Truth: I was the pickiest when it came to sunscreens. Another truth: And because of that, I never wore one until this morning. The barest minimum of any type of SPF I wore in the last several months was perhaps only the SPF that’s in Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer. Apart from that, not another layer.

That’s not to say I didn’t care about sun protection (just because I’m already brown-skinned). But it was mostly because most mineral sunscreens have a white cast when applied and that was a definite no-no for me. I found out that sunscreens come in two types not long ago, the other type being chemical sunscreens, and I was immediately attracted to it because they normally come in gel formulations. Ever since then, I’ve been looking high and low for a gel sunscreen that wasn’t expensive and yet gave me what I want in a sunscreen.

The other reason why I’ve been putting off actually purchasing one was because I look at sunscreens more as “topical medication” than cosmetic or even skincare for that matter. And because of this, I was very particular about gel formulations having both UVA and UVB protection and also being SPF 50 and above. This is logically rooted in the fact that a tropical country like Singapore gets so much sunlight that if I’m going to invest in a sunscreen, it had better protect my skin from both ends of the spectrum.

Doing some research got me as close as possible to what I was looking for, which also released me from my obsession over Cetaphil’s Sun SPF 50+ Light Gel, the best formulation I’ve come across so far, and is also in the mid-price range which I’m not into at the moment as I’m just starting out with suncare. Below are some common SPF ingredients that you should know about, followed by a list of sunscreen products and their respective sunscreen type with their anti-UV indicator.

Mineral SPF Ingredients

Zinc Oxide & Titanium Dioxide // Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are both mineral/inorganic SPF ingredients, so they function more physically than chemically. While both oxides offer broad-spectrum UV coverage, Zinc Oxide still reigns above, covering even more UV range. On top of that, it is also a non-irritant and has a high safety profile. The only down side with (most) mineral/physical sunscreens is that they leave a white cast, which may not be the right ingredient for you if you’re concerned with it messing with your natural skin tone. But at the end of it, mineral sunscreens are still the safest sunscreens out there because it’s least likely to cause skin sensitization or other types of damage and allergy to your skin. Mineral sunscreens would naturally be the first option for people with sensitive skin.

Sunscreens with Zinc Oxide & Titanium Dioxide in Them

Chemical SPF Ingredients

UVA Protectors

Avobenzone // There have been lots of debates around avobenzone, but not particularly because of itself. To put it plainly, avobenzone is safe on its own. It’s the most commonly and widely used UVA filter/absorber for the longest time and introduced to the European market since 1978 and the American market in 1988. What’s giving the innocent Avobenzone a bad rep is that it’s not photostable enough, meaning that it breaks down and becomes ineffective as a sun protector after at least 35 minutes. That’s one reason why we’re being told to reapply sunscreen after a set amount of time, depending on the product. And because Avobenzone is so unstable under the sun, stabilizers have to be added to the formulation to increase the lifetime of Avobenzone.

One particular stabiliser that’s commonly rejected by the suncare community is octocrylene because it’s toxic to coral reefs. On top of that, when it penetrates into the skin, it continues to act underneath. Octocrylene is said to make the skin photosensitive which can in turn produce free radicals, contributing to skin damage. But enough said about octocrylene.

In this day and age, other substitutes have been used to stabilise Avobenzone. One such stabiliser is Glutathione, an extremely powerful antioxidant that promotes skin whitening/brightening on top of helping to eliminate free radicals in both skin and liver. As of now, I haven’t come across a sunscreen product that uses Avobenzone with Glutathione, but keep watch. More substitutes are under testing and experimentation so we can get the best sunscreen formulation  possible.

Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate (DHHB) or Uvinul A Plus // DHHB is a very photostable chemical and covers the full range of UVA, and exhibits the highest protection against UVA in the wavelength of 354nm. As of late, there isn’t much suspicion about DHHB in terms of biological and environmental damage, if there even is any. The only thing though is that DHHB is used elsewhere in the world except the USA and Canada, USA because of the FDA’s restrictive approval over sunscreen ingredients that includes all (if not most) new generation sunscreen ingredients.

UVB Protectors

Homosalate // Homosalate is an oil-soluble, weak UVB protector, but despite that, and because its concentration is highly regulated, sunscreens that contain Homosalate are not necessarily water resistant. Other ingredients would have to perform the water-resistant act. Additionally, Homosalate also has weak photostability thus requires a stabiliser to prolong its lifetime. On another note, Homosalate has been under the spotlight for having estrogenic activity which could disrupt endocrine activity. Presently, many sunscreens still contain homosalate albeit at low levels (the known maximum being 15% weight/weight as mentioned on paulaschoice.com). At this point, only you can make your own decision as to whether you want to use sunscreens with Homosalate in them or not.

Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate or Octinoxate // This UVB protector is another unstable SPF ingredient that requires a stabiliser to prolong its lifetime. It is known to deteriorate at least 35 minutes after sun exposure, making it ineffective as a sunscreen. Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate is commonly paired with Tinosorb S, a new generation sunscreen ingredient that protects the skin from both UVA and UVB rays and is also very stable. As a solvent to Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, it helps prolong the latter’s lifetime.

Tocopherol or Vitamin E // Amazing, isn’t it, when something familiar from childhood health lessons ends up in your adulthood skincare routine? Yes, I am talking about one of those vitamins we’ve learnt at a young age but didn’t really know how to appreciate them then until now, that is, only when we need them. Vitamin E is an excellent UVB protector, extremely stable and inexpensive, making it the go-to UVB protector in a lot of sunscreens.

Sunscreens with Chemical-based SPF Ingredients

Dual-Protection Sunscreens

If your skin is tolerant enough to most chemicals or, simply put, doesn’t experience adverse effects to sensitising ingredients like retinol, you may find a sunscreen with both types of protectors to be particularly useful. It protects your skin by reflecting off UV rays at the surface of your skin with the help of zinc oxide (most dual-protection sunscreens contain this, otherwise, it is titanium dioxide) and by deactivating the free radicals that have entered your skin layer through chemical action with the help of several chemical SPF ingredients such as the ones above.

It is common to find dual-protection sunscreens with a formulation made up of Zinc Oxide (mineral component) with Uvinul A Plus (UVA chemical component) and Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate (UVB chemical component). Many times Tocopherol (Vitamin E) is also found its formulation but in small quantities such that they appear on the “Inactive Ingredients” list rather than the “Active Ingredients” one.

Sunscreens That Have the Best of Both Worlds

The Chemicals You Might Want to Steer Clear Of

These chemicals are listed as such: Octocrylene, Oxybenzone, Octinoxate … Actually, it’s just these three you might want to look out for in your products, not because you need them in your skin, but you need them to not be there. In particular, Octocrylene can cause allergic reactions in people with more sensitive skin, this allergy called contact dermatitis. On a more serious note, Octocrylene has been reported to have damaging effects to the DNA. When it is absorbed into the skin, it is said to promote the production of free radicals in the skin, which then attack the DNA.

On the other hand, there are reports and studies that also show that these chemicals that are used in sunscreens only become dangerous at certain (high) concentrations. At lower concentrations, they do not cause adverse effects to our skin and, additionally, do not produce metabolites that may endanger our skin.

When To Give These “Suspicious” Chemicals A Chance

Though most companies and brands do not publish the actual concentrations of the above “suspicious” SPF ingredients, it is entirely up to you whether you want to give these sunscreens a chance on your skin.

One thing is for sure though; certain bad chemicals can accumulate with repeated frequent and long use. So, it would be wise to switch out your sunscreens for other bad-chemical-free types (e.g. ones with new-generation sunscreen ingredients like Tinosorb S or even Uvinul A Plus) every time you’re done with one so you give your skin and body some time to expel these accumulated chemicals before piling them on with more.