What is chemical sunscreen? And things to know about this cream

What is chemical sunscreen?

Chemical sunscreens are organic sunscreens with main ingredients (mainly carbon) such as avobenzone, oxybenzone, sulisobenzone, etc.

Sunscreen acts as a chemical filter : Absorbs and penetrates UV rays and converts them to lower energy wavelengths, safer, without causing damage to the skin like infrared rays.

The mechanism of action of chemical sunscreens

Protects skin from UV rays by absorbing these rays, treating and dissolving them before they damage the skin.

Chemical sunscreens use many different ingredients, each of which blocks UVA or UVB rays. A good sunscreen combines UVA-blocking ingredients with UVB-blocking ingredients to form a stable UV-blocking complex.

How to distinguish chemical and physical sunscreen?

People often distinguish between chemical sunscreens and physical sunscreens thanks to the chemical name Suncreen and physical Sunblock.

But now on the market, manufacturers offer many products with different names such as: Suncream, Sunmilk, Sunmatte, Suncare, Sungel, …..

So we want to distinguish physical sunscreen and chemical sunscreen based on their ingredients . Such as chemical sunscreen main ingredients: octinoxate , Oxybenzone , Octisalate , benzophenone or methyl anthranilate .

Advantages of chemical sunscreens

• Thinner, so it’s easy to spread on the skin, very convenient for daily use.
• Absorbs faster into the skin, does not make the skin oily or “white”.
• There is no need to use as much as Sunblock because UV rays will not get between the sunscreen molecules and penetrate the skin.
• The formula is easy to add more treatment ingredients, such as peptides and enzymes, and skin-conditioning ingredients.
• Some chemical sunscreens can replace makeup primer.

Disadvantages of chemical sunscreens

• The higher the SPF (50 or higher), the more likely it is to irritate sensitive skin.
• Wait 15-20 minutes for the cream to absorb into the skin before going out in the sun.
• Because it is not stable in the sun, it should be reapplied after 2 hours.
• Vulnerability to irritation and itching (especially for guys with dry, dehydrated skin) due to multiple ingredients that combine to achieve broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection.
• There is a possibility of redness with rosacea skin (redness in the nose, chin, cheeks, forehead).
• May cause more acne with oily skin type.
• Easier to cause an increase in pre-existing brown spots and discoloration due to a higher internal skin temperature (Sunscreen works by changing UV rays into heat, then releasing heat from the skin).

How to use chemical sunscreen effectively?

Apply sunscreen product to face, neck, chest, back of hands and wait 20 minutes for the cream to take effect. Read more on how to apply sunscreen correctly for maximum effectiveness.

With the above advantages and disadvantages, you must have learned something about what is a chemical sunscreen, right? So go and buy yourself a sunscreen right away. So that every time you go out, you can never forget the friend who always protects your own skin with countless effective uses.

Cfis.edu.vn