Objective To study the effect of sunscreen nursing and the degree of pigmentation in patients after skin laser cosmetic surgery. Methods A total of 70 patients who received skin laser cosmetic treatment in our hospital from December 2021 to October 2023 were randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 35 patients in each group. The control group was given basic nursing, and the study group was given sunscreen nursing on the basis of the control group. The skin reaction, skin healing time, pigmentation degree, nursing satisfaction and quality of life were compared between the two groups. Results The degree of redness, ecchymosis and edema in the study group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The skin healing time of the study group was shorter than that of the control group (P <0.05). The degree of pigmentation in the study group was better than that in the control group (P <0.05). The nursing satisfaction of the study group was 97.14%, which was higher than 77.14% of the control group (P <0.05). The scores of physiological function, physical role, physical pain, general health, vitality, social function, emotional role and mental health in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The application of sunscreen nursing in patients after skin laser cosmetic surgery has a definite effect, which can effectively reduce the skin reaction, shorten the skin healing time, help reduce the degree of pigmentation, improve the quality of life of patients, and patients have higher satisfaction with nursing services.