Why Is La Roche Posay Sunscreen Flaking?

(This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure policy here.)

Honestly, when you’re applying your La Roche Posay sunscreen and discover that it’s started to flake, it’s a horrible thing! 

Another thing that raises the concern is when your skin starts to develop the white little spots. Overall, it just demotivates you to even take care of the skin and maintain it in the long run. 

First off all, if you’re witnessing anything of the situation stated now then don’t panic! There are ways to prevent flakiness.

So, why is la roche posay sunscreen flaking?

La Roche Posay sunscreen flakes because it comes with Dimethicone (silicone-polymers). Here, the silicone polymers will cause the skin to not get enough moisture. This leads to skin dehydration and can later lead to skin-flaking.

But, that was just the scratch! We’ve prepared a lot more for you in this informative guide. In fact, we’ve given an idea about the entire thing from a user and product perspective. 

So, let’s begin with that-

Why Does La Roche Posay Sunscreen Flakes?

The La Roche Posay Sunscreen can flake due to a couple of reasons. But, to be really honest, there are two perspectives of a specific sunscreen flaking. 

One of them could be due to the ingredients inside the product. Another one could be due to the application process used by the user or their skin type. So, let’s see the entire topic from both perspectives-

From the La Roche Posay Sunscreen Perspective

Since La Roche Posay sunscreen contains 1% of Dimethicone (Silicone-based polymer), it could flake. Because, if the sunscreen is silicone-based, it could lead to piling. 

Now, the question is- what is piling? 

“Piling” is a term in skin-care. This is a situation where the sunscreen might not have fully been absorbed in the skin. And, this leads to further grittiness and flaking in the skin. 

Now, you already saw that one ingredient of La Roche Posay sunscreen is silicone-based! Normally, silicone present in skin could cause a little bit of trouble. 

This is because the silicone polymers prevent the skin from getting enough moisture. This affects the pH level of the skin’s barrier and leads to skin dehydration. 

For this reason, the skin can be dried out and seem more dull. Also, dehydration causes imbalance of the overall moisture level in the skin. As a result of this, the skin gets flaky and dull.

Another thing you need to understand is that the La Roche Posay has matte-texture. That’s why it’ll start to become flaky when you spread it out on the skin.

Besides, flakiness can happen when the face isn’t able to absorb the entire product in the skin. So, if the La Roche Posay isn’t absorbed well in the skin, flakiness could occur easily. 

Lastly, having dimethicone isn’t a downside in a product. Because, it works as a protectant for skin.

From the User’s Perspective

This is the other side of the coin. Honestly, problems in the skin take place when the user doesn’t apply the product in the right manner. Regardless of the ingredients present in the skin, flakiness would happen anyway. 

Basically, if the user is doing the things provided below then there will be flakiness in the skin. Let’s check them out-

Applying too Much Products on Skin

One of the most myths people believe in skincare- “The More, The Better”. This is why some people take everything overboard by taking things to another level. 

Here, they apply the skin-products, way too much. That’s why dermatologists around the globe always suggest starting things lightly. 

Also, it’s always better to go from a lighter shade to a heavier shade. And, this phenomenon works with sunscreen as well. 

The main problem with applying too many products is that the skin won’t be able to absorb them. For this reason, grittiness and flakiness would occur. 

The Right Exfoliation of the Skin

You’ll need to take care of your skin. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t gone outside for a while, your skin needs to be exfoliated. Here, exfoliation of the skin will get rid of the dead skin cells on the surface. 

This will make absorption of the sunscreen an easy process. So, flakiness won’t occur. 

Another thing to be considered is the amount of exfoliation. People take things a bit too further by exfoliating their skin too much. And, matte-textured sunscreens over heavy exfoliated skin is a recipe for disaster.

Basically, if you’ve exfoliated your skin too heavily and applied too much sunscreen, there will be little white balls on your skin. This situation is called “Skin-Piling”. Later, it will develop into flakiness.

You should consider the skin type when exfoliating the skin. This means one-time exfoliation of skin when you have a balanced or dry skin. And, when you have oily skin, you need to exfoliate it around three-four times. 

Not Applying Moisture 

You already know that skin dehydration could be another reason for flakiness. That’s why you should apply a moisturiser on a regular basis. This will keep the moisture in balance. 

Also, for regular skincare, you can go for serums. The basic thing here is to keep the moisture retention in balance. 

Not Sticking to Related Products

Many people might not know or consider this. But, the products need to be compatible when they’re being layered to one-another. Basically, incompatible products can cause pilling. 

To explain this more easily, the oil-based and water-based products don’t go together well enough. This is why you can’t really layer them easily. And, that’s where the white little spots (pilling) starts to take place. 

This is why sticking to related skin products is important when you’re thinking of pilling. 

Not Giving Time For Products to Layer Properly

Another reason for pilling or flakiness to occur is impatience. The flakiness will take place when enough time isn’t given to products to get absorbed. 

Usually, the skin products need to be put in layers. Here, the initial layer needs to be dried completely. Only then, the second or next layer will be ready. 

Once you complete this cycle, a product will be absorbed in your skin. This is how flakiness will be avoided. But, this amount of enough time isn’t properly given. Hence, you know what happens next.

The best practice here would be to count the time between the layers so that they can dry well. If the cycle is completed several times, the products will be absorbed well! 

Having a Rough Skin

If you have a rough skin with congested pores, it’ll be tough for the skin-products to be absorbed. This is because the excess oil and dead cells won’t let the ingredients penetrate into the skin. 

As a result of this, the products won’t be absorbed and flakiness will take place.

How to Prevent La Roche Posay Sunscreen Flaking? 

Sunscreen flaking is a serious topic. For the La Roche Posay Sunscreen, the reason is Dimethicone. 

But, this silicone polymer is needed because that provides the protection in the skin. It also contributes to the lesser reduction of water from skin. 

That’s why you can’t write off this ingredient. Hence, there needs to be some steps to prevent the flaking of the sunscreen. 

There are some ways that can be used to prevent the flakiness of the sunscreen. Let’s look at them below-

Method 1: Exfoliating the Skin Regularly

If your skin contains a lot of dirt and dead cells, it won’t allow the ingredients to penetrate. The presence of these dirts will automatically cause flakiness and pilling when you’re applying a skin product on it. 

For this reason, skin exfoliation is necessary. In the above sections, we’ve discussed how many times you need to exfoliate skin based on the type.

Here, we’ll advise what kind of exfoliators you can use for your skin. You could get Chemical Peels. These types of exfoliators are excellent at boosting collagen levels of the skin and also removing dead skin cells. 

If you’re not comfortable with the chemical peels then you can work with sonic cleansers. Doing a manual exfoliation would work here as well. 

Method 2: Waiting Between Layers for Proper Absorption

As skin layering requires a bit of time, you need to be patient with the entire process. This means maintaining a proper routine (if needed) between the layers. 

Waiting and giving time for the layers to be dried allows the skin to absorb the product properly. This prevents flakiness in the long run. 

Method 3: Apply Moisturisers to Maintain Skin

You will need to take care of your skin. This means proper maintenance. Here, the need for moisturisers increases even more if you have dry skin. 

This is because the skin will be dehydrated already. So, using moisturisers will only add a balance in the moisture level of the skin. 

But, applying moisturiser just doesn’t fix the moisture level only, it works at providing skin protection as well. 

Overall, the moisture will allow a smoother skin so that the white balls don’t form when you’re using skin products. That said, don’t go overboard with them. 

Method 4: Using The Right Amount of Products

It’s more than important that you use the right amount of products. Using too much La Roche Posay sunscreen will just all pile up in the skin. This will lead to flakiness in the skin. 

Adding more and more products in the skin won’t even allow the skin to absorb them. Hence, creating more flakiness and pilling of the skin.

FAQs

Can La Roche Posay sunscreen flake if you have dry skin?

Yes! If you have dry skin then the La Roche Posay sunscreen will flake. Because the dry skin contributes more to the dehydration of the skin. That is what leads to skin flaking. 

Does the La Roche Posay sunscreen leave white spots on the skin?

No! La Roche Posay sunscreen doesn’t leave white spots on the skin. But, you can develop some white little balls in the skin which is the skin pilling. This skin pilling happens when the skin doesn’t absorb the products well.

Do Moisturisers cause skin flakiness? 

No! Moisturisers will not cause skin flakiness. Rather, the moisturisers will work at smoothening the skin and work at balancing the moisture levels. 

Is it possible to use La Roche Posay sunscreen on dirty skin?

Yes! It’s possible to use La Roche Posay sunscreen on dirty skin. But, adding this sunscreen to the dirty skin will lead to flakiness. Because the product won’t be able to absorb the ingredients as the pores are congested. 

Conclusion

Skin flaking is just a sad sight to witness because everyone expects to have a chapped and smooth skin. And, now you’ll know why is la roche posay sunscreen flaking. 

Just remember, if you see your sunscreen is flaking, don’t panic. There are ways to prevent and avoid that situation from taking place. Lucky for you, we described all of them in this article. 

So, have a look at them and maintain the skin-routine in that way. Good luck!