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what product offer the highest sun protection?
  • Verina
    Dear Beauty Brains,
    you bring rationality to the cosmetics industry, a feat which deserves the Nobel Prize, along with my undying gratitude.
    I am trying to find a cream or primer to use under makeup that offers the highest sun protection available. I am considering mainly mineral sunscreens, since many of the chemical ingredients irritate my skin. I have narrowed it down to:
    1) MAC PREP+PRIME
        SPF 50
    active ingredients: zinc oxide 16.10%, octinoxate 7.50 WW%

    2) FASIO ZERO EXPERT UV PRIMER
        SPF 50 (Japanese product)
    active ingredients: ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate 7.49%, phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid 2.50 WW%, zinc oxide 15.36 WW%

    I await your words of wisdom.....and what the hell kind of sun protection is  phenylbenzimidazol sulphonic acid?
    Thank you,
    Cristina

  • lindygirl1960
    Not a Brain and not familiar with either of the products you mentioned, but I do have a question. If you want the highest sun protection available then why not use an actual sunscreen instead of some form of primer that happens to have sunscreen in it? 

    I ask because I use a primer myself and if I put on as much primer as I would need to to be putting a proper amount of sunscreen on my face ....let's just say it wouldn't look good. I can only speak to my own experience. I use a zinc oxide base sunscreen (approved by my dermatologist - Blue Lizard for Faces 30+). I use a primer over the sunscreen, then apply makeup. My makeup is powder based. When it is time to reapply sunscreen I have been using go! screen, a powder sunscreen that is zinc oxide based. It seems to be working for my oily sensitive skin.

    I hope the Brains chime in as I would be interested to hear if they think using either of the primers you mention as your primary sunscreen is a good idea.
  • alchemist
    It's impossible to tell which actually provides more sunprotection from the active ingredients, especially when they are so close in composition (ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate & octinoxate are the same thing, the first one is the INCI name, the second is the USA drug name).  SPF is very heavily influenced by the other ingredients in the formulation and production methods.  The type and size of the Zinc Oxide will also have a big effect.

    Given that both claim SPF 50 both must have a tested SPF of 50 or above.

    Phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid is better known in the USA as ensulizole.  It's a water soluble UVB sunscreen that is neutralised in situ (usually with TEA or Sodium Hydroxide)
  • Right BrainRight Brain
    As usual, Alchemist has provided a great answer. I hope that helps, Cristina, and thanks for the kind words!
  • lindygirl1960
    @ alchemist and Right Brain - So would the rule of thumb about how much to apply to get the spf listed on the label be the same as for an actual sunscreen product?  

    I ask because the rule of thumb for sunscreens as listed here is: http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/ask-the-experts/how-much-sunscreen-should-i-be-using-on-my-face-and-body

    " To achieve the Sun Protection Factor (SPF, which protects against the sun’s UVB radiation) reflected on a bottle of sunscreen, you should use approximately two milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin. In practice, this means applying the equivalent of a shot glass (two tablespoons) of sunscreen to the exposed areas of the face and body – a nickel-sized dollop to the face alone."

    A nickel sized amount of primer is a lot. My question remains, is it a good idea to use a primer or any makeup product as your primary sunscreen? For me personally, the answer is no, but I would like to hear your take on it. Thanks! 
    :-*
  • Mendes
    Alchemist is right, however, Kosé Fasio Sports Beauty Zero Expert UV Primer doesn't have SPF 50, but SPF 50+. 50+ means its SPF is above 50. In Japan and EU you can't tell the exact SPF when the SPF is above 50. The SPF can be 130, but you can only claim is "50+". 
  • Right BrainRight Brain
    @lindy: Yes the same rules of application would apply to a primer. While SPF layering is a good practice I prefer to use a sunscreen as the primary delivery vehicle.
  • lindygirl1960
    Thanks Right Brain! :)
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