We love Korean skincare, but Japanese sunscreen is the elegant SPF of choice for beauty insiders

While there are some things the British are good at (queuing, talking about the weather), we have to admit that, as a nation, sun safety is not a strong point.

To an extent, it’s not our fault. We aren’t blessed with gorgeous weather for a lot of the year - you’re as likely to need a brolly as SPF in May, and that has given us a lax attitude to sun protection. Awareness is improving, but we’re years behind countries like Japan, where wearing the best facial sunscreens has been deeply ingrained for decades.

And now, with the rise and rise of Korean skincare, our interest in East Asian products and routines has never been stronger. So it's no wonder beauty insiders' eyes have been caught by elegant, high-tech Japanese sunscreen formulas.

Everything you need to know about Japanese sunscreen

“SPF is worn year-round in Japan, not just in summer,” says Nami Onodera, Executive Director of Brand Heritage at Japanese-inspired skincare brand Tatcha. “Even on cloudy days or in winter, people apply SPF as a daily habit.” With a higher demand for decent daily sunscreen, Japanese SPF is way ahead of the game. Think sophisticated textures and virtually undetectable finishes rather than anything bright white, gloopy or paint-like. If that tiny taster of what Japanese sunscreen has to offer has already convinced you, these beauty team-recommended formulas are all available in the UK.

What’s so good about Japanese sunscreen?

“The Japanese SPF market features a wide spectrum of formats, textures and generally a richer range of skin feels,” says Qiang Qiu, Vice President of Global Innovation at Tatcha. “This is partly due to a wider selection of approved UV filters available to manufacturers under the local regulations, and partly due to consumers' preference for SPF to be an effortless and essential part of their daily skincare routine.”

“A key consideration when creating an SPF, especially due to the unique skin tones of Japanese women, is to create invisible formulas that leave no white cast,” says Nathalie Broussard, Scientific Communication Director for Japanese brand Shiseido.

"Another feature of sunscreen products developed in Japan is that they are lightweight, which is ideal for the hot and often humid climate. Skin cleanliness and purity are also important, so formulators have developed sunscreens that are long-lasting yet easy to remove at the end of the day with conventional cleansers.” You’ll probably still want to double cleanse to be sure, but you can relax as even second-best cleansers will still do the job.

Vicky Tsai, Founder of Tatcha, adds, “The formulas are very spare, meaning the quality and precision of each ingredient is paramount. It’s like sushi: only a few ingredients can be really beautiful if done right.”

How does the approach to sun protection differ from Japan to the UK?

“The use of sunscreen is core in the Japanese beauty ritual as they have long understood the impact of sun exposure on premature ageing but also the power of prevention,” Tsai. “The Japanese were among the first cultures to use umbrellas, specifically parasols, to protect themselves from sun exposure, representing a cultural appreciation for sun safety.”

It’s the polar opposite of Europe, where “treatment and correction are often seen as more prestigious than prevention,” explains Broussard. It’s a shame, but it is easier and more exciting to market a product with impressive before-and-afters rather than one designed to preserve and maintain it. Interestingly, Tsai adds that “the Eastern market is about prevention with a focus on purifying and brightening, while the Western market is focused primarily on wrinkle care.”

Generally speaking, the foundations of our beauty routines are what we learned from our parents, and in most cases, sun protection didn’t feature alongside a bottle of Oil of Olay and a tub of Pond’s Cream for us. It’s just not ingrained in British habits like it is in Japan.

How is sunscreen regulated in Japan?

Sunscreen is regulated differently in different countries. In the UK, for example, it is classed as a cosmetic product, whereas in the US, it’s considered a drug. “Unlike in the United States, where sunscreens are classified as over-the-counter drugs and regulated differently by the FDA, in Japan they are categorised as quasi-drugs,” says Broussard. This means they are considered, partly, or nearly, drugs and therefore have “stricter safety and efficacy requirements compared to regular cosmetics.” Yet another factor that gives them the edge when it comes to sun safety.

In addition to an SPF rating, which states how much UVB protection a product offers, most Japanese sunscreens also have a PA+ rating. This stands for Protection Grade of UVA and indicates how much UVA protection a sunscreen has. Although UVA rays don’t have the potential to burn our skin like UVB rays do, it’s still important to shield your skin from them. UVA rays are the biggest cause of premature ageing and present all year round – even when cloudy. The number of + signs shows how much UVA protection a sunscreen contains, with four as the maximum.