top of page
Writer's pictureAislyn

Mineral vs. Chemical SPF

Sunscreen Basics

There are many skin care controversies that are in the news. Acne being driven by yeast vs. hormones vs bacteria.  Is Benzoyl Peroxide bad for your health? What age should you start using anti-aging products?  One thing that almost everyone can agree on is that we need to protect our skin from UV radiation.  There are many sun protective options: sunscreens, hats, UPF clothing, shade, etc.  Some of these options are more self-explanatory than others.  I think one of the more overwhelming sun protective measures is “Sunscreen”. There are so many options on the market.  How do you know which sunscreen is the “right one” and what are things we should be looking for when assessing a sunscreen?  There are three main recommendations from the American Academy of Dermatology when choosing a sunscreen:


  1. SPF should be 30 or greater.  Typically if the sunscreen is less than 30 SPF, it lasts for that many minutes.  For example,  SPF 15 lasts about 15 minutes.  With sunscreens 30 SPF or greater, typically the average time it lasts is 80-120 minutes.

  2. Broad-spectrum.  This means that the sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB radiation - which are the main culprits in DNA damage leading to photoaging and skin cancer.

  3. Water resistant.  You do not want to sweat off the sun protection you just applied. 


Chemical vs. Mineral Sunscreen

In recent years, there has been a very public controversy over the safety of sunscreen, not only for the person wearing it, but also for the ocean coral reefs.  Mineral, or physical, sunscreens contain Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Oxide.  Chemical sunscreens typically contain several ingredients including: avobenzone, oxybenzone, octisalate, etc.  A few studies have found that certain chemical sunscreens were detected in low amounts in the blood of the study participants, though no health adverse effects were reported.  Oceanic studies have attributed chemicals in sunscreens to bleaching and causing DNA damage in coral reefs.  The FDA has issued a statement that mineral sunscreen ingredients: Zinc Oxide and Titanium Oxide are generally recognized as safe and effective.  Chemical sunscreen ingredients: cinoxate, dioxybenzone, ensulizole, homosalate, meradimate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, padimate O, sulisobenzone, oxybenzone, and avobenzone are currently under investigation by the FDA because of the inadequate data to support a safety finding. 




So what does this mean for the general public?  I think from a practical standpoint, the goal is still simple - protect your skin.  Do you go in the ocean everyday - if the answer is no- both sunscreen types are still very viable options.  There is no data showing that there are any adverse health effects from chemical sunscreens (which have been around for decades), other than contact dermatitis for some people.  As dermatologists, we are asking you to wear sunscreen everyday and reapply.  In order for someone to actually do this, they need to like the product they are putting on their face (neck, chest, hands, etc.).  Dictating a bunch of rules on what sunscreen they should apply is a recipe for noncompliance. 


Now if you want to use mineral sunscreen but hate the way it looks - white and thick - there are lots of new sunscreens that try to address this common complaint.  My favorite is a tinted mineral sunscreen and let me give you my reasoning.  One, I get melasma and a mineral sunscreen is truly blocking the UV rays, whereas chemical sunscreens absorb them. Two, I hate wearing make-up and the tinted mineral sunscreen provides light overall coverage.  Finally, the tint in most mineral sunscreen consists of Iron Oxide which blocks visible light which contributes to skin aging and pigmentation.  These elegant sunscreens do not have to break the bank - many mainstream sunscreen brands have launched tinted mineral sunscreens and they start around $15 and have multiple tints to choose from.  The main message is please wear sunscreen - there is one out there for everyone.


Please contact Aislyn Dermatology if you have any questions and we can steer you in the right direction. 


10 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page