'Sunscreen Contouring': The 2025 Trend That Tans Your Face on Purpose
Contouring with sun damage instead of bronzer? Dermatologists warn this viral hack courts blotchy, permanent pigmentation — use makeup, not melanoma.
The Skin Cancer Foundation flagged 'sunscreen contouring' — applying SPF only to high points like the nose and forehead while leaving the cheeks, temples and jawline bare to tan — as a trend to avoid, warning that the UV rays that tan are the same rays that cause wrinkles, age spots and skin cancer.
Dermatologists writing about the trend stress that there is no 'safe' selective tan: the Skin Cancer Foundation notes the tanning rays are identical to the rays driving photoaging and skin cancer, and clinicians warn that deliberately uneven exposure invites long-lasting, blotchy pigmentation.
Questions we get a lot
What is 'sunscreen contouring'?
It's a viral trend where people apply sunscreen only to facial high points like the nose and forehead, leaving the cheeks, temples and jawline unprotected so those areas tan and create a 'contoured' look. The Skin Cancer Foundation flagged it as a trend to avoid. It deliberately exposes parts of the face to UV damage.
Why do dermatologists say sunscreen contouring is dangerous?
The Skin Cancer Foundation warns that the UV rays that produce a tan are the same rays that cause wrinkles, age spots and skin cancer. Dermatologists add that intentionally uneven exposure can lead to blotchy, persistent pigmentation. There is no version of selective tanning that avoids UV damage.
What should I do instead for contoured definition?
Apply broad-spectrum sunscreen evenly across the whole face, then use actual makeup — bronzer or contour products — for definition. This gets the look without the UV damage that the Skin Cancer Foundation warns about. Makeup contour is reversible; sun-induced pigmentation often isn't.
r/MakeupAddiction: 'People on my FYP are skipping sunscreen on their cheeks to "contour" with a tan — is this actually as bad as it sounds?'