This may be worthy of a new thread - when I learned that chemical sunscreens break down and have to be reapplied frequently in order to give you the protection you need, that's when I started searching for physical sunscreens that sit in top of your skin and don't break down. Still don't completely understand how PPD ratings work to indicate protection from UVA but eventually I will.

I fully agree with you that the use of sun protection tends to offer the same false sense of security that wearing helmets on a motorcycle at 100 MPH does. If you crash, with helmet or without, you will be hurt badly...

Sunscreens can damage skin if not used properly, study warns


one interesting article......there are literally thousands of articles on sunscreen degradation, sunscreen and ros, sunscreen and free radicals, and a rather nice rating system by the cosmetic safety database. Its important to be a good consumer and not a victim of infomercialism. There is no such thing as hope in a jar.

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Russian/Chinese, from planet NARS, age 45. "If its pink and sparkley I will shoot it...."

New thread for an important topic, imo.

So basically, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. That's an interesting article, thanks for posting it Kuuipo. I'm annoyed that they don't suggest brands of sunscreen to use that have these advanced filters, as a consumer we're left wondering what is the best way to fully protect against UV rays now? It's not practical on a day to day basis to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours. Unless you're going to the beach or spending the day outisde in the sun in summer, who actually does this? I apply a daily moisturizer with spf15 in it, now I'm wondering if this is enough. I'm on a fight against wrinkles!! Haha...

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Me too. I put mine on in the morning under makeup, and I can't keep putting it on again over the makeup throughout the day. Can anyone suggest any of these advanced sunscreens?

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Physical barrier sunscreens do not degrade, like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. I am not sure of the chemical ones, I always use physical barriers because I am sensitive to chemical ones. Clarins UV Plus spf 40 is a good one, it uses titanium dioxide.

Some sunscreens also use z-cote, a transparent form of zinc oxide that doesn't leave a whitish cast on the skin.

How practical are these kinds of sunscreen for wearing under makeup? I'm also weary of anything over spf 25 because it offers hardly any more protection, it's only incrimental. That's why in some countries like Australia you can't label sunscreen as higher than 30, I believe. An spf 30 is not double as strong as spf 15, although that's what some people tend to think.

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I find the Clarins one is light enough to wear under makeup, there is also one put out by Mychelle that uses the z-cote. Yes, there is only about a 3 percent difference between spf 15 and spf 30, not much difference.

Mischevious, did you move this post to start this thread, 'cause I know I didn't! Either way, good move. I never realized how complicated sun protection can be until I started participating in health and beauty forums!

I was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma last year and started researching sunscreens to find my HG facial sunscreen that won't clog pores, leave my face looking shiny, has a nice texture that I'll actually use. I did try Clarins UV40 and think it had the most elegant texture of all, but the price! Sorry, at nearly $40 per ounce I wouldn't use enough of it to give me the protection I need. I had given up on finding a completely physical sunscreen and settled on a chemical/physical sunscreen made by one of my favorite skincare lines www.pureskinformulations.com.

I just tried yet another new sunscreen made by NIA24 that contains both titanium and zinc oxide, so it's completely physical and I think this is finally gonna be it! No chemicals that degrade, lovely light and elegant texture that doesn't clog my pores or cause me to break out and also contains 5% niacin. It leaves my face looking a little white for a few minutes but manages to absorb quickly since it the titanium and zinc are micronized. Even better, it slightly mattifies my face and I noticed my makeup goes on very smoothly on top of this so it can be used as sunscreen AND makeup primer! Since I use mineral makeup, the additional layer of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide also give me another layer of protection. Unless I sweat it off or go for a swim in the ocean, I don't have to worry about reapplying through out the day because physical barriers don't break down.

There are supposed to be some chemical sunscreens that are more stable and DON'T break down, but I'm still uncomfortable with how they work. This isn't based on anything scientific by any means, but I just don't like the concept behind how they work at all. Apparently they sink in and absorb the UVA rays under the surface; at least with a physical sunscreen, the UVA rays are deflected rather than absorbed.

I'll try to dig up some articles from much more informed sources and post them.

More information than you probably wanted to know. I'm slightly concerned that this site doesn't seem to think that ANY chemical barriers are sound. This site also expresses a lot of concerns about micronized use of minerals, but who wants to put a heavy, occlusive white cream on their face that looks like a lifeguard's nose? Nevertheless, a great place to start your research and draw your own conclusions.
More Healthy Suntanning, Best Sunblockers, Suntan Vitamins, Skin Cancer and Chemical Sunscreens

Sun screens are a very controversial topic within the FDA as well. Because of the FDA, the term "sunblock" isn't supposed to be allowed, since nothing can truly BLOCK UVA/UVB rays, although physical screens like Titanium and Zinc do deflect. They're also trying to come up with a rating system that will more accuratel y reflect protection from UVA rays, which is a lot more complicated than UVB.

FDA proposes sunblock testinganother forum-another forum-another forumThe Washington Times, America's Newspaper

Very dry reading, Q&A from the FDA website: Questions and Answers on the 2007 Sunscreen Proposed Rule

Thanks Athena, for perpetuating the topic of sunscreen use. I have mentioned in other postings about metallic sunscreens like zinc (which is now available in clear-and is a component in mineral makeups) and titanium. Zinc does have a reputation for being in comedogenic formulations (pore cloggers). Sun protection is not just for vanity's sake. Some skin cancers that are small on the surface reach down into muscle and connective tissue -and can require enormous excisions-or can become malignant and spread to other areas. I've had patients in Hawaii who have had entire ears or noses removed due to skin cancer-and some who have lost their lives from malignant melanoma.

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Russian/Chinese, from planet NARS, age 45. "If its pink and sparkley I will shoot it...."

Yes I'm really confused with sunscreens. In what I've read so far a suncreen is a good sunscreen as long as it's broad spectrum--period. I never knew that there's more to this such as ingredient content, etc. And I've never even thought of reapplying it throughout the day either. I always thought that you only reapply if you are exposed to water or if you sweat a lot. Well now I know better thanks to this thread!

How protective do you guys think of foundations with SPF? Will wearing this alone suffice, or should we still supplement with sunscreen?

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I sing Beatles songs to my son instead of nursery rhymes.

Don't rely on foundations with SPF for any degree of protection-especially if you drive or walk to work in daylight. Same thing, in 2 hours your SPF protection has degraded and is delivering free radicals below the surface of your skin. A hat is a better option. Mineral makeup is better than the SPF in liquid foundations because its generally zinc, which is photostable.
Broad spectrum only means that it screens out UVA/UVB rays up to 2 hours with some reliability. For reliability, it must be applied generously (slathered on) every 2 hours.

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Russian/Chinese, from planet NARS, age 45. "If its pink and sparkley I will shoot it...."