Italians love to prendere il sole, which translates to sunbathing. Whether it’s at a park, garden or by the sea, people certainly don’t shy away from the sun here. We are in southern Europe after all, so we should take advantage of it. And after a long, rainy winter, your cold soul needs to be warmed, at least mine does. However, with melanoma rates on the rise worldwide over the past few decades, sunscreen has never been more important. In fact, researchers estimate that more than five sunburns in a lifetime can double a person’s risk for melanoma. But if you walk into an Italian pharmacy, the options can be a little overwhelming, especially if Italian isn’t your first language.
On social media, influencers love to share their favorite Italian pharmacy hauls, which usually include their favorite skincare finds. Rarely do these include sunscreens. Curious to find an answer on the best sunscreen I should stock up on this summer, I stopped at a handful of pharmacies across Florence and asked Italian pharmacists knowledgeable in skincare and dermatology what their favorite sunscreen is and why. The good news is that there seemed to be a general consensus that no bad sunscreens are sold at an Italian farmacia. “When I go on holiday, I just take whatever I find at the pharmacy,” Francesco, a pharmacist at Farmacia del Carmine, told me. “As long as I can find it, I’ll buy it, but I always choose high protection. I always go for high SPF, even though I have a medium skin type.”
However, a few names did stand out. Here’s what the pharmacists had to say.
Farmacisti Preparatori
Found at many pharmacies with an illuminated green cross, nearly all the pharmacists I spoke to recommended Farmacisti Preparatori when I asked what sunscreen they prefer. Filippo Fucile, a pharmacist at Farmacia del Pignone, told me that they are produced by the company Unifarco, which develops specific formulations for pharmacists in Italy. He said they are the most popular because they maintain extremely high standards while maintaining good prices. Since no advertising is involved, Fucile said, the price can sometimes be 30 per cent cheaper than other brands. “We’ve been selling them a lot for many years now,” he said. “We’ve never had anyone with allergies. They all have truly excellent results.” According to the Farmacisti Preparatori brand website, their sunscreens are based on a mixture of modern photostable sun filters and are environmentally friendly. It also has Vitamin E as back-up protection and a “next-generation tanning activator” that can help people achieve a more natural, golden tan. “Customers really like them, even all of us personally, in our families, all the children, we all use these,” Fucile said. “They’re the best-selling ones here.”
Anthelios La Roche-Posay
A popular one among social media influencers and mentioned frequently in beauty magazines, the French company La Roche-Posay was the second most recommended sunscreen that can be purchased at Italian pharmacies. When I asked a pharmacist at Farmacia Santa Trinita about the best sunscreen when leaving the house, she picked up a La Roche-Posay sunscreen. “They protect well and they don’t cause any reactions, and they’re reliable,” she said. According to L’Oréal, its parent company, La Roche-Posay is “the world’s leading dermatological brand” and recommended by more than 100,000 dermatologists internationally. This sunscreen is water and sweat resistant and also offers anti-pollution protection.
Caudalie
When I asked Francesco, a pharmacist at Farmacia del Carmine, what else he recommended, he mentioned the Caudalie spray. For everyday use, he said he prefers to do a spray simply because it’s more convenient. Caudalie, a French brand, specifically carries “high protection sun water” that’s an SPF 50. Customers say they like it because it’s not greasy or sticky. According to their website, its texture is “halfway between water and oil”, allowing it to absorb quickly. It is clinically proven to both hydrate skin and protect skin from the sun, according to the company.
Pharmacists I spoke to also recommended the Italian brands Bionike and Collistar as well as the French brand Avène. These brands can be found outside of Italian pharmacies.
If you happen to have any of these at home from last summer, make sure to check the PAO (formally known as the Period After Opening) to make sure your sunscreen hasn’t expired. This can be found near the icon that looks like an opened jar with “9M”, “12M” or “18M,” indicating that the product remains effective 9, 12 or 18 months after opening.
