetration.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2000Replacing microsized titanium dioxide and zinc oxide with nanoparticles in sunscreens eliminates opaqueness and alters UV protection balance while inducing (photo)cyto- and genotoxicity and penetrating viable skin layers during long-term exposures.
Nanotechnology, Science and Applications, 2011Microfine zinc oxide and titanium dioxide do not penetrate the stratum corneum of porcine skin in vitro, indicating that their use in sunscreens does not pose a health risk from internal exposure.
Toxicology in Vitro, 2006Simulated real-life dermal sunscreen exposure in twenty human volunteers leads to the systemic bioavailability and urinary excretion of the UV filter 2-ethylhexyl salicylate and its metabolite, reaching concentration peaks at 7 to 8 hours with 70-80% of overall excretion within 24 hours.
Archives of Toxicology, 2019The application of a sunscreen formulation containing ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, ethylhexyl salicylate, methyl anthranilate, and octocrylene does not significantly affect critical acne-related species such as Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, refuting the induction of facial dysbiosis in men.
Archives of Dermatological Research, 2024Controlled single dermal exposure to an EHS-containing sunscreen in three volunteers resulted in delayed systemic resorption with elimination half-lives between 6.6 and 9.7 hours, where the parent compound EHS occurred as the dominant urinary parameter.
Archives of Toxicology, 2024
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Alcohol Denat, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Cocoglycerides, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Titanium Dioxide, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate Dicaprate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Hydrogenated Rapeseed Oil, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Cellulose Gum, Behenyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Trisodium Edta, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Chloride, Dimethicone, Linalool, Benzyl Alcohol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Citronellol, Parfum
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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