Annemarie Börlind Sun Anti-Aging DNA-Protect Sun Cream SPF 30

DHHB has been approved by the EU, Japan, Taiwan, and South America for use up to 10%. Unfortunately, it has not been approved for use in the US or Canada due to slow regulatory processes.

This ingredient is soluble in oils, fats, and lipids.

Is it bad for your skin?

The answer comes down to concentration. Patch and wash studies have found highly concentrated alcohol-based hand rubs (60-100%) cause less barrier disruption than washing with a basic detergent like SLS. The only measurable effect in these studies was a temporary dip in skin hydration.

Concentrations below 12-15% in leave-on cosmetics is generally well-tolerated. Concentrations above start to see increased transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and reduced hydration.

In concentrations about 58%, it creates temporary channels in your skin's lipid layers to become more permeable and allow other ingredients to slip through easily.

This ingredient can be up to 80% of the formula in alcohol-based perfumes.

Overall, this ingredient is probably harmless if found lower down an ingredients list but worth side-eyeing if it's high up (especially if your barrier is already struggling).

Alcohol can worsen dry skin, eczema, and oily skin, especially at higher concentrations. This is because it can increase transepidermal water loss and decrease hydration to disrupt the skin barrier.

According to the National Rosacea Society based in the US, you should be mindful of products with these alcohols in the top half of ingredients.

True allergic contact dermatitis to ethanol is uncommon, but be sure to patch test if you have dry or sensitive skin.

Ethylhexyl Triazone is oil soluble, oderless and colorless, which mean it is able to be incorporated into a variety of different formulations.

It is not currently available within the United States due to slow changing FDA regulations. Outside of the US, it is used in formulations at concentrations up to 5%.

In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.

While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.

Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.

This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.

This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.

Another pro?

It's exceptionally photostable, barely degrades in sunlight, and acts as a "bodyguard" for less stable filters.

That's why you'll see it paired with avobenzone or octinoxate; this team up ensures they keep working through sun exposure.

Safety reviews have been reassuring across the board. This ingredient shows low absorption through the skin, rarely irritates, and lab studies found it doesn't act like a hormone in the body (a concern that's been raised about some older sunscreen filters).

On maximum concentrations:

In 2026, the US F.D.A finally added it as an OTC sunscreen ingredient at concentrations up to 6% for adults / children 6 months and older

You'll often see it paired with other UV filters to boost overall SPF because octisalate is a fairly week filter on its own.

The reason you'll see it so often is because it can help solubilize and stabilize the trickier filters like oxybenzone and avobenzone.

Unlike these filters, octisalate has pretty good photostability and doesn't create skin-damaging free radicals when exposed to sunlight.

The fatty-alcohol part of the molecule also gives it a light, emollient feel so it doubles as a nice texture enhancer.

Usage levels vary around the world:

Safety-wise, this ingredient has a pretty reassuring track record. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) found very low skin penetration in human skin tests and negative results for irritation, phototoxicity, and photoallergy.

The real-world allergy risk is pretty low too; a 2012 European study of 1,031 people recorded only 2 reactions to it (a rate of 0.19%).

You might have seen scary headlines about sunscreen getting into your blood.

In 2019, the FDA found that several chemical filters can absorb through the skin and show up in the bloodstream at small but measurable levels.

Here's the important part: these tiny levels are just a cutoff the FDA uses to decide which ingredients need more testing and doesn't mean anything harmful was found.

The researchers were clear that the results are no reason to stop wearing sunscreen.

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

The reason this ingredient is so effective is because it forms a thin film on the skin that reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) while supplying linoleic acid to the stratum corneum to improve barrier strength.

The high linoleic acid content is particularly noteworthy for acne-prone skin.

Research suggests that acne-prone skin tends to be deficient in linoleic acid in sebum. Topical application may help replenish this to support a healthier follicular environment and less comedone-promoting sebum.

One randomized study found sunflower seed oil preserved skin barrier integrity in adult volunteers with and without atopic dermatitis (outperforming olive oil).

This ingredient is well-studied, gentle, and an effective emollient suitable for most skin types.

On fungal acne: This ingredient may not be Fungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) safe. This is because it contains fatty acids with carbon chain lengths in the C11-C24 range.

D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.

Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):

Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.

This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.

Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.

This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.

Titanium dioxide provides broad-spectrum protection mostly in the UVB and UVAII range, with some protection in the UVAI range.

While its UVA protection isn’t as strong as zinc oxide’s, the difference is minor.

A common myth is that mineral UV filters reflect UV light. However, modern research shows titanium dioxide absorbs UV radiation like chemical filters (~95% absorption & 5% reflection).

Thanks to its non-irritating nature, titanium dioxide is suitable for sensitive, acne-prone, or redness-prone skin. It is unlikely to cause "eye sting" like other sunscreen ingredients.

A major drawback of this ingredient is its white cast and thick texture. This is why mineral sunscreens often leave a white cast and are less cosmetically elegant than chemical/hybrid sunscreens.

To improve white cast and spreadability, micronized or nano-sized titanium dioxide is often used.

There are ongoing concerns surrounding nano-titanium oxide's impact on marine ecosystems.

There is no conclusive evidence that any form of titanium oxide (or any other sunscreen ingredients) will cause harm to marine ecosystems or coral reefs. The science is still developing but many consumers are keeping a close eye on this issue.

Please note, many destinations have reef-safety sunscreen rules. For instance, the U.S. Virgin Islands advises all visitors to use non-nano mineral sunscreens.

Nano mineral sunscreens once raised safety concerns about absorption into skin.

Extensive research has shown that they do not penetrate healthy or damaged skin; they remain safely on the surface and the top layer of dead skin (stratum corneum).

You'll likely find titanium dioxide bundled with alumina, silica, or dimethicone. These ingredients help make titanium dioxide highly photostable; this prevents it from interacting with other formula components under UV light.

This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.

A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.

Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.

Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.

As a preservative, it works by disrupting the membrane of microbial proteins. This helps keep bacteria and fungi from growing in your products.

The sensitization picture is actually quite assuring as well:of nearly 71,000 patients patch tested with benzyl alcohol, only 0.21% showed a positive reaction with most of them being weakly positive.

This led researchers to conclude that benzyl alcohol cannot be regarded as a significant contact allergen.

It is worth noting this ingredient is classified as one of the EU's regulated fragrance allergens and restricted to 1% in finished products.

Labels must also declare it in concentrations above 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.

At concentrations around 5%, localized redness and itching can appear as a direct irritant response and not as a true allergic reaction.

As a humectant, Sorbitol helps draw water to the skin. This helps keep the skin hydrated. Sorbitol also helps create a thicker texture in products. You might find sorbitol in your toothpaste and other gels.

It is a non-irritating ingredient that is great for those with dry skin.

Sorbitol is a prebiotic. It helps promote the growth of healthy bacteria on your skin. The bacteria on your skin form a microbiome. This microbiome helps protect your skin from infection and harmful bacteria.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.

It plays several roles in a formula:

Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.

Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.

However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.

Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.

Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.

Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

Here is the official definition from the The International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook:

“Aroma is a term for ingredient labeling used to identify that a product contains a material or combination of materials normally added to a cosmetic to produce or to mask a particular flavor.”

INCI shows the only purpose of aroma to be "flavouring".

However, due to regulation differences, some companies may use aroma in place of parfum.

In Canada, this ingredient only has to be listed in concentrations above 1%.

For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.

The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.

For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.

One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.

Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.

Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.

The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.

Tocopheryl Acetate is commonly found in both skincare and dietary supplements.

Research shows it can encourage your skin cells to turn over and renew by stimulating keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation.

It also has mild keratolytic properties to help loosen and shed dead skin cells without being harsh.

Studies also suggest allantoin can help calm inflammation by dialing down some of the chemical signals your skin sends out when it is irritated.

This ingredient is typically used in the 0.1-0.5% range, and the FDA recognizes it as a skin protectant in OTC products up to 2%.

Overall, allantoin is a wonderful addition to most routines; it is stable across a wide pH range (~4-8), works well with other ingredients, and is considered non-sensitizing/non-irritating.

Fun fact: Allantoin is naturally occurring in comfrey root, beets, chamomile, and wheat sprouts. Our bodies even produce it as a byproduct of uric acid metabolism.

This ingredient is good for soothing sensitive skin.

Many different types of algae have different benefits.

Depending on the concentration, it can drastically change the texture of a product from pasty solid (like lipstick) to sprayable liquid.

The CIR Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety has concluded this ingredient to be safe in cosmetics. The highest reported use concentration is 14.2% in lipsticks.

On top of that, soybean oil is rich in vitamins like vitamin E, a potent antioxidant.

Research on soybean's active components also point to anti-inflammatory, collagen-stimulating, antioxidant activity, and protection against UV-induced oxidative damage.

Most of this research applies to the broader soybean plant and not just the oil fraction alone.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe due to the oleic acid content.

Studies show soy may help fade hyperpigmentation from UVB. It does so by disrupting the melanin process caused by UVB induced skin inflammation.

Two powerful components found in the wild soybean include genistein and diadzein. These two isoflavones are potent antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties. Genistein in particular has been found to prevent redness caused by UV exposure.

Soybeans are rich in proteins and are part of the legume family. Foods made with soybeans include tofu, soymilk, edamame, miso, and soy sauce.

This ingredient is typically found in concentrations between 0.5-1%. It is usually created synthetically or from rice bran oil.

Safety-wise, the CIR Expert Panel has concluded it to be safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing.

Free stearic acid is a C18 fatty acid that the Malassezia yeast can substrate, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

Alumina may be used as an abrasive, or exfoliant.

Alumina is naturally occurring in the mineral corundum. Certain varieties of corundum create rubies and sapphires. Corundum is also the crystalline form of alumina.

This ingredient has a scent that is floral, spicy tropical, and citrus-like.

These compounds protect your skin two ways:

1) They fight off free radicals, or the unstable molecules from things like sun and pollution that age and damage skin.
2) They help calm inflammation by switching off the chemical signals that tell skin to get red and irritated.

Lab studies also suggest that rosmarinic acid may help protect collagen and slow sugar-related damage to it.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review has concluded rosemary-derived ingredients to be safe when formulated to be non-sensitizing.

Rosemary can occasionally cause allergic contact dermatitis (due to carnosol), so be sure to patch test if you have reactive or fragrance-sensitive skin.

Limonene acts as an antioxidant, meaning it helps neutralize free radicals.

When exposed to air, oxidized limonene may sensitize the skin. Because of this, limonene is often avoided by people with sensitive skin.

The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term. For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance.

Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.

It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.

This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.

This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.

In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.

Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.

It plays well with most ingredients and is typically used at 0.1-1%. However, concentrations up to 50% have been reported in moisturizers.

As you may know, regular vitamin C is notorious for breaking down when exposed to sunlight and air. Ascorbyl Palmitate is more stable and degrades at a slower rate.

Research on whether it converts efficiently into active vitamin C once it's applied on your skin is still limited.

Some in-vitro studies suggest it may support collagen production, but it is not considered one of the stronger vitamin C derivatives, like:

Due to the palmitic acid base, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. Comedogenic studies have also shown this ingredient to have a rating of 2.

It's also worth keeping in mind that comedogenic and irritancy ratings are tested on individual ingredients, not finished formulas. The final product's formulation, concentration, and other ingredients all play a role in how something actually behaves on your skin.

While Benzyl Salicylate has been associated with contact dermatitis and allergies, emerging studies show it may not be caused by this ingredient alone.

However, this ingredient is often used with fragrances and other components that may cause allergies. It is still listed as a known allergen in the EU. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have concerns.

Another study from 2021 shows Benzyl Salicylate may have anti-inflammatory properties.

Citronellol is a modified terpene. Terpenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons found in plants. They make up the primary part of essential oils.

Citronellol is not able to be absorbed into deeper layers of the skin. It has low permeability,

Citronellol is also a natural insect repellent.

You should know this ingredient is a known EU fragrance allergen.

Animal studies classifies this ingredient as a weak-to-moderate skin sensitizer and clinical patch testing on eczema patients confirmed it to be both a contact allergen and irritant.

The term 'citral' is a collective term for two geometric isomers: geranial/Citral A and neral/Citral B.

The term 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term. For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance.

When you wash your hair and skin with a surfactant-based cleanser, the surfactants grab onto everything. This includes your skin's natural lipids, or the fats that live in your skin barrier and sebum. Once you rinse these surfactants away, it leaves your skin feeling tight, dry, and clean (in a not-good way).

Re-fatting is essentially putting some of these lipids back. Glyceryl oleate deposits a thin layer of emollient lipids back on the skin or hair surface reduce some of the barrier damage.

Also, glyceryl oleate isn't a foreign molecule to your skin. It's chemically identical to something your skin already produces and manages naturally. This is why it tends to be well-tolerated with low risk of irritation.

Typical use levels range from 0.5-5%.

Glyceryl Oleate has a function of "perfuming" in the CosIng database. This just means that the ingredient has some scent character that can contribute to the product's overall smell.

The scent of this ingredient is described as "waxy".

As an ester of oleic acid, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. This is because oleic acid falls into the carbon-chain length that Malassezia can use as a substrate.

However, this exfoliating effect only happens at high concentrations (20%) which can be hard to find in cosmetic products.

Due to this, citric acid is usually included in small amounts as a pH adjuster. This helps keep products slightly more acidic and compatible with skin's natural pH.

In skincare formulas, citric acid can:

While it can provide some skin benefits, research shows lactic acid and glycolic acid are generally more effective and less irritating exfoliants.

Most citric acid used in skincare today is made by fermenting sugars (usually from molasses). This synthetic version is identical to the natural citrus form but easier to stabilize and use in formulations.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here: