In classic Deciem style we have been waiting in anticipation for the sunscreens for months. It’s pretty similar to the foundation situation, we were told about the Ordinary sunscreens quite some time ago with no specific date for their arrival. With constant requests on social media from The Ordinary’s customers I can imagine Brandon and his team felt under considerable pressure to get them out. The standards and legislation for sun protection are high and vary from country to country, so I’m betting that it was a bit of a mine field getting them approved.
Finally we have a couple of the promised sunscreens- Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 and SPF 15 with Antioxidants. I must admit I ordered mine the second I noticed it was available. I got the spf 30 because I like my sunscreen to be as high as possible, spf 50 would have been ideal.
The British Association of Dermatologists recommend-
It sounds like the best situation for correct sun protection is to not rely on sunscreen at all. Wear it of course but also have sunglasses, a hat, cover up and seek shade. Also take care to apply the right amount and reapply frequently- every couple of hours or after getting wet or sweaty.
From reading what the experts have to say a broad spectrum factor 30 or above is the ideal, but don’t let it lull you into a false sense of security.
The lowdown-
Even though we don’t know the exact UVA rating we know that Zinc Oxide protects from the majority of UV rays up to 400 nm (the wavelength of UVA radiation is from 320-400nm).
I tried to figure out if the percentage of spf ingredients correlated to a particular UV rating. But apparently it’s more about the formulation than the amount of active ingredient.
Brandon reports that The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 with Antioxidants has 14.03% Zinc Oxide and 5.44% Titanium Oxide as active ingredients. Which is a good amount of sun blocking stuff.
Read more on my thoughts about sunscreen here.
Ingredients– Aqua (Water), Cyclopentasiloxane, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Glycerin, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Astaxanthin, Disodium Uridine Phosphate, Ethyl Ferulate, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Haematococcus Pluvialis Extract, Picea Mariana Bark Extract, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Sodium PCA, PCA, Sodium Lactate, Glucose, Maltose, Fructose, Trehalose, Urea, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Linoleic Acid, Oleic Acid, Phytosteryl Canola Glycerides, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Isochrysis Galbana Extract, Lysolecithin, Lecithin, Triolein, Pentylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate, Polyglyceryl-5 Trioleate, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Tocopherol, Alumina, Citric Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.
The Cosdna entry-
Key Ingredients–
The ingredients are fantastic, there are so many things there that I want to put on my face.
With all those positive points being said, is the sunscreen wearable?
It comes in a generous (for The Ordinary, usually the tubes are 30mls size) 50ml tube. The packaging has a different colour to the usual grey. It’s a nice rose gold shade.
Mineral UV Filters is a white/grey cream with a not unpleasant chemically scent. It has quite a thick consistency but spreads evenly. It takes about 15 minutes to set, then forms a slightly tacky film with a satin finish. It’s not the lightest sunscreen I’ve tried by any measure.
It’s pretty white. My skin at the moment is fair/medium toned. Despite daily applications of factor 50, I still seem to catch the sun. The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters really does show up. I’ve seen a few reviewers saying that there’s no white cast, but for me there definitely is.
For the face you should use 1.2mls or a quarter of a teaspoon of sunscreen to get the correct amount of spf. This equates, approximately, to a blob the size of a penny or a fingers length squirt. That amount of The Ordinary Sunscreen makes my face look rather white.
Here’s a few pics with The Ordinary Sunscreen. The first is my bare face for comparison-
After I applied the correct amount to one side of my face-
And after applying to the whole face and makeup on top-
It looks much better with makeup on, though you can still see a little white around the edges.
Having read about all the ingredients, I’m tempted to plough through and ignore The Ordinary Mineral sunscreen’s visual drawbacks. The ingredients are fabulous. There is always going to be that whiteness issue with mineral sunscreen, Zinc and Titanium Oxide are pretty bloody white, there’s no getting around that.
Compared with other sunscreens The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 with Antioxidants, ingredients wise comes out top. Finish and colour wise, it doesn’t fare so well.
My sunscreen loves are Asian- Canmake Mermaid UV Gel and Missha Perfect Cover are mixed filters so possibly not comparable. Neostrata Sheer Physical Protection is more expensive and only has 6% Zinc Oxide but is super light. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.
If mineral filters are your only option and you have pale or fair skin then I recommend The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 with Antioxidants.
I’m thoroughly interested to see what the rest of The Ordinary’s Sunscreens are going to be like, maybe they’ll be easier to get along with.
(FYI I purchased The Ordinary sunscreen with my own money but the links are affiliate)
Find The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 with Antioxidants at Deciem.com