Nano-particles in your sunscreen

According to the Environmental Working Group: "Consumers using sunscreens without zinc and titanium would be exposed to an average of 20% more UVA radiation — with increased risks for UVA-induced skin damage, premature aging, wrinkling, and UV-induced immune system damage — than consumers not using zinc or titanium-based products"

That’s exactly why, at Oasis Beauty, we use zinc oxide as the physical block in our sun protection products. But we also know that our clients do not want the white coating that zinc traditionally leaves on the skin.

This is where nano-particles come in. The zinc is shrunk into tiny particles to provide better sun protection while eliminating the issue of leaving a white coating on the skin.

But nano-particles have come under close scrutiny by people concerned over the possible health effects of them entering the body.

To date, research on the subject has shown very little or zero penetration of intact skin by nano-particle zinc oxide. The sun protection benefits, in contrast, are very high.

A recent review for the EU decision-making body found that, "There is currently little evidence from skin penetration studies that dermal applications of metal oxide nano-particles used in sunscreens lead to systemic exposure" (Börm 2006).

But for maximum safety, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide must be coated in order to render them inert. Oasis Beauty uses coated zinc in our sunscreen products. A lot of manufacturers use uncoated zinc because it’s much cheaper. Uncoated zinc has approximately 3-5% photo-reactivity and may produce free radicals, but coated zinc is below 1% photo-reactivity and the chance of free radical production is greatly reduced.

Our personal preference is not to use nano-particles at all but we believe that proper sun protection outweighs any risks posed by the coated, nano-particle zinc used in our sun protection products.

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