I’ve written time and time again about how well L’oreal UV Perfect sunscreen with Mexoryl works for me. I have conceded that it does not work well for everyone, with some people reporting breakouts but in general its worked well for me.
Mexoryl is a chemical sunscreen or sunblock patented by L’oreal, that has been used quite prevalently in Europe and Asia for a while, but was not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until quite recently. What’s good about Mexoryl is that it absorbs both UVA and UVB rays and is photostable which means it doesn’t break down as easily under the sun and thus protects the skin against UVA rays (the ones that cause skin aging) better.
Recently, I was at Guardian checking out the Eucerin counter when I saw that Eucerin has introduced a new product – Eucerin White Solution with SPF40. This is a day moisturiser that comes with very high SPF and I was intrigued. The sun protection ingredient is provided by Tinosorb S.
Tinosorb S is another chemical sunscreen patented by CIBA. I was new to Tinosorb so I looked up some information online about it. Apparently, Tinosorb S is:-
- Photostable
- was specifically designed to meet the needs of the cosmetic industry. Besides the excellent performance as a photostable broad-spectrum UV filter, it is compatible with organic and inorganic filters, meets the high safety requirements and is oil soluble for high water resistance.
- is a daily broad-spectrum filter. It provides excellent UV-A protection to serve as a basis for UV protective day creams and shows synergistic effects with UV-B filters for high-SPF sunscreens.
I was quite taken in by it because I’m no stranger to chemical sunscreens anyway having used Mexoryl all this while.
For now, Tinosorb S is only found in sunscreens in Europe and Asia as the US FDA has not approved it for use in the USA at this time. However, whatever information I sourced online seem to indicate that Tinosorb S is an effective broad spectrum sunscreen and chemically, is very effective in filtering both UVA and UVB rays. It seems to be placed on par with that of Mexoryl in its effectiveness and photostability. 2 sites I had useful information from were the forums at Skincarerx and Essential Day Spa.
I’m no sunscreen expert, but I did buy the Eucerin White Solution with SPF40 and will be testing it out for a month to see how it works for me. I’m intrigued to see if a moisturiser with high SPF is by itself sufficient for everyday use. Previously I’d been using a moisturiser without SPF or with minimal SPF and then my L’oreal UV Perfect sunscreen over it. I’m not so sure if I should now.
This is in part due to the fact that the Eucerin day moisturiser already contains SPF40 and in part due to the fact that the 2 chemical sunscreens in the 2 products I have are different – Tinosorb S and Mexoryl. I’m not sure if they play well together.
I’ll be back with my review on Eucerin White Solution day moisturiser in a month or so!
sesame says
June 17, 2008 at 1:47 pmInteresting! I’m looking forward to your review cos I’ve not come across this yet and I’m keen to know how Tinosorb performs. Btw, do you get Blue Lizard in M’sia? I’m very keen to get my hands on that one.
Reeka says
June 17, 2008 at 10:51 pmthanks PB! u give me another usefull infos…:-). After last month i had finished my loocitane immortale sunscreen, I ‘ve tried the loreal uv expert. the anti dullness one also. It’s greasier than loccitane one…but still okay for me.
as far as i know…the greasiness is caused by highness of the SPF. Higher it is…then greasier it is. cmiiw.
well, i wait ur review bout this eucerin. 🙂
Ms. Blacklace says
June 18, 2008 at 12:29 amI’ll be looking forward to it!
I’ve been using the L’Oreal in anti-dullness for quite sometime now. And it’s finishing. Can’t wait to try the transparent one. From what I’ve felt, I’ve found the transparent one less grease-sy.
Have you seen the Witch skincare? They have this new moisturiser that has sunblocking properties. I nearly considered purchasing it coz I’m using their Clear complexion moisturiser and it’s really really good. Plus the new moisturiser comes in a pump bottle. But when I saw the packaging I changed my mind. No safety seal… And it costs S$20++. And the SPF is too low. So… Back to L’Oreal. Haha. Oh… What the heck… maybe I’ll give it a shot next month….
christine says
June 18, 2008 at 8:49 amI have my doubts using sun screen as i have oily skin and i tend to break out when i apply sunscreen or even moisturizers in the morning. At night i am fine caused my face is dry when i sleep with air condition.
but thanks for the review i might try this new sun screen soon as i probably need sun screen soon to protect against prematured aging.
Thanks again
ParisB says
June 18, 2008 at 9:53 amSesame: I’ll be reviewing it soon, but a preliminary view tells me I like this moisturiser/sunscreen! We don’t get Blue Lizard here – what is it? lol…
Reeka: Actually I think the greasiness is due to the composition of the cream not so much the level of the sunscreen. But I’ll check up more on this and see what the experts say. Edit: I stand corrected. The cream is greasier as the sunscreen level increases to accommodate the SPF level.
Ms. Blacklace: Oh I actually find the Transparent L’oreal sunscreen more greasy than anti-dullness! But I might have found my substitute for the L’oreal in Eucerin. I’ll be more sure in a week or two. We don’t get Witch here so I can’t try it. I did see it in Singapore but didn’t have time to look at it properly.
Christine: Ah I cannot extol the virtues of sunscreen enough. Its the best anti-aging product because prevention is better than cure. What you probably need is to find a brand of sunscreen that suits you. Maybe try something with an oil free base if you break out from day moisturisers.
Nikki says
June 18, 2008 at 3:08 pmyou guys have eucerin counter? we don’t ..we just have a couple of eucerin products in a small store..who sells imported stuffs…I am so wondering how well the Eucerin products are!
cookie says
June 18, 2008 at 3:20 pmlooking forward for the review! 🙂 dont forget about it yeah
sesame says
June 18, 2008 at 3:42 pmParis: Sorry I should have been more specific. It’s a range of sunscreen. Believe it’s from Australia.
Monstro says
June 19, 2008 at 12:21 pmI haven’t had much luck with sunscreens-they all seem to break me out! The lower the SPF, the better for me. But PB, what’s the difference between chemical and physical sunscreen? Which ingredients are which? Apart from protection, is one more prone to break your skin out?
Randi says
August 2, 2011 at 11:28 amHi, I am new to the group but not new to sunscreens. I have been using tizo3 by solar and fallene. It has titanium dioxide 8% and zinc oxide 3-8%. It says it protects against uva and an spf of 40. What makes it so special is the velvet texture and you can use it on your eye lids. I would love to know how much it protects from uva. Does anyone know or how to find out?
Reeka says
June 19, 2008 at 11:14 pmHi Monstro..
my friend who (IMO) is the expert bout the sunscreen/sunblock things said that usually the sunblock doesnt make any breakout. Yes it is greasier when the SPF is higher. But if u cleanse ur face totally & regularly do the scrubbing…it would help. It’s just my 2 cents….:-).
HTH
Monstro says
June 20, 2008 at 3:24 pmHi Reeka, thanks for the info. I think that’s quite true, because when I use a scrub daily it helped a lot. Though I found that using a scrub daily was causing my skin to dry up quite a bit. So I just have to find the right balance 🙂
Nifrazarook says
March 16, 2011 at 10:46 amI am a sri lankan. now im using aroma magic sunblock.but it does not work. I like to use Loreal Sun block.Where can i buy it in srilanka?
Lee says
November 28, 2012 at 5:55 amHi! Great Article. I been using La roche posay for about a month now, and It feels so good knowing Im safe from the suns harmful wrinkling UVA rays, but it’s very expensive, Just read up on the ingredient Tinosirb S & M. I will be having a shipment coming in from Amazon soon, Its from a company called Avene..And it’s around the same price as the Mexoryl..It contains both Tinosorbs and apparently lasting all day under the sun..way to block of the major cause of wrinkles and skin damage huh? good luck guys herm, I mean girls