I am glad that you found the video helpful. As a general rule, the European sunscreens are more tightly regulated compared to sunscreens from the US (Heliocare being Spanish and La Roche Posay being French). Between the two, my recommendation would be for La Roche Posay.
To check on whether the specific sunscreen you like using is ‘safe’, you can utilize incredible resources such as the Think Dirty app or cosDNA or INCI decoder. I find the Environmental Working Group Skin deep database particularly helpful because there is a “Build your own report” option in the top right hand corner where you can plug in the ingredients of the sunscreen you are interested in (just google them and copy and paste) and get a report back within minutes. In the case of Heliocare, go take a look at the cosDNA website. You will see that in the case of the spray for example, octinoxate is used as one of the chemical filters while inactive ingredients include parabens, PEGs, phenoxyethanol and parfum – all ingredients which still have question marks over them. It is difficult to generalize within a brand as each sunscreen contains different filters and different inactive ingredients. If there a specific one you would like more information on?
With regards to La Roche Posay, the safety data is better. Other chemical sunscreens which contain ‘cleaner’ chemical filters are those using the newer chemical filters such as Tinosorb or Mexoryl. These not only are safer both for humans and the environment but they do not degrade when exposed to UV – which all the other chemical filters do (hence why you need to be reapplying your sunscreen every 2 hours). An example is Bioderma Photoderm M containing Tinosorb (remember that this does not apply across the range though! Confusing I know!).
As I emphasized in the video, my personal preference remains a mineral or physical sunscreen – ones containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide (non-nano thought to be better for the environment). These have good safety data, are safer for the environment including being ‘reef-safe’ and do not degrade with UV exposure. But remember to check the inactive ingredients! They might take a bit longer to rub in but I promise they can be rubbed in without leaving an ashy residue and you can feel confident knowing that you are not compromising on safety in particular when in comes to endocrine disruption in order to remain safe in the sun.
I hope that you found this info helpful! If you would like a more detailed understanding of sunscreens, I can forward you a more comprehensive presentation given at the annual SA dermatology Congress earlier this year.
Cosmetic ingredient safety and transparency is my passion so please keep the questions coming!
Thank you for the video about sunscreens. Are all the heliocare and La Roche Posay anthelios sunscreens safe?
Hi,
I am glad that you found the video helpful. As a general rule, the European sunscreens are more tightly regulated compared to sunscreens from the US (Heliocare being Spanish and La Roche Posay being French). Between the two, my recommendation would be for La Roche Posay.
To check on whether the specific sunscreen you like using is ‘safe’, you can utilize incredible resources such as the Think Dirty app or cosDNA or INCI decoder. I find the Environmental Working Group Skin deep database particularly helpful because there is a “Build your own report” option in the top right hand corner where you can plug in the ingredients of the sunscreen you are interested in (just google them and copy and paste) and get a report back within minutes. In the case of Heliocare, go take a look at the cosDNA website. You will see that in the case of the spray for example, octinoxate is used as one of the chemical filters while inactive ingredients include parabens, PEGs, phenoxyethanol and parfum – all ingredients which still have question marks over them. It is difficult to generalize within a brand as each sunscreen contains different filters and different inactive ingredients. If there a specific one you would like more information on?
With regards to La Roche Posay, the safety data is better. Other chemical sunscreens which contain ‘cleaner’ chemical filters are those using the newer chemical filters such as Tinosorb or Mexoryl. These not only are safer both for humans and the environment but they do not degrade when exposed to UV – which all the other chemical filters do (hence why you need to be reapplying your sunscreen every 2 hours). An example is Bioderma Photoderm M containing Tinosorb (remember that this does not apply across the range though! Confusing I know!).
As I emphasized in the video, my personal preference remains a mineral or physical sunscreen – ones containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide (non-nano thought to be better for the environment). These have good safety data, are safer for the environment including being ‘reef-safe’ and do not degrade with UV exposure. But remember to check the inactive ingredients! They might take a bit longer to rub in but I promise they can be rubbed in without leaving an ashy residue and you can feel confident knowing that you are not compromising on safety in particular when in comes to endocrine disruption in order to remain safe in the sun.
I hope that you found this info helpful! If you would like a more detailed understanding of sunscreens, I can forward you a more comprehensive presentation given at the annual SA dermatology Congress earlier this year.
Cosmetic ingredient safety and transparency is my passion so please keep the questions coming!
Vanessa x