This sunscreen is a perfect example of why your whitening day cream is not a substitute for your sunscreen. This is best illustrated by looking at the product’s ingredient label.
This product has old school filters, which means for them to be effective they should be in the top 5 to 7 listed ingredients, especially the UVA filters. The ingredients that provide proper UVA protection are outside the top 10 ingredients, meaning that at best this product provides questionable protection against UVA radiation.
Just to remind you, we want sunscreen to protect against the deleterious effects of both UVA and UVB radiation as they’ve both been implicated in causing (e.g.) skin cancer and photoaging. (See What Damage is Sunscreen Trying to Prevent? for further details).
Sunscreen test
1) Harmful chemicals present
Typically, I look for BHT and parabens: this product contains both.
BHT: is a preservative and it’s the policy of this blog to avoid products containing BHT. David Suzuki’s excellent explanation is, “Limited evidence suggests that high doses of BHT may mimic estrogen, the primary female sex hormone and prevent the expression of male sex hormones, resulting in adverse reproductive effects.”
Parabens: are cheap and effective preservatives that are endocrine system disruptors (estrogen mimickers). Other manufacturers manage to avoid parabens, so I don’t see why any manufacturer needs to use them (See also Chemicals to Avoid – Parabens).
If you are completely fine with putting sunscreen with harmful chemicals, then I respect your prerogative to do so. Despite that, you should not buy this sunscreen for reasons listed below.
2) and 3) Is SPF 30? Does this contain UVA and UVB filters?
Filters should be UVA, UVB or broadspectrum (combining function of UVA and UVB) and protect against both UVA and UVB. This product’s filters are:
- UVB: Octinoxate, Octocrylene, and Octisalate
- UVA: Avobenzone
- Broadspectrum filter providing both UVA and UVB protection is Titanium Dioxide
Without doubt this provides stated SPF 30 protection. My concern is with the UVA protection. This product has as its primary UVA filter, Avobenzone which is notoriously unstable. Even if I am very generous and assume that its being photostabilised by Octocrylene, I still have two unresolved issues.
First, its combined with Octinoxate and studies show that combining Octinoxate with Avobenzone reduces the efficacy of BOTH sunscreen filters.
Second, is there even enough Avobenzone in this product given that it appears outside the top 10 ingredient list? I don’t think so. And before you mention the fact that this product contains Titanium Dioxide that does offer UVA protection, please can I remind you that Titanium Dioxide offers superior UVB protection but not such greater UVA protection…
(Abbreviations used: Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate), Avobenzone (Butylmethoxydibenzoyl methane), Octisalate (Ethylhexyl Salicylate)
Closing remarks
The product is available for sale at Nykaa at an absolute bargain at INR 299 for 50 gm (price valid on 28 April 2020). In my mind, something is only a bargain if it actually works and you get it for cheap. This does not work as a sunscreen and there is no excuse for poor formulations. It is a disappointing product from Pond’s.
I will leave you with sunscreen best practices! Drop me a line if you have any questions at email@happyskindays.com
See also
Make-up products are not a replacement for good old sunscreen