Differences between Mineral and Synthetic Sunscreens

Diferenças entre Protetores Solares Minerais e Sintéticos
The studies are clear: using sunscreen every day is essential, regardless of the time of year. Sunscreen not only helps protect the skin from injury and skin cancer, but also protects it from premature aging.
If you're not in the habit of using sunscreen every day, or if you've tried, but it didn't work, the solution is not to give up. Instead, the ideal is to find a formula that works for your skin type as it protects against the damage caused by unprotected sun exposure.It can be helpful to understand the differences between sunscreen ingredients - what they are, how they work and how it feels when applied to the skin.
 
Both types of sunscreen ingredients are mineral and synthetic, and both are equally protective. 

 

What is the difference between mineral and synthetic sunscreen ingredients?

Mineral sunscreen ingredients: There are only two mineral sunscreen ingredients: titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Both work on the surface layers of the skin and deflecting or dispersing the sun's harmful rays. These mineral ingredients are sometimes referred to as physical sunscreens or physical blockers. , although this is not a factual representation of how they work. In the skin care world, the ingredients in mineral sunscreens are called organic, but they are not.
 
Examples of sunscreens with mineral ingredients:
Sunscreen Ingredients Synthetic: There are over 30 synthetic sunscreen ingredients. All are absorbed into the upper layers of the skin, where they work in two ways: deflecting the sun's harmful rays and converting UV rays into heat and “turning them off”. The most common ingredients in synthetic sunscreens include oxybenzone, octinoxate, octylsalate and avobenzone. Sometimes they are labeled as “chemical sunscreens”, but in fact t all ingredients used in skin care are "chemicals", even water.

Examples of sunscreen with ingredients synthetic:

It is important to know that there is nothing inherently better or worse about formulas that contain mineral or synthetic sunscreen ingredients.  What matters is that they protect the skin from sun damage.
 

If the ingredients in mineral and synthetic sunscreens aren't organic, why are they in health food stores?

All skin products must pass certain tests in the laboratory to prove that they are safe for the skin (and that these do not have - and in our opinion, they shouldn't even be tested on animals) In the case of sunscreens, the degree of protection (SPF) has to be tested and proven. There are no 100% natural/organic ingredients that offer a reasonable degree of protection to be used exclusively in a product that is later sold as a sunscreen. So all sunscreens have to include these sun protection ingredients, whether mineral or synthetic.
 
However, a sunscreen is not composed solely of sunscreen ingredients. It also has other ingredients whose function is to hydrate, has an emollient action, etc. These other ingredients do not need to be synthetic, or derived from substances such as petroleum, or include parabens. They can be natural, organic and good for our skin. Hence the offer of sunscreens with mineral or synthetic ingredients in natural products stores!

Explore our entire selection of Sunscreens for Body and  Face For the whole Family!

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