The Organic Pharmacy is a British brand that is made in the UK. I introduced my mother to this brand well over a decade ago, when quite frankly there were five sunscreens you could buy in a British pharmacy. The other 4 were either “Boots” or “Nivea.”
This sunscreen is a whopping £39 for 100 ml and yes, that sounds so expensive! But if I quickly compare it to Drunk Elephant’s (£29 for 30 ml), then this is much cheaper. This sunscreen costs £0.40/ml, while Drunk Elephant cost £1.00/ml or is 2.5 times more expensive!
Happy Skin Days sunscreen test?
The product doesn’t contain harmful chemicals, its SPF is 30 and it also has UVA and UVB filters. What I would like to discuss today is specifically the UV filters.
What damage are we trying to protect ourselves when we use sunscreen?
Its vital that sunscreens contain “UV filters” that protect our skin by absorbing, reflecting or scattering UVA and UVB rays, as both rays have been definitively linked to photoaging and skin cancer.
The harmful effects of over-exposure to UVA and UVB are:
Source: Happy Skin Days. Copyright asserted.The product filters are:
- Zinc Oxide 14.5%
- Titanium Dioxide: 1%
Both Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are broadspectrum filters providing protection against both UVA and UVB radiation; they are photostable (and therefore do not breakdown in sunlight) and importantly they are unreactive with skin. They are also known as “physical sunscreens” because they kind of sit on top of the skin.
Zinc Oxide is the better UVA filter and provides superior protection in the UVA1 region, which is essentially the most of UV radiation. Titanium Dioxide is the better UVB filter and complements the performance of Zinc Oxide in this sunscreen.
You can read more about these filters in the blog Zinc Oxide 101.
What is my concern?
I think this is an SPF 30 and not an SPF 50 product.
My basis for saying this is that if I compare it to the American sunscreens, then American sunscreens that have an SPF 50, have at least Zinc Oxide concentrations at least of 20% + or the amount of Titanium Dioxide is much higher….
Let me show you what I mean using the data I have previously collected.
SPF 30 PRODUCTS
What is notable is that CVS Health Zinc Sheer SPF 30 has 18.2% Zinc Oxide!! Drunk Elephant SPF 30 has 20% Zinc Oxide. Both are much more than the 14.5% Zinc Oxide contained in this sunscreen!
| Product name | SPF | Octocrylene | Titanium Dioxide | Zinc Oxide |
| Australian Gold® Botanical SPF 30 Mineral Lotion | 30 | 3.0% | 3% | |
| Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen SPORT mineral-based sunscreen SPF 30+ | 30 | 4.0% | 9.7% | |
| CVS Health Zinc Sheer Lotion SPF 30 | 30 | 18.2% | ||
| SunBum Mineral sunscreen spray SPF 30 | 30 | 14% |
Source: Happy Skin Days own research. All rights reserved
SPF 50 PRODUCTS (with low Zinc Oxide concentration)
In almost all of these sunscreens, the only way that the product has a SPF 50 rating is because Zinc Oxide is being combined with other filters….
| Product name | Hom | Octin | Octis | Ocr | TiO2 | ZnO |
| babyganics spray SPF 50+ | 7.5% | 5.0% | 11.00% | |||
| babyganics lotion SPF 50+ | 5.0% | 3.0% | 6.00% | |||
| babyganics stick SPF 50+ | 7.9% | 6.70% | ||||
| Aveeno baby continuous protection sensitive skin sunscreen stick SPF 50 | 8.1% | 6.80% | ||||
| CVS Health baby mineral based sun lotion SPF 50 | 7.5% | 5.0% | 14.50% | |||
| CVS Health children’s mineral based sun lotion SPF 50 | 7.5% | 5.0% | 14.50% | |||
| Banana Boat simply protect SPORT sunscreen lotion SPF 50 | 9.0% | 1.0% | 6.0% | 7.30% | ||
| Coppertone SPORT® Face Mineral Lotion Sunscreen SPF 50 | 7.5% | 4.5% | 10% |
key: Hom (Homosalate), Octin (Octinoxate), Ocr (Octocrylene), TiO2 (Titanium Dioxide) and ZnO (Zinc Oxide)
Source: Happy Skin Days own research. All rights reserved
SPF 50 (with high Zinc Oxide concentration)
In all of the following sunscreens, the Zinc Oxide concentration is much higher than the 14.5% Zinc Oxide in the Organic Pharmacy sunscreen!
| Product name | ZnO |
| Aveeno Positively Mineral (sensitive skin) sunscreen SPF 50 | 21.60% |
| Neutrogena pure & free baby sunscreen SPF 50 | 21.60% |
| Aveeno baby continuous protection sensitive skin zinc oxide sunscreen lotion SPF 50 | 21.60% |
| Coppertone Pure & simple for face SPF 50 (Zinx oxide protection) | 24.08% |
| Coppertone Pure & simple sunscreen lotion SPF 50 (Zinc oxide protection) | 24.08% |
| CVS Health Zinc Face Sheer Lotion SPF 50 | 21.6% |
| CVS Health Zinc Sheer Lotion SPF 50 | 21.6% |
| Neutrogena SheerZinc Face Dry touch sunscreen SPF 50 | 21.60% |
| SunBum Mineral Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 | 20% |
| SunBum babyBum Mineral sunscreen lotion SPF 50 | 20% |
Key: ZnO is Zinc Oxide
Source: Happy Skin Days own research. All rights reserved
What do I think?
I like this sunscreen – it’s full of a bunch of natural ingredients and my mother who has sensitive skin likes it too. Finally, I should mention that this is not the most pleasant smelling sunscreen because it doesn’t have artificial fragrance masking the chalky smell of Zinc Oxide – this is is good if you have a fragrance allergen.
I would use it but I would treat it as an SPF 30 and not an SPF 50 product.
See also:
- Zinc Oxide 101 – everything you need to know about Zinc Oxide
- My Top 5 sunscreen recommendations
- Sunscreens to have on your top shelf (October 2019 edition)
- Is SPF 50 really better than SPF 15? This blog explains why you should be paying attention to the SPF value of your sunscreen
- Myths About sunscreen
- yes, you really do need to be wearing sunscreen 365 days a year
- Addresses why Indians should be wearing sunscreen
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COPYRIGHT
I wish to remind some of you that I am a non-affiliated skincare blogger. I invest my time, money, blood, sweat, and tears in creating content for my blog. My blog is read in multiple countries and according to my lawyers, each of those countries protects my content and rights under copyright law. If you would like to use my content, do the right thing, and write to me at email@happyskindays.com. Don’t be that person who steals content, because it’s arrogant, disrespectful, and ultimately, a crime.