FDA Approved Sunscreen Ingredients

US Federal Drugs Administration (FDA) has approved the following 17 active sunscreen ingredients for use in over-the-counter sunscreen products:

1. Aminobenzoic acid (PABA) in concentration up to 15 percent (in grams of the total mass of a sunscreen product)
2. Avobenzone up to 3 percent
3. Cinoxate up to 3 percent
4. Dioxybenzone up to 3 percent
5. Ecamsule (terephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid) up to 10 percent, approved by FDA on July 24, 2006, is commercially available as Anthelios SX in US, and Mexoryl SX in EU and AU
6. Homosalate up to 15 percent
7. Menthyl anthranilate up to 5 percent
8. Octocrylene up to 10 percent
9. Octyl methoxycinnamate up to 7.5 percent
10. Octyl salicylate up to 5 percent
11. Oxybenzone up to 6 percent
12. Padimate O up to 8 percent
13. Phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid up to 4 percent
14. Sulisobenzone up to 10 percent
15. Titanium dioxide up to 25 percent
16. Trolamine salicylate up to 12 percent
17. Zinc oxide up to 25 percent.

continue reading Safe Sunscreen Ingredients

Possible Harmful Sunscreen Effects

Some sunscreen ingredients may cause:

• Dryness of the skin
• Irritant or allergic dermatitis
• Photosensitivity
• Acne
• Skin ageing
• Cancer
• Other symptoms (after inhalation or ingestion of a sunscreen)

continue reading Harmful Sunscreen Ingredients, Sunscreen Ratings

The Aim of This Article

In this article, eventual benefits and downsides of sunscreens labeled as “natural”, “organic”, “hypoallergenic”, or “biodegradable” are presented in the (hopefully) unbiased way.

What are Natural Sunscreens?

Claims like “all ingredients are derived from natural substances” can be often found on some sunscreen packages. There is no regulation that would tell which sunscreens may be called natural. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, natural means “existing in, or produced by nature”, “not artificial”, meaning “not man made”. But the process of deriving ingredients from a natural source may include artificial procedures and artificial substances, making originally natural product unnatural.
continue reading Natural and Organic Sunscreen

What is a Sunscreen?

Sunscreen is a topical (to apply on the skin) product that protects the skin against harmful effects of the sun.

How Can the Sun be Dangerous?

The sun, besides emitting visible sunlight, also emits non-visible ultraviolet (UV) rays.

UV-B rays may cause sunburns and skin cancer (through a damage of DNA in the skin cells). New studies suggest that UV-A rays may also cause skin cancer (1). UV-A exposure may result in photo-aging: skin wrinkling, age spots (hyper-pigmentation), freckling, visible capillaries, and lost of skin elasticity (through the breakdown of connective tissue in the skin) (2).

continue reading What Is a Good Sunscreen – Sunscreens Products, Sunscreen Facts