Only substances on a published annex may be used, and no plant oil is among them
What an ultraviolet filter is, which ones may lawfully be used in Great Britain, how the mineral and organic division works, and why the word chemical does no useful work as a sorting term.
Which UV filters are permitted in the UK, and how that list works
Sunscreen in Great Britain is a cosmetic product, and only UV filters on a published annex may be used. What that means for the mineral and natural category.
Mineral and organic UV filters: the difference that is real, and the one that is not
The division between mineral and organic UV filters describes a genuine chemical difference. It does not describe a difference in safety, in naturalness or in regulatory status.
Why chemical sunscreen is a category that describes nothing
Every ingredient in every sunscreen is a chemical, including zinc oxide and water. Sorting sunscreens into chemical and non chemical does not describe a real division.
How a UV filter actually works, in both classes
Absorption, scattering and reflection are three different physical processes. Understanding which one a filter relies on explains almost every practical difference between products.
Ultraviolet A, ultraviolet B and what broad spectrum means on a UK pack
The UVA logo in a circle is not decoration. It records a defined relationship between ultraviolet A protection and the sun protection factor, and it applies to mineral products too.
Photostability, and why a formulator never uses one filter alone
A filter that degrades in sunlight stops protecting. Photostability explains why formulations combine filters, and why the mineral category's stability advantage is real but narrow.
Editorial disclosure. This article contains no commercial links. Nothing on it has been paid for, no company has been given sight of it, and no brand or product is named anywhere on this site. This publication takes no money from sunscreen or skincare companies at any price, and the reasons are set out in what we refuse to sell. Published by Northbank Media.
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