Mineral sunscreen has been subject to a lot of gossip over the years. Vi loves spilling some piping hot tea on all days that end with ‘y’, but some rumours you might’ve heard about mineral SPF have meant that she’s now… well, a little misunderstood. So let’s clear a few things up, shall we?
Mineral sunscreen refers to SPF formulas that hero active ingredients such as Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide. You’ll find both in our mineral SKINSCREENS™: Lean Screen SPF50+ Mattifying Zinc SKINSCREEN™ (Zinc Oxide) and Clean Screen™ SPF 30 Fragrance Free Gel SKINSCREEN™ (Titanium Dioxide).
There’s been a bit of (totally innocent) name-calling that’s led to a bit of confusion, with mineral sunscreen often referred to as ‘physical sunscreen’. This stems from the idea that mineral sunscreens form a ‘physical barrier’ that sits on top of the skin, which suggests that mineral UV filters reflect all UV rays, rather than absorbing them like chemical filters.
In actual fact, this is an outdated myth that’s only partially true! Mineral UV filters work by absorbing 95% of rays and only reflecting 5%, so *technically* it’s not entirely accurate to call it a ‘physical’ sunscreen as a key differentiator from chemical formulas. Mineral sunscreen has also come a long way since the old days, when the formulas were a whole lot heavier and sometimes left the skin looking all greasy or with a tell-tale white cast.
That said, some of the rumours are actually true! You’ve likely heard mineral sunscreen discussed as a great option for skin types that are on the sensitive side – those that are acne-prone, easily aggravated, or just a hater of almost everything that’s applied to it – and that’s completely legit.
We’ve sweetened the deal even further with our mineral SKINSCREENS™, which are spiked with anti-inflammatory ingredients to maximise their soothing effects – think Pentavitin to lock in moisture and Kakadu Plum to gently brighten, as well as hero hydrators such as Glycerin. Think of them as your calming Emotional Support SPFs, designed to navigate any number of skin meltdowns.
So, there we have it – now everyone is super clear the facts about mineral sunscreen. Vi is so glad we had this chat, and would go as far as to say that our mineral SKINSCREENS™ are the top-tier mineral SPF formulas out there. Shop them and see for yourself here.
