dermalogica super sensitive shield SPF 30

My view: Give it a try BUT only if it also replaces your day cream

MRP Rs 3,800 for 50ml

Ingredients*

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Dicaprylyl Ether, Butylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-3 Polymethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone, Dimethicone, Aluminium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract, Oxothiazolidine, Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Lens Esculenta Fruit, Tocopherol, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Bisabolol, Zingiber Officinale Root Extract, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Silica, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Dipropylene Glycol, Triethoxysilylethyl Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Hexyl Dimethicone, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Glycerin, Cyclomethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lavandula Spica (Lavender) Flower Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Citrate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Limonene, Linalool

*Ingredients are listed in descending order of quantity.

Filters

“Filters” protect against damage caused by UV radiation.   UVA rays penetrate our skin deeper and cause breakdown of collagen in our skin. Collagen is what gives skin its structure and resilience.  Therefore, UVA causes longer-term structural damage to our skin.  

UVA filters protect against the damage caused by UVA radiation, which in a nutshell is photo-damage (wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation and loss of skin elasticity).    UVB filters protect mainly against UVB radiation, namely reddening of the skin (erythema), sunburn and skin-cancer. UVB/UVA filters combine the function of UVA and UVB filters.

• UVB/UVA Filter:
  • Titanium Dioxide (4th ingredient out of 50 ingredients)
  • Zinc Oxide (3rd ingredient out of 50 ingredients)

My thoughts

The product has sufficient quantities of both UVB and UVA filters to be SPF 30. There is very little not to like about this combination (see below). But this is the most expensive sun protection product along with the one with the most ingredients. The reason for the expense and abundance of ingredients is its a day moisturiser. The main issue with day moisturisers is that they compromise on the quantity of active UVA and UVB filters in favour of other ingredients.

Not dermalogica. It also solves that problem of applying moisturiser, waiting for it to dry and then applying sun protection. Too many of us will mix moisturiser with sun protection and this reduces the efficacy of the sun protection. This product is perfect in that respect.

BUT at Rs 3,800 it is twice the price of Avene and Bioderma. It probably works out cheaper to buy this product then a day moisturiser and a sunscreen. But you would need to be satisfied that the product worked for you as a day moisturiser otherwise its simply better to buy separate products. At a later date I will revisit this particular issue when I look at multiple moisturisers, but for now the focus of this review is sun protection

Excerpt from “Do you know your filters?“

Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide

The graph shows absorbance of both Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide. As you can see both compliment each other covering the entire UV spectrum from 320 to about 370nm.

• Zinc Oxide absorbance > Titanium Dioxide between 350nm – 370nm
• Titanium Dioxide Absorbance > Zinc Oxide absorbance below 350nm.

See also Top 5 Sunscreen Recommendations, Do You Know Your Filters?, Guide to Buying Sun Protection, Do You Understand The Gibberish on Sunscreen Labels?