If you’ve started wearing SPF regularly and noticed changes in the way your make-up or other skincare sits underneath or alongside it, you’re not imagining things – certain sunscreens can have a tendency to pill when they come into contact with other formulations.

Pilling (those small, sticky clumps of rolled-up balls) is something that can happen with SPF lotions and creams but also with serums and other primer-like sunscreen products too. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to prevent sunscreen from pilling without eschewing SPF entirely – the last thing we want.

This is why your sunscreen always pills, leaving those little sticky clumps on your face