Sunscreen

Zinc oxide, is a white, powdery mineral with a long history of use as sun protection and moisturiser.

Regardless of which brand you choose, there are a few active ingredients that are to work best at healing and protecting. Zinc oxide glides on the skin and creates an impermeable barrier to block moisture. It is usually present in creams in concentrations of 10 to 40 percent. Calendula is a natural, antibacterial oil derived from marigold flowers. There are various other vitamins and soothers, like aloe, that are often added to help revive inflamed skin.

Zinc Oxide Uses

Zinc oxide is used in a wide range of cosmetics and personal care products including makeup, nail products, baby lotions, bath soaps and foot powders. Zinc oxide is also used in skin protectants, such as diaper rash ointments and sunscreen products.

Uses & Benefits

Zinc oxide is used as a bulking agent and a colorant. In over-the-counter drug products, it is used as a skin protectant and a sunscreen. Zinc oxide works as a sunscreen by reflecting and scattering UV radiation. Sunscreens reduce or prevent sunburn and premature aging of the skin. It works a a mosituriser and rash-preventive agent in diaper creams and lotions.

How does Zinc Oxide end up in our products?

Since the compound zinc oxide is not water-soluble, it can’t be applied by itself topically; it usually needs to be combined with a carrier agent. For example, zinc oxide is usually blended with active mineral ingredients, along with inactive ingredients such as beeswax, to make products such as sunscreen and diaper ceam

Also, nanoparticles are used in the making of sunscreens with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. The process makes it easier to absorb into your skins vs.the the gloopy, white sunblocks of the past.

How well does sunscreen protect your skin from the sun?

Shielding your skin from ultraviolet radiation (UVR) the sun emits is important to your health and well-being. When it comes to protection from the sun’s harmful rays, zinc oxide does such an excellent job because its properties effectively block ultraviolet (UV) light waves that make it to the earth.

Another valuable property that zinc oxide has that helps with sun protection is that it is photostable, meaning that it resists change in the presence of light. When zinc oxide is used as an ingredient in sunscreen, it blocks a certain amount of radiant energy in UV light waves.

Although there are three types of UVR, photoprotection from both UVA and UVB radiation is of the most importance.

UVB, also known as burn rays, is usually what comes to mind when people think of applying sunscreen coverage. The third UVR the sun emits is UVC, which is of nominal concern because the ozone layer blocks it before it reaches earth. However, the depletion of the ozone layer is of great concern because of the protection it provides.

UVA rays contribute to skin cancer, wrinkles, problems in immune regulation and more. These health threats are always present, even when it’s cloudy and regardless of the season. That is why dermatologists recommend wearing sunscreen at all times.

Since UVA rays are potent enough to penetrate window glass, photosensitive people may even need sunscreen protection indoors.

Which skin types benefit most from this ingredient?

Sunscreens containing zinc oxide are beneficial for all skin types. Even if you don’t sunburn easily, wearing it is still important. Getting a sunburn is an immediate reaction, but damage from the sun damage occurs over the years and cumulates throughout a lifetime.

Although skin cancer is more commonly found in light-skinned people, the sun’s damaging UV rays don’t discriminate, affecting dark-skinned people too.

Zinc oxide is also an exceptionally effective shield against the sun for babies and youngsters whose skin may not be as mature and developed as adults.

Because zinc oxide is both antimicrobial and non-comedogenic (non-pore clogging), sunscreens that contain it are a good choice for people with redness and rosacea due to extremely sensitive skin. The antimicrobial properties of zinc oxidecan aid in healing burns and other skin damage that results from sunburn.

For babies, zinc oxide serve as a preventinve measeure to prevent diaper rash. Its benefits of being non-irritating and non-allergenic as well as anti-bacterial helps to prevent irritants from growing on the skin. At the same time, zinc oxide also helps to smoothen and prevent moisture lose on the skin.

Adapted from:

https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/zinc-oxide/

https://projectsunscreen.com/blogs/ingredients/everything-you-want-to-know-about-zinc-oxide