Comments on: Sunscreens – why you should use them daily

By: Lizette Preiss

Lizette Preiss — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:37:17 +0000

Oh and my homemade exfoliant of some Sodium Bicarbonate mixed with a tiny bit of aqueous cream and a tiny blob of Bio-Oil was an absolute winner if anyone is interested. It really worked brilliantly.

By: Lizette Preiss

Lizette Preiss — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:35:18 +0000

It is also known as ecamsule in the EU. It is patented by L’Oreal and is expensive. It is actually why I found your site. I was googling around to see what ingredients are in various beauty preparations and so on, in the hope that I would find more information about making a cheap exfoliant at home. The idea being that if I DON’T spend a fortune on something like Dermalogica’s Microfoliant Powder or whatever it is called, then I can put the money to good use on sunscreen. Somehow through all this googling and bouncing between interlinked blogs, I found your site. It is now bookmarked and I’m dip in now and then as you have some really cool stuff.

Anyway if you google Ecamsule or Mexoryl it has a reasonable entry on wikipedia.

It was the first sunscreen that didn’t feel like a mask of sticky stuff stuck on my face, and also didn’t cause pimples.

By: Colin

Colin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:36:13 +0000

I am afraid I know almost nothing about Mexoryl. But if it suits your skin and gives you good sun protection it sounds like it is working for you.

By: Lizette Preiss

Lizette Preiss — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:24:42 +0000

I am not sure that I necessarily agree with what you say, but only from a personal standpoint. The science holds up, however I find that the Zinc Oxide/Titanium Dioxide options give me pimples overnight.

The only sunscreens I’ve found that prevents sunburn and have no reaction on my skin are ones containing Mexoryl. Admittedly I’ve only tried two: Anthelios and Vichy. The Anthelios was the best but they stopped selling it here in South Africa. So I now use the Vichy.

What is you view on Mexoryl?

By: Trae

Trae — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:57:37 +0000

Really enjoyed this article, Colin. It’s great to hear a cosmetic chemist’s perspective on the issue of sunscreens. I’m currently experimenting more with physical sunscreens myself, as I have sensitive skin and most chemical sunscreens always seem to sting when I apply them. It seems that there are an increasing number of SPF 30 and higher physical screens becoming available here, as dermatologists in the US seem to really push a minimum of SPF 30 for daily facial use, though, as you mentioned, the numbers don’t go nearly as high as they do for chemical screens [I've seen SPFs of up to 110 here LOL].

Josh, I’m not sure if it’s already available where you are but I know that La Roche-Posay is releasing an entirely titanium-dioxide-based [no zinc oxide] product in the States this month that supposedly rates at SPF 50/PPD 21 called ‘Anthelios 50 Mineral’ with an ‘Ultra Light’ consistency ^_^

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:54:22 +0000

Hi Colin,

I really enjoy reading your articles and find this one very refreshing (and I agree with you completely).

I wonder if you could do more on sunscreens and in particular UV protection and alternative methods?

I’m particularly interested in hearing your perspective on alternative ingredients that might protect against UV damage. I’ve read a number of stories on various cosmetic industry news sites over the years about ingredients like broccoli extract providing superb protection in tests, yet, years later it’s not appearing (that I can find) in any products. Others like lycopene are also mentioned often but are incredibly hard to find in a finished product.

I struggle with traditional sunscreens. I find chemical ones have the best finish but they usually irritate my skin. Zinc oxide also irritates my skin (I’ve tried dozens of formulas, keeping a spreadsheet of all the ingredients and even tried the powder on it’s own mixed into a cream that doesn’t irritate my skin so I know it does). The only filter I’m left with is titanium dioxide and elegant formulas containing it are few and far between. Hence my interest in alternatives!

Thanks a lot and keep up the great work!!

By: Does eating sugar give you wrinkles? | Colin's Beauty Pages

Does eating sugar give you wrinkles? | Colin's Beauty Pages — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:24:48 +0000

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