“It’s leaving a physical layer on top of your skin.”Ĭhemical sunscreens use a variety of active ingredients, but due to different regulatory policies, every country favors different types.
Chemical sunscreen skin#
“Mineral sunscreen is basically just ground-down rocks,” explains Lisa Quale, health educator for the University of Arizona Cancer Center’s Skin Cancer Institute.
These sunscreens are also known as organic sunscreens, though don’t confuse that with organic foods they use carbon-based ingredients to protect against UV rays, while mineral sunscreens use inorganic ingredients. But the thick or chalky feel of physical sunscreens (or the memory of them) has some consumers reaching for alternatives.Ĭhemical sunscreens deflect ultraviolet light by absorbing it, turning it into heat and releasing it from the skin, though your skin won’t feel warmer because of this reaction. Luckily, chemists have improved upon the old formula, so today’s physical sunscreens are much easier to blend into your skin. “Decades ago, you would see lifeguards with white noses, almost like cement,” Baron says. That’s why mineral sunscreens appear thicker and are harder to spread. Mineral or physical sunscreens use mineral compounds like zinc oxide or titanium oxide to form a physical barrier against ultraviolet light. “These are the actual ingredients that filter ultraviolet light ,” the wavelength of sunlight that is most damaging to the skin and is linked to skin cancer. Elma Baron, professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “The sunscreen components, we call them ‘ultraviolet filters,’” says Dr. But the active ingredients in sunscreen - components which help prevent sunburn - fall under two categories: mineral (also called physical) or chemical. Spray or lotion, SPF 15 or 100, scented or not… the list goes on. These days, your local pharmacy’s sunscreen options seem nearly limitless. What works best? Do certain sunscreens contain harmful chemicals? How often should we really reapply? We asked medical providers to weigh in on the sunscreen debate. When you’re asking how best to protect your skin from sun damage, parsing all the conflicting information out there can be a challenge. Sun exposure can and does damage the skin. A whiff can conjure up memories of quality time with family at the beach - or the pain of a severe burn from missing a spot. For many of us, the scent of sunscreen is tied up with nostalgia, good and bad.
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