‘Invisible Zinc Sport Mineral Sunscreen with SPF 50+ and 4-hour water resistant is a broad spectrum very high UVA/ UVB naturally sourced zinc oxide shield‘
I read an NZ study that concluded this was not 50+ (only 38) but it’s a good product regardless.
Never tried this brand, any good?
I've been using Banana Boat Cool Zone lately.
Note that untinted mineral sunscreens tend to have white casts, especially if you apply the recommended amount of 1/2 a teaspoon for your face and neck. With sport and water resistant sunscreens, they are usually heavy duty formulas to withstand sweat and water. May be a little thick for every day. Haven't used this myself but I have tried similar zinc sunscreens and despite having a fair complexion, I looked like I painted my face white.
Thanks! I only use it while golfing or fishing. I'll give it a go based off your explanation.
This should be perfect, don't forget to reapply :)
I've tried this and its the worst sunscreen I've ever used.
The sunscreen won't wash off and stays there for a few days along with the awful smell.
Usually oil cleansers are great at dissolving and removing stubborn sunscreen, or just a really soapy and strong body wash
Invisible Zinc Sunscreens Half Price at Woolworths
Needs to be free, not half price if invisible…
Whack it on in the aisle, then jus walk right out.
As per previous comment, if it’s really invisible then it should make you invisible enough to exit without being seen.
Neg away, you’ll only make me stronger…
Wow that’s good value!
Unsure how it compares to the stuff in this deal, I bought it because a few days earlier my daughter got badly burnt using regular sunscreen in the pool which was reapplied but it washed off in the water. The zinc, MUCH better protection.
I also bought it because it was the best bang for buck I could find anywhere.
Yeah, I’m willing to take a punt on it myself.
Thanks for the recommendation.
it’s a great sunscreen but i usually reserve it for the heavy duty outings e.g beach , pool, long gardening sessions.
there are a couple of approaches to sunscreen, some have a blocking or are reflective approach, others absorb the UV,
@garage sale: If you are talking about chemical/organic vs physical/inorganic sunscreen filters, they both work by absorbing UV. It is a huge myth to say that physical filters (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) only reflect UV from your skin. Michelle from Labmuffin Beauty Science explains it very well (https://labmuffin.com/more-spf-mythbusting-with-video/):
"Chemical and physical sunscreens both mostly absorb UV and turn it into heat, but physical sunscreens scatter and reflect a really small amount – around 10% of incoming UV over the range of UV wavelengths. But this is only 10%, so it isn’t the main reason why physical sunscreens can be used as sunscreens: it’s mostly because they can absorb UV and convert it to heat, just like chemical sunscreens.."
Well+Good: Do you know the big difference between sunscreen and sunblock?
They work by deflecting ultraviolet rays from penetrating the skin Carla Burns, research analyst at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) says. On the other hand chemical filters, such as avobenzone, oxybenzone, octinoxate, homosalate, octocrylene, etc., are actually sunscreens. That’s because they absorb the UV rays and turn that into heat through a chemical reaction in the skin.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/05/ewg-news-round…
Interested to know why this stuff is so bloody expensive. RRP $29 for 100ml get outta here. Active ingredient zinc oxide 27% w/w. Can you have a look at the back of your Sun Zapper sunscreen and tell me what the active ingredient is?
Hang on - from Sunzapper - Octocrylene 100mg/g, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane 50mg/g, Zinc Oxide 50mg/g, 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor 40mg/g
So only 5% zinc oxide. And Octocrylene looks iffy.
Octocrylene
Insufficient data to determine safety – significant data gaps
FDA study found blood levels 14 times above cutoff for systemic exposure; found in breast milk
https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscr…
So breaking it down, you're saying the big w one isn't very good?
I just wish you could buy a tube of good old white zinc cream, you can't anymore as far as I can see apart from a roll on type from the cancer council that is tiny and expensive.
You could use Sudocrem; it's 15.25% zinc oxide:
Excipients 79.2% water-repellent base
Zinc oxide, EP 15.25% astringent, soothing, protective
Lanolin (hypoallergenic) 4.00% emollient
Benzyl benzoate, BP 1.01% pesticide
Benzyl alcohol, BP 0.39% mild anesthetic, disinfectant
Benzyl cinnamate 0.15% antibacterial, antifungal
Last time I tried this, on my skin, it wasn't invisible (I wanted to use it under makeup).
Bought it last year when it was half price, definitely not invisible, the white cast is so obvious and so hard to wash off.
If you have Amazon Prime you can get Banana Boat Simply Protect Sensitive 100ml for $10.44 or $9.40 Subscribe & Save.
Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide 25.00% w/w Preservatives: Phenoxyethanol Contains: Alkyl (C12-C15) Benzoate
https://www.amazon.com.au/Banana-Simply-Protect-Sensitive-Su…
Active Ingredients: Homosalate 9.0%, Octisalate 3.0%, Octocrylene 6.0%, ZINC OXIDE 7.3%; Inactive Ingredients: WATER, ISOBUTANE, ISODODECANE, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, BUTYLOCTYL SALICYLATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, POLYHYDROXYSTEARIC ACID, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, SODIUM CITRATE
Top Findings
Overall this product scores poorly and is a bad choice for sun protection.Based on EWG's modeling, the UV protection is significantly lower than the SPF value would indicate.
Based on our modeling this product provides MODERATE UVA protection and a POOR balance of UVA protection in relation to the SPF.
Mineral sunscreen sprays may contain small particles which can damage lungs if inhaled. Read more
The ingredients in this product pose a MODERATE health concern.
Are the EWG standards the same as the TGA's?
Better. MUCH better.
No, that's a spray with only 7.3% zinc oxide and lots of other stuff.
Yep, seems good then.
I paid not much more than that, $11.72 per 100ml, on half a dozen bottles of this on iherb (using the 25% "New Customer" discount):
Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide 20% (Non-nano)
Inactive Ingredients: PURIFIED WATER (0), ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE (0), CAPRIC CAPRYLIC TRIGLYCERIDES(0), SORBITAN STEARATE (COCONUT BASED) (1), PINE WOOD RESIN (0), VEGETABLE GLYCERIN (0), CETYL DIMETHICONE (0), HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL (0), MAGNESIUM SULFATE (EPSOM SALT) (0), SUNFLOWER OIL, JOJOBA OIL (0), ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C) (0), TOCOPHEROLS (VITAMIN E) (1), OLIVE OIL (0), RASPBERRY SEED OIL (0), CRANBERRY SEED OIL (0), HYALURONIC ACID (MADE FROM VEGETABLE) (0), GLUCOSE & GLUCOSE OXIDASE AND LACTOPEROXIDASE (0), PAPAYA (0)
- First Sunscreen to pass Whole Foods Premium Care Requirements
- Top Rated on EWG 's Skin Deep with a "1" rating since 2010
- Free of biologically harmful chemicals. No PABA, parabens, phthalates, BPA, oxybenzone, avobenzone, petroleum, gluten, dairy, or toxic chemicals. No animal by-products or testing (Leaping Bunny member).
- SPF 50 (Highest allowed by the proposed FDA 2012 Monograph)
- Broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection
- Does not contain any known chemicals harmful to coral reefs. Achieved the highest level of biodegradability testing.
- Water resistance (80 minutes)
- Non-aerosol formulation
- Applies and absorbs easily. Non-oily feel.
- Sunscreen produced in the USA
Cancer Council SPF 50+ Day Wear Face Matte Invisible seems to be a good one. I've been using it for a while. It's not a physical sunscreen though.
Good luck with that:
Active ingredients: Octocrylene 3% w/w, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane 3% w/w, 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor 2% w/w, Ethylhexyl triazone 2% w/w. Preservatives: Phenoxyethanol.
In 2019 and 2020, FDA published two studies showing that the ingredients oxybenzone, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and avobenzone are all systemically absorbed into the body after a single use (Matta 2019, Matta 2020). The FDA also found that the sunscreen ingredients could be detected on the skin and in blood weeks after application ended (Matta 2020). … FDA study found blood levels 14 times above cutoff for systemic exposure; found in breast milk.
Sorry but these so-called 'studies' tend to cause fear-mongering amongst consumers and spread misinformation about legitimate products that go through rigorous testing, especially one that has earned a rating as high as SPF50+ in Australia from the TGA (where sunscreen standards are the strictest in the world). Admittedly, there have been real scenarios of labs faking sunscreen tests without manufacturers' knowledge, but so many factors come into play that may have resulted in a less than favourable outcome in these sunscreen tests. These can include but are not limited to; inconstent batches made, poor storage leading to breakdown, poor preservation formula leading to breakdown, formula changes without retesting, inadequate amounts applied..
Here is a response from Moogoo, another brand that had its SPF40 sunscreen called out in the 2019 Consumer NZ 'study' for 'failing to meet their SPF claim':
".. We think the testing could be more 'real-world'…not just a test 20 minutes after application. We have done way more SPF testing than required on our sunscreen. Along with the initial SPF tests we have also done broad-spectrum tests, waterproof testing and we re-tested it again after 18 months. The range is always between SPF 44 and 40. So we were pretty ropable when we saw this article online. Basically, it tested 20 sunscreens and found 9 of them didn’t meet their SPF claim. Fair enough some were way off. But according to them, ours was tested at SPF 38.5 instead of 40. They use the same laboratory we do who we just spoke to. What Consumer NZ didn’t understand is there's a margin of error in these tests because they're using such small amounts on “human volunteers.” Check out the graph below to try and see the difference between SPF 40 and 50, let alone 38.5 and 40. The margin of error is around 10%."
If the product has been approved by the TGA, is currently for retail sale and not under a recall, trust that it is safe and up to standard. I just wanted to put this out there so that people can make an informed decision when choosing sunscreens.
P.S. If you are using skincare but no/not enough sunscreen in your daily routine, you may as well throw your products into the bin. Skincare starts with sunscreen.