How was our first SPF day cream developed? Interview with our cosmetic developer

What challenge did its development pose, what makes the cream exceptional and why can you rely on it? We interviewed Ing. Eva Horčíková – one of our product developers who was in the lead of its development. 

How long did it take to develop this cream and what challenges did you face?

Development of this day cream with UV filter took more than two years. We originally aimed to create as natural cream as possible containing only mineral UV filters. Identifying and testing a suitable mineral UV filter of zinc oxide took us a very long time.

Our request was to develop a cream that would be as gentle as possible with the lowest possible whitening capacity, which is undesired, and not nano-sized (smaller than 100nm). The benefit of nano zinc oxide is that it is transparent and does not whiten the skin, however, it cannot be perfectly safe for human health.

After many attempts it turned out that developing a high-quality day cream with a quantity of zinc oxide powder reaching SPF of at least 15-20 but maintaining pleasant texture, was almost impossible. What complicated our situation was the fact that we required a formula without silicones, which contribute to better spreadability of cream and cause a pleasant feeling on the skin.

We managed to create various variants only with zinc oxide. However, we were not satisfied with their sensory evaluation, they whitened a little bit and were not pleasant to the skin. For that reason, almost no day cream with mineral UV filter is available on the market.

There is a wide range of sunscreens with mineral UV filters available on the market, however, other properties are expected in day creams, such as not to whiten the skin, to care of it, to have pleasant texture and make the customer feel good after its application.

How did you handle this difficult situation? What type of UV filter is finally used in the formula? Mineral, chemical or hybrid?

For the above-mentioned reasons, we finally compromised and besides a small quantity of mineral zinc oxide we used effective synthetic UV filters of a new generation to make the final cream more pleasant, with a broad-spectrum UVB/UVA protection filter and without a whitening effect.

The used synthetic UV filters belong to the most modern on the market, they are safe, photostable and highly efficient at even low concentrations. It was very important for us to make eco-friendly products that do no harm to flora and fauna including sea corals.

Besides the mentioned UV filters, protection against adverse impacts of blue light and UV radiation is ensured with interesting natural ectoin, which is created by extremophile bacteria living in extreme conditions of salt desert lakes with high salinity and an extremely low UV radiation rate. Ectoin can protect these bacteria against UV radiation, dehydration and other hostile impacts including blue light.         

What SPF factor was chosen and why?

We chose SPF 20, because we think that SPF 50, which is popular nowadays, is not needed in most day creams and unnecessarily burdens the skin with UV filters.

Testing proves that SPF 15 cream protects the skin from UV radiation in 93%, SPF 20 cream in 95%, SPF 30 cream in 95% and SPF 50 cream in 98%. It is apparent that the difference in protection is not big and SPF 20 is sufficient for daily use when we are not outdoors most of the day.

In case of extremely sensitive skin the customers can use sunscreens with a higher level of protection for regular daily use. Even such small differences in the level of protection are more significant in sunscreens when staying by the sea because we are exposed to sunlight much of the day when we are on holiday. However, quite a small difference between SPF 30 and SPF 50 can play a big role in case of sensitive skin. 

What makes our SPF cream different from other products available on the market?

Our cream is different from other day creams mainly due to the content of mineral zinc oxide and a low proportion of synthetic eco-friendly UV filters.

Zinc oxide is not in the undesired nano form and does not whiten the skin, moreover, it is easily spreadable and without various silicones, which SPF day creams often contain. Its great advantage is much higher UVA protection than what current legislation defines as mandatory in sunscreens. Thus, it very well protects the skin against premature aging caused by this radiation. An extra bonus is that its suitability for sensitive skin is confirmed by dermatological testing.

What active components does the cream contain and how do they contribute to protection and care of the skin?

Besides UV filters the cream includes hyaluronic acid in various molecular weights for intense hydration and lifting, ectoin as anti-pollution protection against adverse external impacts including blue light, moisturising and embellishing daisy extract, caring and nourishing plant oils – almond, oat and jojoba oil, squalene for renewal of hydrolipidic barrier, protective and soothing allantoin, oat beta-glucan, panthenol and vitamin E.  

Does this product have any certification confirming its high quality, safety and environmental friendliness?

The cream is evaluated as safe for human health (which results from European legislation). The level of SPF is verified by in vivo tests and the level of UVA-PF by in vitro test conducted by the National Institute of Public Health in Prague.

The used state-of-the-art synthetic UV filters have a high ecological score, i.e. they do no harm to sea corals. The cream is intended for all types of the skin including sensitive, for which it was dermatologically tested in the National Institute of Public Health in Prague.

What texture does the cream have and how easily is it applied? Does it leave a white film on the skin?

The cream is light, moisturising and well spreadable without leaving a white film on the skin.

Do you plan to increase the range of SPF products in other types of products?

Yes, we are going to launch other skin care products with UV protection next year, but let yourself be surprised.