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How do mineral UV filters protect?

Sunscreens are designed to protect our skin from the sun's rays. This requires reliable UV filters, which can be roughly divided into two groups: conventional, chemical UV filters and "newer", mineral UV filters. In this blog post, we take a closer look at mineral UV filters and explain: What actually is a mineral UV filter and how does it work? Which ones are there? And what is the advantage of sunscreens with mineral sun protection?

What is a mineral UV filter?

Mineral UV filters are also referred to as inorganic or physical filters. They are based on minerals such as zinc oxide or titanium oxide. Inorganic refers to the chemical property of the UV filter: It is a chemical compound with oxygen (= zinc and oxygen become zinc oxide). This is processed into powder and used in cosmetics. You can find out more about the difference between mineral and chemical UV filters here .

How do mineral UV filters work?

Mineral UV filters settle when applied like a film on the skin and thus form a physical barrier that protects the skin from the sun's rays. The pigments from the mineral UV filters reflect the sun's rays like a mirror so that the UV filters do not have to penetrate the skin to be effective, unlike traditional chemical filters such as oxybenzone, octocrylene and octinoxate. The mineral particles remain on the skin and are not absorbed, which is why, depending on the filter, a certain whitening effect can occur because the particles are whitish. In the meantime, however, there are new, innovative filter formulations with which only a slight whitening effect occurs.

What is a mineral UV filter?

Which mineral UV filters are there?

The UV filters zinc oxide (INCI: Zinc Oxide) and titanium dioxide (INCI: Titanium Dioxide) are most commonly found in cosmetics and especially in natural sunscreens . Zinc oxide is characterized by a high level of broadband protection . This means that zinc oxide fully protects against both UVB and UVA radiation . Titanium dioxide, on the other hand, protects primarily against UVB and only partially against UVA radiation, which is why it is often found in sunscreens in combination with other UVA filters. [7] In addition, discussions about titanium dioxide and its use in food are currently increasing because it is suspected of causing cancer. So far, however, no ban has been imposed on its use in cosmetics. However, we have opted for a purely mineral zinc oxide filter for our sun protection and against a combination of several mineral UV filters, so we do not use titanium dioxide in any of our products. [8] [9]


Good to know : UVB rays are short-wave and blame for the nasty sunburn . UVA rays, on the other hand, are long-wave and essentially responsible for the skin aging . Be careful when choosing yours suncream i.e. adequate broadband protection, especially for your baby, whose skin still has very little self-protection at a young age.


How do mineral sunscreens work?

What is the advantage of mineral UV filters?

Due to their mode of action, mineral UV filters have a very clear advantage over chemical ones: They do not penetrate the skin cells and interact less with the skin . So while the chemical filter on the cell in the skin has to ensure the reduced absorption of UV radiation, the mineral filter acts like a protective shield - without triggering chemical or hormonal processes in the deeper skin cells. This solves them very rarely allergic skin reactions out of. [7] Another advantage is that they no exposure time need and protect from the sun's rays immediately after application. Although users notice a slight whitening with some sun creams, the recipes have now been refined so well that it is now also possible mineral sun protection without the whitening effect gives. It can also have a positive effect if you can see exactly where you have already applied cream.

Also for them Environment offer mineral sunscreens clear advantages, they are often colloquially referred to as "reef-friendly" or "coral-friendly". The terms refer to the absence of chemical UV filters in the sunscreen such as octocrylene, oxybenzone and oxtinoxate. These can be harmful to coral reefs because they are difficult or impossible to degrade and can lead to what is known as "coral bleaching". They can also penetrate the endocrine system of animals and damage them as a result. Our suncream is in accordance with the Hawaii Reef Law , which is why you can use it well on a beach holiday. [7] In some countries, such as Australia, the use of conventional sun creams with the chemical UV filters mentioned above has already been banned - so it's about time mineral sunscreens like ours to switch. ☀️

Unser Favorit

Unsere mineralische Sonnepflege

🌿 Vegan, natürlich & zertifiziert

☀️ Rein mineralischer Zinkoxid-UV-Filter

🕑 Schützt sofort ohne Einwirkzeit

🪸 Konform mit dem Hawaii-Riffgesetz (ohne die chemischen UV-Filter Oxybenzon, Octocrylen & Ocitonoxat)

🧴 Beduftet oder unbeduftet für empfindliche Haut

Zur Sonnenpflege

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