94 replies to this topic

[Steve_86]

I have very pale skin which does not tan. Once or twice a week I work outdoors for 8 hours operating a dog hydro-bath in the sun.

What is best in terms of sun protection and safety/toxicity, and to a lesser extent water resistance?
La Roche Posay Anthelios Xl 50+, Bioderma Photoderm SPF50+ or something else?

[Ben]

I really like the La Roche Posay Anthelios Fluide. Been using it for 2+ years now.

[jwilcox25]

Any new comments on Nivea Light Feeling SPF 50? Have been using this based on availability and some old forum recommendations, but haven't heard much about it recently. Has the formula been changed?... can't seem to find what the active ingredient is on the back.

In terms of greasiness and whitening, it's a lot better than the Badger zinc one I had been using before.

[kiracle]

I've been using the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid that came out this summer and I am pretty happy with it. It's a liquid that is designed to be used under makeup, so it is easy to reapply it throughout the day without building up a thick film on your face. The bottle is also smaller so it is more portable. It's available in SPF 55 and 70. It's also not that expensive - it ranges between USD $10 - $14.

Edit: The active ingredients in the SPF 70 are: Avobenzone 3%, Homosalate 10%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 7.5%, Oxybenzone 5%.

Edited by kiracle, 24 September 2010 - 12:03 AM.

[amonavis]

Any new comments on Nivea Light Feeling SPF 50? Have been using this based on availability and some old forum recommendations, but haven't heard much about it recently. Has the formula been changed?... can't seem to find what the active ingredient is on the back.

In terms of greasiness and whitening, it's a lot better than the Badger zinc one I had been using before.

I am curious about the Nivea Light Feeling SPF 50 as well. I dont want something too white.

My old favorite, Avene Creme SPF 50+ with Tinosorb and octinoxate has been reformulated with Avobenzone and Octocrylene along with Tinosorb. Now it is irritating and chalky, leaving a residue all over my face and clogging my pores with a white chalky powder. And this is after a modest 2 pumps, which is not even one quarter teaspoon. I am going to give the Emulsion a try although I bet it is not much better.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a european sunscreen that is not too white? I think the best I have found is La Roche Posay Althelios SPF 50 for the face, which contains a lot of Alcohol Denat. I don't know what to make of the Alcohol in it. It is not too drying or irritating, but I haven't been using it every day. I have rosacea and Dr Baumann recommends avoiding any alcohol on skin prone to redness. Oh well, I doubt Ill be able to find anything as great as the old Avene one.

[Ben]

Any new comments on Nivea Light Feeling SPF 50? Have been using this based on availability and some old forum recommendations, but haven't heard much about it recently. Has the formula been changed?... can't seem to find what the active ingredient is on the back.

In terms of greasiness and whitening, it's a lot better than the Badger zinc one I had been using before.

I am curious about the Nivea Light Feeling SPF 50 as well. I dont want something too white.

The consistency was ok, however, if you have dry skin, the sunscreen will start to "pill up" on the skin and it looks really bad. I found also that it was quite irritating and, indeed, actually using it would make my skin dry. And the fragrance is VERY strong. If even a very small amount gets into your mouth, you'll be tasting it all day.

[amonavis]

I just wanted to share that Anthelios irritated my skin. I have been using it over the last few days, and it turns out the large amount of alcohol denat irritates my eye area and turned my face red, especially around the eye area. Also I noticed an increase in overall skin dryness. I find it ironic that so many moisturizers that purport to help dry skin contain alcohol denat, or other forms of non-moisturizing alcohol.

Anyways, now im back to Avene. I'd rather look too white than be irritated and shiney. Its a hard one though. but personally as a male I think that whiter skin is slightly more normal looking than shiney skin, beacuse shiney skin looks unwashed and gives the impression that you need to wash you face. And I refuse to apply a powder after to mattify as some girls would. As long as I blend in the Avene really well, I think its not obvious, however if my skin is dry, the whiteness of the cream can get into the flakes of my skin, accentuating any dryness. Still waiting for the cosmetics companies to come up with a high PPD that is cosmetically elegant! Hopefully within the next few years.

[happy lemon]

I have been using this sunscreen for 2 months, the texture is great and it doesn't leave any white cast at all (one of my friends has been using it over 8 years and finds that its UV protection is good and she gets no tan after spending 4 hours of golfing & a day relaxing at swimming pool).

http://allaboutskinl...kin Lightening)

[mustardseed41]

This sunscreen is pretty amazing. 19% non-nano zinc oxide and zero whitening effect. Looking at the ingredient list, I'm not quite sure how they do that.

http://www.vitacost....sturizer-SPF-30

[frisky]

Any new comments on Nivea Light Feeling SPF 50? Have been using this based on availability and some old forum recommendations, but haven't heard much about it recently. Has the formula been changed?... can't seem to find what the active ingredient is on the back.

In terms of greasiness and whitening, it's a lot better than the Badger zinc one I had been using before.

I am curious about the Nivea Light Feeling SPF 50 as well. I dont want something too white.

My old favorite, Avene Creme SPF 50+ with Tinosorb and octinoxate has been reformulated with Avobenzone and Octocrylene along with Tinosorb. Now it is irritating and chalky, leaving a residue all over my face and clogging my pores with a white chalky powder. And this is after a modest 2 pumps, which is not even one quarter teaspoon. I am going to give the Emulsion a try although I bet it is not much better.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a european sunscreen that is not too white? I think the best I have found is La Roche Posay Althelios SPF 50 for the face, which contains a lot of Alcohol Denat. I don't know what to make of the Alcohol in it. It is not too drying or irritating, but I haven't been using it every day. I have rosacea and Dr Baumann recommends avoiding any alcohol on skin prone to redness. Oh well, I doubt Ill be able to find anything as great as the old Avene one.

I use Avene emulsion 50 + and 30 + for 3 years and its the best sunsreen i ever use and i use a lot of sunsreens.The formula is with octinoxate+tinosorbs+l titanium and zinc in very low concentracion.In my country i am from europe -Slovenie is still avaiable and in Italy farmacia the same i live near border with italy.The new formula i think is much more irritating becouse of avobenzone and whithening ,but have better ppd
Good europe suncreen have Bioderma and Uriage.

[amonavis]

I would like to report that I have found a new sunscreen with both Tinosorb M and S that works great. It is neither white nor shiney. It is called Soltan Face Very High 50 + anti aging sun defence cream. It is Boots house brand I think. I got it on a recent trip to London. I wasn't expecting much. It has a VERY SLIGHT tint that does not add color to my (male) face. I would not want to look like im wearing makeup. It is not nearly as tinted as Avene's tinted sunscreens or anything like that. It is mostly like a slightly off white color. Like I mentioned, It has the 2 Tinosorbs, plus Octocrylene and Avobenzone and Titanium Dioxide. The latter is found kind of far down the list so I doubt its in a high concentration and the lack of whiteness also supports that.

If anyone is looking for a good european sunscreen with high UVA protection I recommend this!!

The only 2 things that bother me are the lack of expiry date on the product (all it says is that it is good for 18 months after opening), and the fact that it only gives an SPF rating but not an exact UVA rating. Based on the ingredients (similar to the Avene Cream sunscreen, but a much better finish) I estimate that the PPD is between 20 and 35.


EDIT: well it does contain a 5 star UVA rating, but not sure what that means exactly

By the way there are 2 versions one that says for combination skin WITH alcohol denat as an ingredient, and one called "ultra moisturising" with no alcohol. I chose the one with no alcohol, and it absorbs well and is not shiney at all after about 5 minutes. I find La Roche Posay sunscreens very shiney in comparison.

Edited by amonavis, 26 October 2010 - 07:13 AM.

[nupi]

Good tip amonavis - it's currently even on a buy one get one free sale . Used it for two days, so far I would consider it superior to the Neutrogena Helioplex stuff I brought from the US (I have not tried Anthelios, that stuff is just a rip off price wise) - may end up throwing the Neutrogena stuff away in the end .

I fully agree it is not shiny at all and at currently 4.5GBP per 50ml it's insane value and even has stabilized forms of Vitamin C and E (although I doubt it is in sufficient quantity)

[rashlan]

I would like to report that I have found a new sunscreen with both Tinosorb M and S that works great. It is neither white nor shiney. It is called Soltan Face Very High 50 + anti aging sun defence cream. It is Boots house brand I think. I got it on a recent trip to London. I wasn't expecting much. It has a VERY SLIGHT tint that does not add color to my (male) face. I would not want to look like im wearing makeup. It is not nearly as tinted as Avene's tinted sunscreens or anything like that. It is mostly like a slightly off white color. Like I mentioned, It has the 2 Tinosorbs, plus Octocrylene and Avobenzone and Titanium Dioxide. The latter is found kind of far down the list so I doubt its in a high concentration and the lack of whiteness also supports that.

If anyone is looking for a good european sunscreen with high UVA protection I recommend this!!

The only 2 things that bother me are the lack of expiry date on the product (all it says is that it is good for 18 months after opening), and the fact that it only gives an SPF rating but not an exact UVA rating. Based on the ingredients (similar to the Avene Cream sunscreen, but a much better finish) I estimate that the PPD is between 20 and 35.


EDIT: well it does contain a 5 star UVA rating, but not sure what that means exactly

By the way there are 2 versions one that says for combination skin WITH alcohol denat as an ingredient, and one called "ultra moisturising" with no alcohol. I chose the one with no alcohol, and it absorbs well and is not shiney at all after about 5 minutes. I find La Roche Posay sunscreens very shiney in comparison.

The tint is from the Titanium dioxide as its magnesium doped. Its far more effective than standard Titanium Dioxide and is made by oxonica.

[Ben]

The tint is from the Titanium dioxide as its magnesium doped. Its far more effective than standard Titanium Dioxide and is made by oxonica.

I don't think Soltan uses Optisol in their products any more. If they did though, it would be awesome. I have some Optisol brand sunscreen at the moment and it's more aesthetically pleasing and has a higher UVA for degree of UVB protection than LRPA FL. They discontinued it though so any you find are probably the last.

[amonavis]

The tint is from the Titanium dioxide as its magnesium doped. Its far more effective than standard Titanium Dioxide and is made by oxonica.

I don't think Soltan uses Optisol in their products any more. If they did though, it would be awesome. I have some Optisol brand sunscreen at the moment and it's more aesthetically pleasing and has a higher UVA for degree of UVB protection than LRPA FL. They discontinued it though so any you find are probably the last.

I think rashian is correct. I did some research on it and found this press release from 2007:

“Oxonica Ltd, a leading European technology company, has patented a revolutionary new UV filter called Optisol. As of this month, Optisol™ is available on shelves as an active component of Boots’ new Soltan Facial Sun Defence Cream.”

“Optisol is a milder, longer lasting and innovative new form of titanium dioxide, a commonly used ingredient in sunscreens which acts to absorb UV light. A tiny amount of manganese is incorporated within the titanium dioxide, adding major benefits; the manganese absorbs extra UVA giving a higher level of protection and also acts to stop the formation of free radicals in the titanium dioxide. These effects give enhanced performance which is extremely photostable, ensuring that the product’s ability to protect isn’t broken down by the sun.”




I found this on nanotechproject dot org.

[Ben]

Yeah I saw that too but then I saw something more recent that convinced me otherwise. You could check the ingredients. I forget Optisol's chemical name though.

[nupi]

How stable are Tinosorb S and M when combined with Octocrylene? There is just no way in hell I can go round reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours during a normal day at the office....

[rashlan]

How stable are Tinosorb S and M when combined with Octocrylene? There is just no way in hell I can go round reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours during a normal day at the office....

Hi, Both are photostable, Other sunscreen ingredients cannot degrade them.

[rashlan]

Yeah I saw that too but then I saw something more recent that convinced me otherwise. You could check the ingredients. I forget Optisol's chemical name though.

I thought that it was still available but now marketed and sold by Croda?
I Think Optisol is listed on ingredients lists as Titanium dioxide, with magnesium listed separately.

Edited by rashlan, 07 November 2010 - 09:54 PM.

[rashlan]

I would like to report that I have found a new sunscreen with both Tinosorb M and S that works great. It is neither white nor shiney. It is called Soltan Face Very High 50 + anti aging sun defence cream. It is Boots house brand I think. I got it on a recent trip to London. I wasn't expecting much. It has a VERY SLIGHT tint that does not add color to my (male) face. I would not want to look like im wearing makeup. It is not nearly as tinted as Avene's tinted sunscreens or anything like that. It is mostly like a slightly off white color. Like I mentioned, It has the 2 Tinosorbs, plus Octocrylene and Avobenzone and Titanium Dioxide. The latter is found kind of far down the list so I doubt its in a high concentration and the lack of whiteness also supports that.

If anyone is looking for a good european sunscreen with high UVA protection I recommend this!!

The only 2 things that bother me are the lack of expiry date on the product (all it says is that it is good for 18 months after opening), and the fact that it only gives an SPF rating but not an exact UVA rating. Based on the ingredients (similar to the Avene Cream sunscreen, but a much better finish) I estimate that the PPD is between 20 and 35.


EDIT: well it does contain a 5 star UVA rating, but not sure what that means exactly

By the way there are 2 versions one that says for combination skin WITH alcohol denat as an ingredient, and one called "ultra moisturising" with no alcohol. I chose the one with no alcohol, and it absorbs well and is not shiney at all after about 5 minutes. I find La Roche Posay sunscreens very shiney in comparison.

The Boots five star rating means that the PPD is at least 90% of the SPF. An SPF of 10 should have a PPD of at least 9, SPF 20 = PPD 18 and SPF50 = PPD 45 or above.
If you try to formulate a sunscreen with the BASF sunscreen simulator http://www.sunscreensimulator.basf.com achieving a five star rating is quite hard.

Edited by rashlan, 08 November 2010 - 12:42 AM.

[rashlan]

The tint is from the Titanium dioxide as its magnesium doped. Its far more effective than standard Titanium Dioxide and is made by oxonica.

I don't think Soltan uses Optisol in their products any more. If they did though, it would be awesome. I have some Optisol brand sunscreen at the moment and it's more aesthetically pleasing and has a higher UVA for degree of UVB protection than LRPA FL. They discontinued it though so any you find are probably the last.

I'm pretty sure it must be from the Optisol. If it wasn't Boots would, by law have to list the iron oxides used for the tint in the ingredients list.

Edited by rashlan, 08 November 2010 - 01:16 AM.

[Ben]

I'm pretty sure it must be from the Optisol. If it wasn't Boots would, by law have to list the iron oxides used for the tint in the ingredients list.

Ah. Would be great if so. Optisol is a great product from what I hear and read and considering that they cancelled the eponymous SS product, I think Soltan would be the only way of getting it.

Anymore reviews on Soltan?

[nupi]

Hmm, the SPF 50 Face cream seems to be out of stock on boots.com - any experience with the Once SPF 30 Face one (judging by the name, I would assume that's probably more geared for waterproof beach use which is not something I would want to put on my face daily...)?

[rashlan]

I'm pretty sure it must be from the Optisol. If it wasn't Boots would, by law have to list the iron oxides used for the tint in the ingredients list.

Ah. Would be great if so. Optisol is a great product from what I hear and read and considering that they cancelled the eponymous SS product, I think Soltan would be the only way of getting it.

Anymore reviews on Soltan?

Hey, if anyone is intrested, i've just got back from boots and all of the tinted soltan range contained manganese dioxide.

[spirilla01]

Hi all,
as a long time Retin A user, i am familar with most european sunscreens, from the LRP, Avene, Eucerin to the Soltan range. After so many $ spend on sunscreens i have finally settled on the Soltan Face spf 50 cream and the Soltan Face spf. 30 cream. Having quite sensitve skin, these are by far my best choices. As for the diff. between the spf 50 and spf 30, I can´t see any. They are both leaving a matte and non white finish to my skin.

[rashlan]

Hi all,
as a long time Retin A user, i am familar with most european sunscreens, from the LRP, Avene, Eucerin to the Soltan range. After so many $ spend on sunscreens i have finally settled on the Soltan Face spf 50 cream and the Soltan Face spf. 30 cream. Having quite sensitve skin, these are by far my best choices. As for the diff. between the spf 50 and spf 30, I can´t see any. They are both leaving a matte and non white finish to my skin.

Hi, are you using the Ultra mosturising or the non greasy formula?

[spirilla01]

the non greasy ..
best

[Ben]

Hey, if anyone is intrested, i've just got back from boots and all of the tinted soltan range contained manganese dioxide.

So no magnesium?

[rashlan]

Hey, if anyone is intrested, i've just got back from boots and all of the tinted soltan range contained manganese dioxide.

So no magnesium?

lol, thanks and there was me thinking you were being to polite to point it out

Edited by rashlan, 09 November 2010 - 01:08 PM.

[nupi]

How stable are Tinosorb S and M when combined with Octocrylene? There is just no way in hell I can go round reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours during a normal day at the office....

Hi, Both are photostable, Other sunscreen ingredients cannot degrade them.

Yeah but does that mean reapplying is not needed?