Dr Barbara Sturm Sun Drops Spf 50 Review and rundown of the ingredients- Is it really worth the £100 price tag?

Barbara Sturm is one of those brands whose claims sound so right you really want to spend the money to see if they are too good to be true. Barbara Sturm herself is described as an aesthetics doctor on her site. She previously worked as an orthopaedic surgeon and worked on anti inflammatory treatments. Her skincare line builds on that anti inflammatory ethos and provides a simple range with a focus on skin nutrition. Barbara Sturm has a number of clinics around the world providing anti aging and brightening facials, I wish I could try one!

“Building on her platform of product performance and innovation, Dr. Sturm launched a full skincare range in 2014. The complete Dr. Barbara Sturm Molecular Cosmetics line is formulated for those who yearn for an uncomplicated, yet highly effective skincare regime that provides hydration, nutrition and regeneration glow.”

DrSturm.com

I am super honoured to have been sent a sample of Dr Barbara Sturm’s Sun Drops Spf 50 to try out. The fact that this product was gifted in no way affects my integrity and opinions written here are true. The links in the article may be affiliate.

Dr Barbara Sturm Sun Drops Ingredients

£45 for 10ml or £100 for 30ml from SkinStation

Sun protection is close to my heart, I’ve spent a LOT of time trying out different products and learning what makes a sun cream great, check out some of my articles on spf. In my view, the best way to protect the skin from the sun is by seeking shade, wearing protective clothing and using modern chemical filters which protect the skin from both UVB and UVA radiation. It’s important for sunscreens to protect evenly across the UV spectrum and protect against both UVB (which causes burning) and UVA (which causes aging, simply put). If you would like to find out more about what makes a good sunscreen, check out my podcast ep and post.

These great modern sunscreen filters are not allowed for use in sunscreens in America, so the ingredients in this product will be different in the US.

Ingredient list-

Water (Aqua), Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Dibutyl Adipate, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Glycerin, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Arginine Cyclohexasiloxane, Lactobacillus/Portulaca Oleracea Ferment Extract, Lauryl Glucoside, Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Acetamide Mea, Butylene Glycol, Carnosine, Xanthan Gum, Methylparaben, Ethylparabe, Sodium Hyaluronate, Propylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Citric Acid, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sodium Carboxymethyl Betaglucan, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Tocopherol, Dna, Pantolactone, Carbomer

Lets go through this list to see what this product can do.

Here are the notable ingredients-

Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate– Also known as Octinoxate, this is a UVB filter which is not very photostable, it needs to be paired with other filters. It has an absorbance between 280-320nm).

Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate– aka Uvinul A Plus, this is a great sunscreen filter. It’s one of those modern broad spectrum filters which protects well in the UVA spectrum 320-420nm. Definitely an ingredient I love to see in my sunscreen.

Dibutyl Adipate– An emollient which helps to keep sunscreen ingredients in a nice film

Ethylhexyl Triazone– Uvinul T 150 is a UVB filter which protects from 280-320nm

Glycerin– A naturally occurring humectant

Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid– Ensulizole, a UVB filter which protects from 280-320nm, it’s very photostable and makes a great sunscreen ingredient

Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine– aka Tinosorb S, Bemotrizinol, An excellent sunscreen, protects very broadly and is highly photostable, it helps to stabilise other ingredients as well. It’s protection covers the whole UVB and UVA range, 280-400 nm)

Arginine– An amino acid, in skincare it acts as an antioxidant and helps with healing

Lactobacillus/Portulaca Oleracea Ferment Extract– aka Purslane Bioferment, a vitamin rich plant extract that helps with healing and helps stabilise vitamin C

Tocopheryl Acetate– Vitamin E, an antioxidant which works well with Vitamin C

Panthenol– Provitamin B5, a fantastic skin conditioner, it helps increase moisture and barrier function

Carnosine– A naturally occurring molecule with antioxidant and anti-aging effects

Sodium Hyaluronate– A salt of Hyaluronic Acid, a powerful humectant

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate– A probiotic and preservative ferment

Sodium Carboxymethyl Betaglucan– This is a moisturising ingredient which soothes, calms and helps with healing

Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate– A vitamin C derivative and antioxidant

Pantolactone– A humectant and vitamin B precursor

There are a lot of lovely skin conditioning and antioxidant ingredients in the list. We don’t any figures from the Dr Barbara Sturm site on the exact numbers on the UVA protection such as the UVA PF or PPD, but the ingredients list is good, there are 5 sunscreen filters which, together, protect well across the spectrum. There is also Tinosorb S which is an ingredient I always look for in a sunscreen because it’s just so perfect at it’s job. I would confidently use Barbara Sturm Sun Drops as a day to day sunscreen, based on that list.

Dr Barbara Sturm Sundrops Review- What is it Like?

Instructions–

The description on the Barbara Sturm website calls Sun Drops a “lightweight and hydrating serum” and the instructions are that you may mix Sun Drops with a moisturiser or foundation. I would never do this! It would interfere with the evenness of the protective film, how could you be sure that your whole face is covered? Also if you use less sunscreen than 2 finger’s lengths on the face, there is no way to know how much protection your are actually getting. Maybe there is a good reason for these instructions that I’m not aware of, but I’m going to err on the side of caution.

Packaging–

Sun Drops comes in a lovely dropper bottle in a card box. It’s easy to pick up product with the dropper, give the bulb a good squeeze to fill it up. I use two full pipettes full to get a good layer of protection, applied in two layers. It’s super important to use the right amount to get the right protection.

Product–

The Drops are more like a than cream than a light serum. This is good actually, a cream formula is better for sunscreens, serums tend towards a less even layer of protection. It has a chemical smell, which is neither bad or good. I like that it doesn’t have fragrance, fragrance is not beneficial for the skin.

Barbara Sturm Sun Drops has a sticky texture and feels moisturising. It sets quite quickly, you don’t have much time to blend. Once on, the skin feels moisturised but tacky. I have to wash my hands after applying because the stickiness persists. The skin looks slightly glowy but not shiny. It doesn’t pill and works well under makeup. A couple of times I’ve got the product very close to my eye and there was a bit of stinging. There is no white cast on me.

Here is a snap of me wearing 2 full pipettes to give you an idea of the finish and colour, it’s very natural-

Skin Effects-

I’ve been using two pipettes of Sun Drops every day for the last week or so and my skin seems to like it, it feels moisturised, there has been no sun burn or acne flare ups. Sunscreen is always going to be the best anti aging product you can use.

Is Dr Barbara Sturm Sun Drops Good or Bad?

Good with issues.

It’s a broad spectrum chemical sunscreen with good spf and moisturising ingredients. It does have a problem with tackiness and the price tag is a bit steep for something that you need to use a lot of.