No. 9 NAD+ BIO Super Defense Glow Sunscreen

Here’s a question that more sunscreen brands should take seriously: if your sunscreen is the product that sits on your face for the longest continuous stretch of any day, why shouldn’t it also be one of the most active products in your routine? Numbuzin’s No. 9 NAD+ BIO Super Defense Glow Sunscreen takes that question and runs with it, packing an ingredient list that looks more like an anti-aging serum than a UV shield.

The sun protection comes from a four-filter chemical system registered with the FDA: avobenzone at 3% for UVA coverage, homosalate at 7%, octisalate at 5%, and octocrylene at 5% for UVB protection and avobenzone photostabilization. This is a well-established filter combination used across hundreds of sunscreen formulations — it works, it’s proven, and in this formula it delivers Broad Spectrum SPF 50. Nothing experimental here. The protection is solid.

What happens beyond the UV filters is where things get interesting. Numbuzin loaded the inactive ingredient portion with their No. 9 line’s anti-aging technology, starting with NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide). The theoretical appeal of NAD+ in a sunscreen is compelling — UV exposure depletes NAD+ in skin cells, compromising the DNA repair mechanisms that prevent photoaging. Providing exogenous NAD+ during UV exposure could theoretically support those repair pathways in real time. Whether topical NAD+ achieves this at the concentrations present here is unproven, but the logic is scientifically sound.

Nine peptides from the broader No. 9 complex are included: Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 (Argireline), Copper Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 (Matrixyl), and six others targeting various anti-aging mechanisms. In a sunscreen that sits on your face for 8-12 hours, these peptides have significantly more contact time than they would in a serum that’s quickly absorbed and layered over. Whether extended surface contact translates to better peptide performance is uncertain, but the opportunity for interaction is real.

The hydration system is genuinely impressive. Seven forms of hyaluronic acid — sodium hyaluronate, hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed HA, hydrolyzed sodium hyaluronate, hydroxypropyltrimonium hyaluronate, potassium hyaluronate, sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer, and sodium acetylated hyaluronate — create a multi-depth hydration approach that prevents the drying, tight feeling many chemical sunscreens cause. Polyglutamic acid adds another humectant layer, and glycerin provides foundational moisture. This sunscreen actively hydrates rather than simply not dehydrating, which is a meaningful distinction.

The soothing and brightening ingredients round out the formula: centella asiatica extract for anti-inflammatory support, licorice root extract for brightening, houttuynia cordata for antimicrobial calming, allantoin and panthenol for barrier support, and resveratrol for antioxidant protection. Niacinamide, positioned early in the inactive ingredient list, provides barrier strengthening and has independently demonstrated ability to reduce UV-induced immunosuppression — making it a genuinely functional sunscreen ingredient rather than a marketing add-on.

The texture is what sells this product in daily use. It applies as a lightweight cream with a slight luminosity, spreading easily without the white cast that plague mineral sunscreens. It sets to a dewy finish — not matte, not shiny, but genuinely glowy in a way that looks like healthy, well-cared-for skin rather than oily or greasy. Under makeup, it functions as a luminous primer. Without makeup, it gives a polished, bare-skin glow that photographs beautifully.

The dewy finish does come with a caveat for oily skin types, particularly in warm, humid climates. If you already produce excess sebum, the added luminosity from this sunscreen may push you into legitimately shiny territory by afternoon. Matte-finish sunscreen seekers should look elsewhere. But for normal, dry, and combination skin types — and for anyone who wants their SPF to contribute to a healthy glow — this finish is a genuine selling point.

Fragrance-free formulation is a welcome choice for a sunscreen that’s worn all day. The chemical filters themselves can cause sensitivity in some users — avobenzone in particular is known to sting around the eyes — but the soothing ingredients (centella, allantoin, panthenol, licorice) do a commendable job of buffering this potential irritation for most skin types.

At $18 for 50ml, this is aggressive pricing for a sunscreen with this level of skincare complexity. The seven-form HA complex alone would justify a higher price point. Add NAD+, nine peptides, resveratrol, centella, and licorice root, and the formulation cost must be significant. It undercuts most Western chemical sunscreens with far simpler formulas, and it outperforms them on the skincare dimension.

This sunscreen represents the direction the category should be heading: UV protection as the baseline, not the ceiling. When your SPF product also delivers meaningful anti-aging, hydrating, and soothing benefits, the distinction between ‘protection’ and ‘treatment’ dissolves. Your sunscreen becomes your hardest-working daytime product, which is exactly what it should be given how many hours it spends on your face.