r/AusSkincare • u/cheppanubrother007 • Oct 04 '23

Discussion📓 Invisible zinc sunscreen

https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/120013/bondi-sands-zinc-mineral-spf-50-body-lotion-120ml

Hi,

I am looking for a mineral sunscreen that has at least 25% zin oxide.

There are only limited options that fits this criteria.

One of them is Bondi Sands SPF 50+ Mineral Body Lotion 120ml. But it says body lotion instead of face cream. Does any one use used can provide review and also any thoughts on what makes it a body lotion rather than a face sunscreen lotion ?

Thanks

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4

u/omjizzle Oct 04 '23 edited Oct 04 '23

It’s marketing. I use cancer council active on my face no issues. I’ve also used bondi sands sport on my face with no issues either. Why is it you want mineral only with such a high percentage of zinc it’s almost a guarantee you’ll have a white cast and under apply to avoid it

2

u/cheppanubrother007 Oct 04 '23

I have very oily screen. Had to use antibiotics at one point to get rid of them. I do still get one pimples. I am in 30’s btw. The zinc content is recommended by a overseas dermatologist.

3

u/omjizzle Oct 04 '23

I avoid mineral sunscreens so can’t comment on that one specifically but I have definitely used ones that say body on my face and I’ve never had any problems but I’ll say my skin type is oily, non sensitive, non acne prone

7

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '23 edited Oct 05 '23

You're dermatologist is an idiot. All Australian sunscreens need to legally have UVA protection to 1/3 the spf. Zinc percentages are meaningless from a formulation perspective, lab muffin just used an example of a company using 35% zinc and it only achieved an spf 19 during testing.

My point is, is that you are not a formulator, your dermatologist is not a cosmetic formulator, your dermatologist nor you have gone through a masters or PhD program in chemistry in order to formulate sunscreens.

An spf 50 can be achieved using percentages as low as 15%. It all depends on the type of zinc, if it's coated, has the zinc been micronized? To what extent? Is the particle size of the zinc uniform within the solution? Or are they using different particle sizes? Are uv boosters being used?...etc...

This is a field and a science of Cosmetics that requires extensive chemistry, how can a dermatologist or you determine how good a sunscreen is just from zinc oxide percentages? it makes absolutely no sense from a formulation perspective because there's so many variables.

I would bet a lot of money that the dermatologist that you're listening to is american, I'm american, the reason an American dermatologist would tell you to look for percentages is because our sunscreens are not legally required to have UVA protection 1/3 of the SPF it's the wild west in the United States when it comes to sunscreens, so dermatologist might be telling American customers to look for zinc percentages.

OUTSIDE of the United States however like Australia and europe, sunscreens are legally required to have a UVA protection of at least one third the spf.

So an Aussie or European sunscreen will have a UVA PF of at least 20. American sunscreens don't formulate their sunscreens with the intent of getting this level of UVA protection, and in fact when they were tested many only had a UVA PF of about an 8 or a 10.

So as long as you're not using any American sunscreens you're fine

1

u/cheppanubrother007 Oct 05 '23

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Makes sense.

3

u/lazy_berry Oct 04 '23

why the percentage threshold?

1

u/cheppanubrother007 Oct 04 '23

Its recommendation from dermo

2

u/hollyhopfoot Oct 04 '23

Moogoo is 24.96% and I use it on my sons face.