I will be honest with you; I have a real hate-hate relationship with Lotus Herbals, as the brand is ubiquitous and makes terrible sunscreens. Therefore, I come into this product test with a historical bias (namely, the ridiculous number of Lotus Herbal sunscreens that (i) I have paid for and in my view (ii) are absolutely terrible).
When we use sunscreen, what type of damage are we aiming to protect against?
UV filters contained in sunscreens should protect against the damaging effects of both UVA and UVB radiation:
Happy Skin Days’ sunscreen test
I apply this very basic test to all sunscreens that I test on this blog.
Note: the harmful chemicals that I look for are specifically BHT, Oxybenzone, Formaldehyde releasing preservatives and parabens (and none of these are present in this product). The product is at least an SPF 30 and it does provide some UVA protection.
3) What UVA and UVB sunscreen filters are present?
This sunscreen contains Zinc Oxide (4th ingredient) and Titanium Dioxide (7th or 8th? ingredient).
Both Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide have a long track record of safe use when topically applied. Both are photostable (do not breakdown in UV radiation) and are not absorbed into the skin. Even if de minimis penetration of (e.g.) Zinc Oxide occurs, there are no adverse health effects, given the high levels of endogenous Zinc already present in the body.
While both Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are broadspectrum filters, Titanium Dioxide is the better UVB filter and Zinc Oxide is the better UVA filter.
How does the sunscreen blend in?
The product blends in with ZERO whitecast. It does not smell of chalk, which indicates that the Zinc Oxide is present in a nano-form.
The product smells disgusting to me. I can’t quite put my finger on the putrid nature of the smell, but it is enough to completely put me off.
Would I buy and use this sunscreen?
This is a Rs 545 sunscreen for 100g and at this price point, its excellent value for money. The only problem with this product is that I don’t know the % of Zinc Oxide present in it. Is it 10% or 20%? Its important to disclose this information (even if its not legally required) because so many products do – its the industry standard.
Otherwise, as the 4th listed ingredient, I am not sure that there is a truckload of Zinc Oxide present in this product: and this matters to me.
Finally, the smell puts me off, but may not put you off…
Despite my objections, this is an excellent improvement in the right direciton, so well done Lotus Herbals!!
Available for sale at Nykaa for Rs 545.