The difference between chemical and mineral sun filters

When you start looking for a new sunscreen, you will find that there are many options to choose from. What factor, a spray or a cream, etc. One way to narrow down the options and choose a good sunscreen is to look at the ingredients. Are they harmful to humans or the environment? After all, you don't want to put harmful substances on your skin, do you?

Chemical filters vs mineral filters

Sunscreen contains sun filters, among other ingredients. There are two types of sun filters: chemical and mineral. Both types of filters are effective at what they are designed to do: protect the skin against harmful UV rays, premature skin ageing and skin cancer. However, they differ in how they work and how safe they are for humans and the environment.

Chemical filters

Chemical filters, including oxybenzone, avobenzone, octinoxate and avobenzone, are absorbed into the skin, where they absorb harmful UV rays. Chemical filters are cheaper and easier to obtain than mineral filters. Chemical filters also have the advantage of not leaving a white residue. The major disadvantage of chemical sun filters is that they are harmful to marine life, particularly coral reefs. If a coral reef comes into contact with oxybenzone, it can bleach and die. In Hawaii, sunscreens containing substances that are harmful to coral are banned. Chemical filters are not harmless to humans either. As mentioned above, chemical filters are absorbed into the skin, where they can cause skin irritation. Oxybenzone is also increasingly being linked to hormone-related cancers, early puberty and poor sperm quality. Octocrylene can also have a hormone-disrupting effect.

Mineral filters

Mineral filters work differently from chemical filters. Mineral filters remain on the skin and reflect harmful UV rays. Because mineral filters do not penetrate the skin, they are suitable for people with sensitive skin, including babies and children. Mineral filters are also reef safe, meaning they are not harmful to marine life and coral reefs.

Mineral filters are also known as physical filters, the most commonly used being zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. In the past, mineral filters left a white film on the skin. Nowadays, sunscreens are developed in such a way that this film is barely visible, if at all. A mineral filter works immediately, so you don't have to wait after applying it before you can safely go out in the sun.

Nano-particles in mineral filters

To prevent a white film, some sunscreen products use nano-particles of mineral filters. This means that the filter is broken down into very small pieces. These nano-particles can be harmful if swallowed or inhaled.

If a sunscreen contains nano-particles, this will be indicated on the packaging.

Why are mineral filters so much better for the environment?

People wear sunscreen to protect their skin from the sun. When people then go swimming in the sea, the chemicals from the sunscreen are released into the environment. These chemicals damage the DNA of coral reefs and cause coral bleaching. This disrupts the delicate aquatic ecosystem, but also has consequences for the global economy that depends on coral reefs (jobs, tourism).

Amazinc!

Amazinc! sunscreens contain mineral filters and no nanoparticles. The products are 100% natural, a sunscreen without harmful substances, and are reef safe and safe for humans to use.