If you’re a beauty junkie worth your makeup brushes, then you might know about the much-famed BB cream. The BB creams are like tinted moisturizers on steroids. These beauty or blemish creams hydrate your skin and even out skin tones. They treat your skin with antioxidants or other anti-aging ingredients plus they also offer broad-spectrum SPF.
This BB cream for sensitive skin that was once imported from Asia can now be found on your drugstore shelves. Korean girls love it because it pledges a more natural-looking skin coverage. Plus your skin gets exposed to fewer chemicals when you use this multi-functional cream. If you don’t have one in your makeup kit, you soon will.
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Who needs the best BB cream?
Everyone. But the best candidates for BB creams are those with normal to oily skin and light to medium skin tone. And those who don’t need moisturizers and anti-acne products.
A few years ago BBs came for only one skin type. You’ll be lucky if you find two shades. Thankfully now you can choose an array of formulas and colors at any drug store or cosmetics counter.
If you have shine issues, look in for an oil-free foundation. Hyaluronic acid and glycerin are moisturizing powerhouses. BB cream formulation containing these ingredients are best suited for those with dry or dehydrated skin.
BB Creams for sensitive skin contains mineral pigments that are well tolerated by your delicate skin. Try to go for fragrance-free formulation because it makes irritated skin feel better. These creams moisturize and make your dull skin more radiant. If you want a younger looking skin, BB creams will give you a healthy glow and reduce fine lines and wrinkles over time.
What is BB cream?
“Beauty or blemish balm (BB) “moisturizes, protects, and corrects, consolidating your skin-perfecting products into one product. Beyond regular foundations and tinted moisturizers, BB creams offer broad-spectrum SPF, antioxidants, and depending upon the formula you choose, other skin-improving ingredients,” dermatologist Sung-Jae Jung, MD, founder of BB staple Dr. Jart+ tells Elle.
The earliest version of BB cream was developed in Germany during the 1950’s by dermatologist Christine Schrammek, M.D. She intended to provide soothing cream to patients recovering from surgery or laser procedures. In the 1980’s BB creams were introduced to the Korean market.
It quickly became popular throughout Asia when the creamy-skinned Korean damsels began touting the product. The Korean celebrities became obsessed with the product and attributed it to their flawless skin calling it their miracle cream.
BB creams are the ultimate all-in-one product. They offer high sun protection, cover imperfections, prevent pimples and contain anti-aging, skin soothing properties. The creams prime your skin and even out the excess shine. BB creams contain a creamy texture than most tinted moisturizers. They offer more coverage than tinted moisturizers, though a bit less than foundation.
Sensitive skin: Sensitive skin may get easily irritated. If you have sensitive skin, several emotional and environmental factors like stress, household pets, change of weather, and even dust can affect it. Sensitive skin occurs when the nerve endings in the top layer of the skin become easily irritated.
This action occurs because your skin’s natural barrier function gets weakened and has broken down due to a trigger. Some common causes of sensitive skin include exposure to air pollution, sun exposure, cold, lack of sleep, hormonal changes, chlorine in swimming pools, dry and dehydrated skin.
If you have sensitive skin you’ll often feel tight and uncomfortable, your skin needs extra hydration, can be oily in summer, dries out in flights, flushes out quickly after a spicy meal, has patches of redness, reacts to skin care, has areas of uneven texture with dryness and flakiness. Your sensitive skin becomes itchy or develops a rash after contact with irritants, hot water or synthetic fibers. So do your homework and choose the best drugstore BB cream for sensitive skin.
How to choose the right one for you: Consider it your skincare and find the right one for you. Determine your skin type whether you have problem skin, oily skin, dry skin or whether you have aging concerns or just want a healthy glow. Check whether you like the smell of the BB cream because it is often perfumed. Make sure it blends with your skin perfectly.
Consider the properties of the cream whether it’s skin whitening, moisturizing, priming your skin, blocking UV rays, tinting the skin, refracting the light to make it more radiant, providing anti-aging components or enriching your skin with vitamins. Read the reviews of the BB cream.
If you have sensitive skin, then choose the best BB cream for sensitive skin. Go in for the tone that matches your skin the best. Get a sample and try it during the day. See how it looks in the natural and artificial light. It is better if you wear the cream in a variety of settings before making the purchase.
Can you use a BB cream if you have sensitive skin: Sure, since chemical sunscreens can be irritating, you can use a BB cream with a mineral sunscreen. While selecting your best drugstore BB cream for sensitive skin look for formulas that infuse soothing skin ingredients like chamomile and vitamin E.
Go in for BB Cream for sensitive skin that is free of chemical sunscreens offering sun protection through zinc oxide and titanium oxide and contains soothing plant extracts. If you have sensitive skin it’s always better you do a patch test before trying any new BB Cream for sensitive skin. Gently apply the cream to your inner wrist, if you have no redness or irritation after 24 hours then you’re all clear.
How to apply: Find what the BB cream offers. Know when and why to use the BB cream. You can apply balmy BB creams with your fingers because the heat of your skin melts it and makes it easier to apply. Gently squeeze a puddle of BB cream onto the back of your hand. Dip your finger into the pool and use it in dots on the forehead, nose, on either side of your cheek and chin.
Use your index finger and middle finger to pat the cream on your face gently. Rub the best drugstore BB cream on your skin using a circular motion, tap your fingers up and down as you rub. This light gentle pressure spreads the BB cream for sensitive skin evenly without irritating your skin.
If you’re not fond of the patting technique, try to apply gentle pressure with your index and middle fingertips and blend each dab of cream using outward strokes. Use milder pressure when you reach the eye area. Wait a few minutes for your BB cream for the problematic skin to dry, then if any particular areas need extra coverage, you can dab another thin layer of the BB cream for problematic skin over them.
Applying best drugstore BB cream with a sponge: if you have oily skin, then sponge application is best suited for you. If you have oily skin applying the best BB cream for women with your fingers can add more oil to your skin. A brush is difficult to use because it is less forceful.
Spritz the facial sponge with a moisturizing spritz. Get the small amount of the BB cream for women on the back of your hand. Gently apply it in dots with your fingertips. Smooth the BB cream into your skin using the sponge with gentle outward strokes. Lessen the pressure around the eye area.
Applying BB cream with a brush: this method is suitable for dry skin and works exceptionally well if you use liquid BB creams. Squeeze a small puddle into the palm of your hand. Apply dots to your forehead, nose, two cheeks, and chin. Gently smooth the BB cream using the brush. Use firm, even, outward brush strokes to spread the best drugstore BB cream over your face and into your skin.
What is in a BB cream?
BB cream stands for Beauty Balm. As the name implies, they tend to take care of all your beauty needs in just one product. “The trend took off in Asia, where most BB creams have heavy foundation coverage plus botanical ingredients that offer long-term skin-lightening properties.” “In the U.S., BBs tend to have lighter coverage and are used as a makeup primer or tinted moisturizer. Instead of lightening skin, they focus on hydration, blemishes, and anti-aging,” says star dermatologist Howard Murad to makeup.com.
The active ingredients found in BB creams are at a reduced concentration than those in the treatment products. The reduced amounts of ingredients produce gradual results. Though separate potions, lotions, and serums may give you more dramatic results, the catch is that you should apply them all without forgetting any one of them. The BB cream doesn’t have quite so much oomph, but they drastically simplify your routine and treat multiple issues at once.
Most BB creams contain some level of SPF and tint. These creams can vary beyond those guarantees. So the steps to identify your best drugstore BB cream is to determine your most crucial skin issue and then to find a formula containing the ingredients to address it. Below we’ve given you some key components and products to try out based on your varying skin needs.
Check for brands that contain licorice extract or arbutin if you have uneven pigmentation. These ingredients help to promote an evener skin tone. If you want to repair sun damage go in for brands that contain antioxidants like green tea extract and vitamin C. For fine lines, look for peptides since they help stimulate collagen production. If you have oily skin look for mattifiers and salicylic acid to keep your pores clear. For combination skin check out an oil-free hydrating formulation.
How safe is ingredients in BB Creams: if you’re choosing BB cream for sensitive skin you must read the label carefully and use EWG’s Skin Deep Database to check out the scores for the brand you’re considering. But you’re better off using a BB cream because EWG’s analysis shows that if you use a typical BB cream, you would be exposed to an average of 40 ingredients while using three separate products such as foundation, concealer and moisturizing sunscreen you would be exposed to an average of 70 ingredients.
The number of chemicals matters most because the more chemicals to which you’re getting exposed, the more likely you’re to enter a hazardous zone. Some of the BB creams that EWG analyzed contained up to five dangerous ingredients including retinyl palmitate and oxybenzone. Some harmful chemicals that fall under the “umbrella term” fragrance can be present in your BB cream for problematic skin.
They include phthalates: potent hormone disruptors linked to reproductive system congenital disabilities in baby boys. Octoxynols and nonoxynols: disintegrate into potent hormone disruptors. Citral, eugenol, coumarin, and geraniol can cause allergies and contact dermatitis. They have been banned or restricted by the European Union.
The BB creams for women may contain antiageing components such as peptides and antioxidants such as vitamins E, A and C and moisturizing ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid. Ingredients like arbutin and licorice are added to even out skin tone. The formulation may include light-reflecting mica to give your skin a luminous finish. Silicone-based ingredients such as dimethicone that help smooth your skin acting as a foundation primer dose may also be present in BB creams.
For people with sensitive skin, it’s always best to go in for organic BB cream for sensitive skin. The ingredients present in natural BB creams include aloe vera, green tea extract, white tea extract, pomegranate, avocado and jojoba oils, prickly pear oil, vegetable glycerin, quince seeds and rose petal extracts, rosehip and grapeseed oils.
You can find extracts of St. John’s wort, chamomile, calendula, plantain and algae, beeswax, Sodium Hyaluronate, argan oil and natural minerals. These products may vary depending on the formulation of the BB cream.
Tips to buy BB cream: BB creams offer more coverage than a tinted moisturizer but less coverage than a foundation. So it conceals minor skin imperfections to create a skin tone that looks natural even without making you look overdone. In a BB cream for women, a primer is included along with the moisturizer to facilitate a smooth one-step application.
BB creams have formulations for light moisture for normal skin to rich moisture for dry skin. So when you are shopping for the BB cream for sensitive skin, narrow down your choices for the level of moisture you need, then consider all the other factors. Check whether your BB cream has sun protection and make sure that the SPF is high enough for your needs.
Many BB creams for problematic skin contain anti-aging ingredients. They help soften your skin and significantly reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. BB creams are formulated with skin tone correctors to even out dark spots and discoloration over time.
What are the points to consider while using BB cream?
BB creams are the jack of all trades. They have good SPF and can provide excellent color coverage, but they don’t efficiently moisturize. It is challenging to load all the functions into a single product and end up with a light texture. Sometimes you’ll find that your BB creams are thicker than your tinted moisturizers.
It’s difficult to find a BB cream that matches your skin color perfectly. These creams tend to come in a small range of shades. Another limitation is that the best drugstore BB cream for sensitive skin does not contain acne-fighting ingredients. FDA regulations do not allow acne fighting and SPF combined in a single product.
What are the best BB creams for sensitive skin?
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Dr. Jart+ Waterfuse Beauty Balm
Overview:
This BB Cream for sensitive skin is formulated with unique Water Bead Technology. It helps to hydrate and maintain healthy moisture for a dewy fresh look. It features SPF 25 sun protection and comes in one universal shade.
Like a drink for your skin, once when you apply this BB cream for sensitive skin, droplets of water appear before getting absorbed. These water droplets provide an instant soothing and cooling effect. This oil-free balm contains sunscreen ingredients that protect your skin from a broad range of UVA and UVB radiation. So your skin looks smooth, perfect, and natural.
This product is formulated without sulfates and phthalates. It is fragrance-free and also suitable for acne-prone skin. It does not cause you to break out.
“I love this stuff! Dr. Jart’s Waterfuse BB cream is a fantastic sheer-yet-buildable formula that is great for all skin tones. It’s noncomedogenic and has never caused a hint of irritation or breakouts on my sensitive skin. I’m very pale, but spend quite a bit of time outdoors in warmer weather. This blends seamlessly into my ghost-like winter skin tone but works through the summer, too.”
“I love that it includes an SPF 25 for added sun protection, but would suggest an additional sunscreen underneath if you’re planning on a day with a lot of sun exposure. This is a five-star product – I can be extremely fickle with cosmetics, but I’ve been using the Waterfuse BB cream for about five years now. The tube lasts forever, so it is a good value despite the higher price,” writes Wendy a satisfied Amazon customer.
Pros
- Fragrance free
- Sulphates and phthalates free
- Noncomodegenic
- Good coverage
- SPF 25
Cons
- Some customers say it is greasy and thick
100% Pure All Natural Organic Glowing Flawless Complexion BB Cream
Overview:
This BB Cream for sensitive skin has a luxurious formulation, which leaves you with flawless, glowing and illuminated complexion. It gives you full to medium coverage that still looks 100% natural. This enriching formula is packed with thousands of light reflective pigments which radiates your beauty. The ingredients include lavender, rosemary, shea butter and vitamin E.
“I love this product. …This is so lightweight and feels kind of like your putting coconut creme on your face; quite oily and therefore shiny, but my skin just loves it. The minerals in it also make it shiny but in a pretty glowing way. And if you have a matte powder foundation you can use it over this with no problems. It feels like I am pampering my skin and it has just enough coverage to help even put my skin tone. Win-Win,” writes Cora2508 a verified purchase customer.
Pros
- 100% Natural
- Contains light reflective pigments
Cons
- Can make skin oily
Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream
Overview:
This BB cream for sensitive skin is 100% natural and cruelty-free. It is infused with coconut water, plant cells and hyaluronic acid to plump up your skin. It does not contain parabens, phthalates, animal ingredients, gluten, sulfates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, petroleum, peanut oil, triclosan, and other components you don’t want on your skin.
“Love this! I find foundations too heavy on my skin this is perfect and light and evens out my skin tone. I use just this and a mineral base powder, and it makes my complexion look great!” writes a happy Amazon customer.
Pros
- Vegan
- Cruelty free
- Free of parabens and phthalates
Cons
- Makes skin look oily
Alpha Omega Naturals BB Cream
Overview:
This BB cream for sensitive skin provides deep moisturizing and long-lasting hydration. It makes your skin soft, healthy and young. This cream is formulated for all skin types. This BB Cream for sensitive skin helps repair cellular degeneration and sun damage. It improves the elasticity of your skin.
“Used it for four days straight and really like the effects! Very smooth skin” writes Jenn Elly a verified Amazon customer.
Pros
- Hydrates skin
- Extremely lightweight, non-drying clear formula
Cons
- None
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Our choice for the best BB cream for sensitive skin
After careful research, we found that Dr. Jart+ Waterfuse Beauty Balm to be the best BB Cream for sensitive skin. This product is formulated with 50% percent water. It hydrates your skin and gives a fresh, dewy look. It’s fragrance-free and great for acne-prone skin.
“I love this product. I tried different brands of bb cream but like this one best. This is a third tube I purchased. Normally I buy from Sephora, one day I decided to check on Amazon, and voila it is available for a lot less!!! Will continue to buy this item from Amazon,” says Valerie Kaneko a verified purchaser.
This BB cream for sensitive skin has SPF 25 sun protection. This formulation treats your skin with high levels of active skincare ingredients. It moisturizes and smoothens dehydrated skin; prime and perfect skin’s surface; protect skin from the sun with SPF camouflage and color correct the skin tone. You enjoy all these benefits at reasonable prices. A majority of reviewers are happy with this product.
In our opinion we found Dr. Jart+ Waterfuse Beauty Balm to be the best of the best.
