Product

EltaMD UV Clear Tinted: Dermatologist Review

The same formula as EltaMD UV Clear, with iron oxides added for a sheer tint. The tint cancels the white cast — up to a point.

Last Updated: September 8, 2026

Dermatologist's Verdict

This is UV Clear with iron oxides added, and those pigments do real work: they cancel zinc's white cast and block visible light, which drives melasma and dark marks that plain SPF does not stop. Apply a full quarter-teaspoon. On deep skin tones, buy UV Clear Deep Tinted instead.

Strongly recommendedRecommendedMixedNot recommendedAvoid

The cheat sheetKey Facts

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Key active	Zinc oxide 9% + octinoxate 7.5% (SPF 46)
Texture	Lightweight, tinted lotion; matte finish
Best for	Oily, acne-prone, or rosacea-prone skin that wants light coverage
Approximate price	$41–45
Fragrance	None
Essential oils	None
Drying alcohol	phenoxyethanol
Lanolin	None

The short versionWhat It Is

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EltaMD UV Clear Tinted is a lightweight, oil-free SPF 46 face sunscreen, sold in dermatology offices and online for about $41 to $45. It is the same formula as EltaMD UV Clear with iron oxides added for a sheer tint. It is a sunscreen with a hint of color, not a foundation, and it will not cover a blemish.

The filters are zinc oxide 9%, which sits on the surface and blocks the full ultraviolet range, and octinoxate 7.5%, which absorbs UVB. Alongside them sit 5% niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and lactic acid in an oil-free base. That is why it dries matte and does not feel heavy on skin that already makes plenty of oil.

Where it earns its keepWhat It Treats

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Melasma

Works well

Melasma pigment cells react to visible light, not only ultraviolet, which is why a plain sunscreen often is not enough. Iron oxides block visible light, and they are what makes this version tinted. For melasma, choose this over the untinted one.

Rosacea

Works some

Rosacea skin flushes easily, and ultraviolet light is a reliable trigger. The iron oxides that make this tint also cancel red, so it takes down the color while it removes the trigger. It carries 5% niacinamide too, often chosen for flush-prone skin.

Acne

Barely works

Acne-prone skin already produces more oil than the pore can clear, so an oil-free base matters. Nothing here adds to that, and the tint means you are not layering foundation over a breakout just to hide redness.

Oily Skin

Good fit

The base is oil-free and the finish is matte, so it does not slide off or turn shiny by lunchtime. That is why people who dislike sunscreen keep using this one.

Don't expect miraclesNot the Best For

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Dry Skin (Xerosis)

Poor fit

The finish is matte and built for oily skin. Dry skin will want moisturizer underneath, or UV Daily instead.

How it feelsTexture

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A thin tinted lotion that spreads easily and dries matte. It does not leave the white cast a mineral-only sunscreen leaves, because the iron oxides cancel it.

The tint is sheer. It evens skin tone and softens redness, and that is all. It will not hide a spot.

There is only one shade, scoped to light through medium-deep skin. On deep skin it reads ashy or too light, which is why UV Clear Deep Tinted exists. It sits under makeup without pilling.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Ointment

Almost all oil, no water. Sits on top and seals.

Good for very dry, cracked or raw skin. Easiest to use at night. Too greasy for most faces during the day.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Balm

Waxy and solid until it warms in your hands.

Good for dry patches, lips and hands. Useful in cold, windy weather. Heavy on the face.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Cream

Thick blend of oil and water.

Good for normal to dry skin. Good in winter. May be too thick for summer.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Oil

All oil, but spreads far thinner than an ointment.

Good layered over a moisturizer on dry skin. Sinks in faster than an ointment. Some oils clog pores on acne-prone skin.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Lotion · this one

Mostly water. Pours and sinks in fast.

Good for normal skin and for large areas like arms and legs. Comfortable in summer. Often not enough for very dry skin.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Gel

Water based, no oil. Cool and slippery.

Good for oily and acne-prone skin. Good in heat and humidity. The alcohol in some gels stings broken skin.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Serum

Thin and watery. Absorbs in seconds.

Usually carries active ingredients rather than moisture. Layers under a moisturizer. Rarely enough on its own for dry skin.

‹ HeavierLighter ›

Spray

A fine mist. Barely there.

Good for the back and other spots that are hard to reach. Easy in summer. Does little for very dry skin.

The house rulesHow to Use EltaMD UV Clear Tinted

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How much: About a quarter teaspoon for the face alone. Sunscreen is rated at a thicker layer than most people apply, and half the amount does not give you half the SPF — it gives you far less.

Where: Face, ears, the sides and back of the neck, and the hairline. Those are the spots people miss and where damage shows up.

Reapply: Every two hours outdoors, and after sweating or swimming. A tinted sunscreen is easier to top up over makeup than a white one.

What to expect: Nothing you can feel, because sun protection is prevention. Judge it over months, on whether you burn and whether pigment stays put.

Where It Fits in Your Routine

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Pick what fits you and the routine rebuilds around it. EltaMD UV Clear Tinted is marked in the steps it belongs to.

This product is good for

What's insideHow EltaMD UV Clear Tinted Works

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A sunscreen has two ways to work. Mineral filters such as zinc oxide sit on the surface and block ultraviolet light. Chemical filters such as octinoxate absorb it and release the energy as heat. This one uses both, zinc oxide 9% and octinoxate 7.5%, which is how it reaches SPF 46 while staying thin enough to wear under makeup.

The tint is the part worth understanding. Iron oxides are mineral pigments, and they block visible light, which ultraviolet filters do not. Visible light drives melasma and dark marks, so a tinted sunscreen protects against something the untinted version cannot.

The rest of the formula is aimed at skin that dislikes sunscreen: oil-free, matte, 5% niacinamide. If you were going to wear light makeup anyway, this replaces it. The limit is the single shade, which does not work on deep skin tones.

Tap an ingredient to see where it works

In the pore

Sunscreen works before anything else does: it stops the light that switches pigment cells on and damages DNA from reaching them. Nothing that fades a mark can outrun light still landing on it every day. A mineral filter. It sits on the surface and covers UVA and UVB.

Zinc oxide sits on the skin as a mineral particle and does not cross the barrier. Staying on top is the requirement, not a limitation — it has to be between the light and the skin.

The outer film of dead cells and oil. It holds water in and keeps irritants out, and it is thinner than a sheet of paper. Almost every dry, itchy, stinging skin problem starts here.

The outer layer, and the only one anything in a jar reaches. It renews itself constantly: a cell made at the bottom takes about a month to reach the surface and flake off. Most of what a skincare product does, it does here.

The living layer underneath, holding the blood vessels, the nerves and the collagen. It is where lasting change happens and it is hard to reach: most of what is sold for the skin never gets this far.

Short list or longNumber of Ingredients

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This is how many ingredients are on the label. The more a product contains, the more chances one of them bothers you. That matters most if you have sensitive skin, eczema, or a known allergy. If your skin tolerates most things, a long list is not a problem by itself.

This product has
19 ingredients

16 ingredients

EltaMD UV Clear

18 ingredients

EltaMD UV Daily

19 ingredients

EltaMD UV Clear Tinted · this one

27 ingredients

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Light Fluid Facial Sunscreen

39 ingredients

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Mineral Ultra-Light Face Sunscreen

51 ingredients

SCINIC Enjoy All Round Airy Sun Cushion EX SPF 50

1651

21 sunscreens reviewed, from EltaMD UV Clear (16) to SCINIC Enjoy All Round Airy Sun Cushion EX SPF 50 (51). Tap a dot to see which.

Full Ingredient List

Active ingredients: Zinc Oxide 9.0% Sunscreen Octinoxate 7.5% Sunscreen Inactive ingredients: purified water, cyclopentasiloxane, nicacinamide, octyldodecyl neopentanoate, butylene glycol, hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, polyisobutene, PEG-7 trimethylolpropane coconut ether, sodium hyaluronate, tocopheryl acetate, lactic acid, oleth-3 phosphate, phenoxyethanol, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, isopropyl palmitate, octyl stearate, iron oxides, triethoxycaprylylsilane KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN Labeling 02520A UV Clear Tinted New Artwork

The fine printA Dermatologist’s Concerns

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May not match deep skin tones: one tint is not one tint for everyone. EltaMD scopes this shade to light through medium-deep skin. On deep skin tones it reads ashy or too light.

A separate version exists for deep skin: use UV Clear Deep Tinted instead — a separate product made for exactly this problem. Do not settle for the standard tint and hope.

The tint does not cover blemishes: the tint is sheer, not coverage. Set expectations accordingly.

It contains octinoxate and costs about $45: same octinoxate note as the untinted version, and the same $45-ish price.

What it runsPrice per Ounce

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EltaMD UV Clear Tinted costs $28 per ounce. That is cheaper than 5 of the other 19 sunscreens priced on Dermapedia, which run from $6.33 to $233 per ounce.

Sunscreen only protects at the dose it was tested at, which is about a quarter teaspoon for the face and neck. Used that way a bottle empties in weeks, so the per-ounce figure understates what a year of daily wear costs.

This product costs
$28 per ounce

$6.33 per oz

Black Girl Sunscreen $6.33

$22 per oz

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Light Fluid Facial Sunscreen $22

$24–$25 per oz

EltaMD UV Daily $24

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Mineral Ultra-Light Face Sunscreen $25

$26–$28 per oz

EltaMD UV Clear $26

EltaMD UV Clear Tinted · this one $28

$233 per oz

Supergoop! (Re)setting Powder $233

$6.33$233

20 sunscreens priced, from Black Girl Sunscreen ($6.33) to Supergoop! (Re)setting Powder ($233). Priced on the 1.7 oz size at $47.00. The scale is logarithmic. Tap a dot to see which. Prices current as of September 2026.

Its siblingsThe Rest of the Line

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EltaMD's daily sunscreens share the same zinc-plus-chemical filter approach. The choice is how heavy the base is, and whether you want a tint.

Matte and oil-freeDewy and hydrating

UV Clear

The untinted original. Oil-free and matte, with niacinamide, built for skin that breaks out or flushes.

UV Clear Tinted

The same formula with iron oxides. The tint cancels the cast and screens visible light, which matters for melasma.

You are here

UV Daily Tinted

A dewier base with hyaluronic acid, also tinted. Pick it if your skin is dry rather than oily.

UV Daily

The same dewy base without the tint.

Shop aroundSimilar Products

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These are the options if the shade does not match, if you want a dewier finish, or if you want to spend less. For pigment, look for iron oxides in whatever you choose.

EltaMD UV Clear

The untinted version of the same oil-free formula with 5% niacinamide. Choose it if you want no tint.

About the same

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Tinted Sunscreen SPF 50

Also tinted with iron oxides, and sold in four shades rather than one. Fully mineral, so it suits skin that reacts to chemical filters.

About the same

EltaMD UV Daily Tinted Sunscreen

The same tint in a hydrating base with hyaluronic acid and petrolatum. Better on dry or mature skin.

About the same

Questions Patients Ask

Is EltaMD UV Clear Tinted mineral or chemical?

Both. It uses zinc oxide and octinoxate.

Does EltaMD UV Clear Tinted match deep skin tones?

The standard tint goes to medium-deep. Deeper tones should use UV Clear Deep Tinted.

Does EltaMD UV Clear Tinted help with melasma?

Yes. The iron oxides block visible light, which drives melasma.

Is EltaMD UV Clear Tinted good for acne-prone skin?

Yes. It is oil-free with niacinamide.

What SPF is EltaMD UV Clear Tinted?

SPF 46.

References

Photoprotection against visible light-induced pigmentationConfirms that visible light induces skin pigmentation (especially in darker skin) and that iron oxide pigment protects against visible-light-induced pigmentation, backing the claim that iron oxides block visible light and add protection the untinted version lacks.
Near-visible light and UV photoprotection in the treatment of melasma: a double-blind randomized trialRandomized trial showing an iron-oxide sunscreen that also blocks visible light improved melasma more than a UV-only sunscreen, backing the claim that a tinted sunscreen protects against visible light that drives melasma and outperforms an untinted version.
Melasma: Diagnosis and treatment (American Academy of Dermatology)AAD guidance that sunlight darkens melasma and that dermatologists recommend tinted sunscreens containing iron oxide and zinc oxide, supporting the use of a tinted sunscreen for rosacea/melasma and the white-cast/redness rationale for the tint.