The present study revealed that Coriandrum sativum and Helianthus annus had good sunscreen activity, hence can be considered as sunscreen agents or can be incorporated into other sunscreen formulations and the SPF values were also increased with all the treatments when compared to control. The proposed UV spectrophotometric method is simple, rapid, employs low cost reagents and can be used in the in vitro determination of SPF values in plant extract and in many cosmetic formulations. These herbs showed good antioxidant activity, UV absorption and SPF. The sunscreen cream which was prepared incorporating these herbs had excellent feed back in terms of consistency, spreadability and fragrance.