Beauty Tips

How Does SPF Actually Work, Anyway?

And what's all this UV business?

by Kristin Booker | COMMENT

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What are the ingredients in broad-spectrum sunscreen? In addition to a good solid SPF, you'll want to seek out the right ingredients. This means looking for a broad-spectrum product that includes any of the following: cinoxate, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, Parsol 1789 (also known as avobenzone), sulisobenzone and/or ecamsule. "The main thing is really UVA filters because the UVA chemical blockers are the ones that are hardest to stay stable," Levin says.

Ecamsule is one of the newest approved UVA blockers on the market and it's a dermatologist favorite. "It blocks a wide spectrum of UVA radiation and it wasn't readily available in the States for a long time," Levin says. But U.S. dermatologists fought for it and now it's available as an ingredient known as Mexoryl SX.

Levin is also a fan of another chemical blocker known as Helioplex, which is a stabilized version of avobenzone (aka Parsol 1789). "Helioplex is another chemical blocker that's kind of like a UVA stabilizer with different chemical filters," she says. Both Mexoryl SX and Helioplex are favorites of Levin.

When it comes to physical blockers, Levin says the best ingredients are metals, like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which act as a reflective shield against harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Image via Imaxtree

SEE NEXT PAGE: Which sunscreen should I use?

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