The cosmetic industry is, of course, really trying to solve this problem and the best solution so far is using nanoparticles.
AVEENO POSITIVELY RADIANT DAILY MOISTURIZER SKIN
Sunscreens containing Titanium Dioxide are often hard to spread on the skin and they leave a disturbing whitish tint. The disadvantage of Titanium Dioxide is that it's not cosmetically elegant, meaning it's a white, "unspreadable" mess.
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Regular sized Titanium Dioxide also has a great safety profile, it's non-irritating and is pretty much free from any health concerns (like estrogenic effect worries with some chemical filters). Its protection is very good between 290 - 350 nm (UVB and UVA II range), and less good at 350-400 nm (UVA I) range. Overall, soybean extract is a promising and multi-functional active, a nice addition to most ingredient lists.Īnyway, it doesn't matter if it reflects or absorbs, Titanium Dioxide is a pretty awesome sunscreen agent for two main reasons: it gives a nice broad spectrum coverage and it's highly stable. There is also some promising, but as yet not in-vivo (done on real people), research that soybean extract can stimulate both elastin and collagen synthesis and thus lead to healthier, younger-looking skin. Topical estrogen is known to decrease skin thinning and collagen loss and soy might be able to do the same, especially during and after menopause when natural estrogen levels run low. These isoflavones are also the ones that make soy a phytoestrogen, meaning they have a (weak) estrogenic effect. Genistein is also proven to inhibit UV induced redness in human skin. The most famous and bioactive flavonoids in soybeans are the isoflavones called genistein and diadzein that have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This is useful for most pigmentation situations but, if you have melasma, soy is not for you as melasma is estrogen-mediated and soy is a well-known phytoestrogen. Regarding skin pigmentation, the soybean extract works by hindering melanosome transfer, meaning it blocks the melanin pigment from traveling up to the surface of the skin and becoming visible there.
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A sunscreen with BP-3 is definitely better than no sunscreen. However, if you find a formula that you love and contains BP-3, we do not think that you should throw it away. Overall, BP-3 is probably our least favorite sunscreen agent and we prefer sunscreens without it. It can be used in concentrations of up to 10% in the EU and up to 6% in the US. On the up side, sunscreens are pretty well regulated in several parts of the world, and BP-3 is considered " safe as used" and is an allowed sunscreen agent everywhere. If that was not enough, Wikipedia claims that BP-3 is nowadays the most common allergen found in sunscreens, and the always-trustworthy smartskincare writes that " have been shown in some studies to promote the generation of potentially harmful free radicals". In fact, a 2004 follow-up study to examine the estrogenic effect of sunscreens when used topically on the whole body found that "the endogenous levels of reproductive hormones were unaffected" (even though BP-3 could be detected both in plasma and urine, so its absorption is no doubt too good). Estrogenic activity was confirmed only in-vitro (in test tubes) and when taken orally by lab animals, and not when used topically as you would normally.
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Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl HydroxyhydrocinnamateĪnother concern of BP-3 is that it shows some estrogenic activity, though it's probably not relevant when applied topically to the skin.