[PSA] SPF "duping"

Beauty Tips For Body Care
I was planning to ask if anyone has already tried (or will try) Avene's new Solaire UV Mineral Multi-Defense Sunscreen SPF 50+. I really wanted to read a review before I shell out money for it until I saw the ingredients:ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: ZINC OXIDE (12%) INACTIVE INGREDIENTS: WATER, C12-15 ALKYL BENZOATE, PROPANEDIOL, JOJOBA ESTERS, TRIDECYL SALICYLATE, METHLHEPTYL ISOSTEARATE, POLYGLYCERYL-4 DIISOSTEARATE / POLYHYDRIXYSTEARATE/ SEBACATE, NYLON-12, NIACINAMIDE, METHYLPROPANEDIOL, COCO-CAPRYLATE, SILICA, AVENE THERMAL SPRING WATER, SODIUM CHLORIDE, POLYGLYCERYL-2 DOPOLYHYDROXYSTEARATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, BISABOLOL, ALLANTOIN, ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) BRAN EXTRACT, LECITHIN, PHENYLPROPANOL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) EXTRACT, TOCOPHEOL, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS (ROSEMARY) LEAF EXTRACT, TETRASODIUM GLUTAMATE DIACETATE, ISOSTEARIC ACID, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, SODIUM HYDROXIDE.This all looks great without the silicones that some of us can't stand but I just couldn't get over the fact that Avene claims SPF 50+ with just 12% zinc oxide! I fell into the rabbit hole of online research and finally pulled up this article:The Purito Sunscreen Controversy: what does it mean for the state of sunscreens and what do consumers need to know? | by The Sunscreen Company | MediumIt was authored by the CEO of The Sunscreen Company who decided to respond to the Purito controversy. It's a pretty long read but fairly detailed and it's just really eye-opening.Some important tidbits from the Medium post:If you have 2% zinc oxide in your formula then you can expect it to contribute roughly 3 SPF points to your formula. Inorganic/mineral filters like zinc oxide can be relatively inefficient in terms of SPF protection so you therefore need a lot of it to get reasonable SPF’s and protective UVA Protection Factors.Can formulators improve on the metrics provided? Absolutely. Within the formulators tool kit, things like dispersion techniques, particle size and distribution, coatings etc. can improve the performance of the filter. Your 1% concentration of zinc oxide starts contributing 2 SPF points to your overall formula. Congrats! Can your innovations in formulation technology improve your efficiency by a magnitude of 20x. No!Many sunscreens contain anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories that reduce skin redness. Some of our most beloved ingredients like Niacinamide or Centella Asiatica Extract (both are contained in the Purito product) are designed to remove skin redness. Less commonly known are ones like Bisabolol (derived from Chamomile) and Butyloctyl Salicylate (chemically similar to Aspirin).They do not make them more efficient or effective. Rather they simply mask the biological end point that is used to determine their effectiveness. Duping.Customers do not have easy access to what type of testing was done on any given formula. The ingredient listing of the actives and in-actives are an important source of information for them as the accuracy of the claims on the front of the bottle are called into question. If their given formula seems to include a low amount of filters but has a high SPF and does include ingredients like Niacinamide, Centella Asiatic Extract, Bisabolol, and Butyloctyl Salicylate, then it’s something reasonable for them to question.Avene's formula has niacinamide, bisabolol, and tocopherol which are anti-inflammatories and are contributing to the high SPF value while not providing actual protection from UV exposure. Even my favorite mineral formulas from Supergoop contain butyloctyl salicylate.This is concerning, to say the least and I just find this whole industry frustrating when we can be deceived into thinking we're getting protection that's not actually there simply by spoofing formulas.Are there any brands left that we can trust? Please, help me find them.TL;DR: Sunscreen makers keep lying to us about protection levels. They spoof formulas because we let them get away with it.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by zinkydoo