This mineral sunscreen covers the full UV range and blocks ~98% of UVB at SPF 40.
This chemical sunscreen covers most of the UV range, lighter on the deep UVA that drives aging.
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Zinc Oxide 25%
Cosmetic Colorant
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialHelianthus Annuus Seed Wax
Skin Conditioning
Polyhydroxystearic Acid
Emulsifying
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emollient
Stearyl/Octyldodecyl Citrate Crosspolymer
HumectantLauryl Laurate
Skin Conditioning
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Microcrystalline Cellulose
AbsorbentLimnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Squalane
Emollient
Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract
AstringentPongamia Pinnata Seed Extract
Skin ConditioningStearyl Glycyrrhetinate
Skin ConditioningCocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Water
Skin ConditioningBisabolol
Antioxidant
Zinc Oxide 25%, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Wax, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Stearyl/Octyldodecyl Citrate Crosspolymer, Lauryl Laurate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Squalane, Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract, Pongamia Pinnata Seed Extract, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Water, Bisabolol
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane 3%
UV Absorber
Homosalate 6%
Skin Conditioning
Ethylhexyl Salicylate 5%
UV Absorber
Octocrylene 9%
UV Absorber
Isododecane
EmollientOctyldodecanol
Emollient
Polymethylsilsesquioxane
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Diisopropyl Adipate
EmollientSilica
Abrasive
Butyloctyl Salicylate
Skin Conditioning
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialIsohexadecane
EmollientDimethicone Crosspolymer
Emulsion Stabilising
Dibutyl Lauroyl Glutamide
Skin ConditioningSilica Silylate
Emollient
Dibutyl Ethylhexanoyl Glutamide
Skin ConditioningEthylcellulose
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate
Skin Protecting
Himanthalia Elongata Extract
Skin Protecting
Meadowfoam Estolide
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane 3%, Homosalate 6%, Ethylhexyl Salicylate 5%, Octocrylene 9%, Isododecane, Octyldodecanol, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Diisopropyl Adipate, Silica, Butyloctyl Salicylate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Isohexadecane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dibutyl Lauroyl Glutamide, Silica Silylate, Dibutyl Ethylhexanoyl Glutamide, Ethylcellulose, Caprylyl Glycol, Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate, Himanthalia Elongata Extract, Meadowfoam Estolide, Tocopherol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is a lightweight emollient made by combinig benzoic acid with fatty alcohols that are 12-15 carbons long.
In cosmetics, it plays several roles:
The Cosmetic Review Expert Panel has concluded the alkyl benzoate group to be safe as used in cosmetics; it wasn't found to be a skin irritant and unlikely to be absorbed due to its low water solubility.
This report recorded almost 1000 reported uses with concentrations up to 59% in leave-on products but your cosmetics will typically use 0.5-15% depending on the product.
It's often called a "SPF booster": this is because it keeps UV filters properly dissolved and evenly distributed to support a sunscreen's performance. It doesn't actually raise SPF on its own.
Overall, this ingredient is well tolerated.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe because it is an ester of benzoic acid.
Think of this ingredient as two parts stuck together: an oily part and an acid part. Malassezia only gets a meal when it can snip off a fatty acid to eat. With C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, the acid part is benzoic acid, which isn't a fatty acid and which the yeast can't use as food.
Benzoic acid is actually used as a preservative to stop yeast from growing.
The oily part is a blend of C12-15 fatty alcohols but fatty alcohols in this size range can support only a little Malassezia growth (mostly for one species of Malassezia as well).
In the ingredient, those alcohols stay locked inside the molecule. The yeast can only reach them by snipping the benzoate bond, and that type of bond is harder for it to cut than a normal fatty bond.
So not much gets released. And whatever does get snipped comes packaged with benzoic acid, which discourages yeast growth.
Learn more about C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
