My first point is that this sunscreen has a ridiculous number of ingredients. That’s totally in keeping with K-beauty products. Second, this product uses a similar combination of filters to:
- Kiehl’s Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Aqua Gel SPF 50 PA++++ and,
- L’Oreal Paris UV Perfect Super Aqua Essence SPF 50+ PA++++ Long UVA
Therefore, I have high expectations from this product and I am unsurprised that it is a Nykaa bestselling sunscreen. I guess, the price at INR 1,250 for 50ml (on 28 April 2020) immensely helps.
Sunscreen test
The product passes all the above hurdles and I’m just going to focus on filters…
UVA and UVB filters
The ingredient list is available on innisfree’s website. Click here for a full list. The filters and the order in the ingredient list is:
- Zinc Oxide (Nano) – 4th ingredient
- Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine (“BEMT”) (11th ingredient)
- Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate (“DHHB”) (13th ingredient)
- Ethylhexyl Triazone (14th ingredient)
- Titanium Dioxide (Nano) (15th ingredient)
High SPF comes from…
The high SPF is definitely not coming from ZnO. If I was a betting man, I’d say it’s coming from BEMT, DHHB, and Ethylhexyl Triazone. All of these are new style filters that do not have to be present in large quantities for the product to have a high SPF. The TiO2 also contributes to the high SPF.
I also would not be surprises if the product contained a bunch of SPF booster ingredients – this is not an uncommon practice.
Protection against UVA comes from broadspectrum, photostable and efficient filters.
i) Zinc Oxide
The primary UVA filter being used is good old Zinc Oxide (see Zinc Oxide 101 for more details).
- While Zinc Oxide is a broadspectrum filter, it is more effective as a UVA filter.
- It’s photostable and unlike the other primary UVA filter, Avobenzone, it does NOT breakdown as soon as it comes out of its tube.
- It’s unreactive with skin: ZnO basically sits on your skin and is great for individuals with sensitive skin.
ii) BEMT
BEMT is an excellent broadspectrum filter and has the following characteristics. as:
- BEMT provides superior UVB as well as UVA protection. The UVAI protection it offers begins to taper off at about 360nm, indicating it provides inferior protection to Avobenzone. Nevertheless, it’s still an excellent UVA filter.
- The filter is very photostable, so does not immediately start to breakdown as soon as the product comes out of the tube
- BEMT has a large molecular weight (629 Dalton) meaning it won’t be absorbed into the skin.
Finally, it does not have to be present in large quantities to give significant UVA protection. Even 1.7% BEMT without any other ingredients, provides PA++ rating, which is much more than the PA protection offered by many Indian sunscreens
iii) DHHB
The only UVA filter is DHHB, which is a superior, photostable UVA filter.
Like BEMT, DHHB is a new style filter that does not need to be present in high percentage quantities to give effective protection. Even 1.5% DHHB gives PA++ rating, assuming no other filters are present. It provides superior UVAII / UVA I protection, peaking between 350nm-360nm
My problem with this sunscreen
Unless the product has 20% Zinc Oxide, I don’t know how this is a PA++++ rated product
I just can’t see it. If on further research I change my mind, I will let you know. However, for the moment, I’m sceptical about the PA++++ label.
I’d safely put my money on a PA++ or if I was being risk-on that day, a PA+++ rating.
Closing remarks
By all means you should use this very affordable sunscreen that offers very decent protection against UVA.
See also
- What damage is sunscreen trying to prevent?
- Myths About Sunscreen
- Make-up products are not a replacement for good old sunscreen
- Top 5 sunscreen recommendations
- Why do I need to buy SPF 30?
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