Technical Articles

Clean beauty has steadily moved from being a niche market to entering the mainstream, with an eighth consecutive year of growth in Europe. This past year the number of COSMOS certified beauty products in Europe doubled to more than 10,000 with 794 brands boasting organic products.

With skin cancer incidence on the rise, the number one recommendation by specialists for protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays is sun avoidance. That isn’t always possible though with outdoor occupations & lifestyles.

Todays consumers are more educated, socially & environmentally conscious & aware than ever before. Coupled with the concept of clean beauty making a big push into the cosmetics market, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a focus on natural & organic products is the way of the future.

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is an inert, natural mineral that is commonly used in cosmetics as a thickening, lubricating, & sunscreen active ingredient. Zinc Oxide is a physical UV filter that provides the safest, most comprehensive broad-spectrum protection against the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Mineral-based sunscreen filters such as TiO2 and ZnO offer a natural solution to UV protection in personel care products compared to traditional organic filters which can be harmful to humans and environment. Among UV filters, zinc oxide (ZnO) is the only globally approved UV filter that can provide broad spectrum UV protection by blocking harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Having sensitive skin can be a real challenge for consumers when it comes to buying cosmetics. It does, however, present an opportunity for cosmetics companies. It is becoming increasingly common for people to consider themselves as having sensitive skin.

In the ever-changing landscape of sun protection products, consumers are struggling to keep up & understand the cosmetic industry’s current sun protection message. The high mortality rate from UV ray associated melanomas, one person dies of melanoma every hour & 86% of melanomas are caused by UV rays from the sun, means that it is widely accepted by consumers that protection of the skin from the sun is a necessity.