My product review of this brand’s tinted mineral sunscreen is available here. Today’s blog is a product review of an “ultra matte” dry touch sunscreen gel.
Suggestions on sunscreen labels
Re’equil write “water/sweat” resistance and with IR protection on the front of the box.
It is very important that that you ignore this.
There is no government regulation (unlike the US and Australia) on how to measure “water resistance.” (click on this blog for more information) and you should be sceptical about such claims.
In terms of protection against IR, its based on this ingredient, Physalis Angulata Extract and here is the information from the manufacturer.
My twopence, is that we should be able to walk before we can run: we don’t know the damage caused by IR to our bodies and therefore, I am not sure products can/should claim to protect against IR, when no-one can definitively claim to know what damage is caused.
What damages are we trying to protect against when we use sunscreen?
Sunscreens contain UV filters. I like the EU definition which is, ‘UV-filters’ means substances which are exclusively or mainly intended to protect the skin against certain UV radiation by absorbing, reflecting or scattering UV radiation
Happy Skin Days’ sunscreen test
I apply this very basic test to all sunscreens that I test on this blog.
3) What UVA and UVB filters are present in this product?
The UV filters are:
- Octinoxate
- DHHB (Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate)
- Uvinul HEB (Diethyl hexyl Butamido Triazone)
- Zinc Oxide
- Titanium Dioxide
- BEMT (Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine)
Octinoxate or Ethylyhexyl methoxycinnamate is present in an overwhelming number of sunscreens that I have seen, which is no surprise because it’s the most common UVB filter used globally.
Uvinul HEB is a very effective UVB filter that is also very, very photostable.
On BEMT and DHHB:
Both Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide have a long track record of safe use when topically applied.
Aesthetics of the product
Whitecast?
No whitecast at all and easily blends in.
Fragrance?
The product is fragranced, but lightly so. The smell is pleasant enough for me to wear and not at all like La Shield’s SPF 40.
Dry touch?
It is completely dry touch. BUT there is a fair amount of lipids in the product. The oil ring is T+2 hours.
Closing
In terms of formulation, this uses exactly the same filters + Zinc Oxide as La Shield does in La Shield Sunscreen Gel SPF 40 (click here for review).
The sunscreen is priced at INR 695 for 50g and honestly, there is no reason for me to NOT use this sunscreen, as I am ok with the fragrance