What I wish more people knew about mineral SPF

Let's bust some sunscreen myths so your future skin can thank you. 

Myth #1: If the formula contains Zinc Oxide it’s a mineral SPF

Not quite. Plenty of "mineral" sunscreens quietly run a chemical UV ingredient alongside the zinc which is structurally almost identical to a regulated chemical filter but slips onto the label as an "inactive" ingredient. 

Why? It lets a brand use less zinc oxide and still hit a high SPF with no white cast. The catch: it isn't truly mineral and you'd never know unless you read the fine print.

Mother SPF is 100% mineral. Our SPF comes from non-nano zinc oxide alone. No chemical filters, just naturally derived ingredients. 

Myth #2: A tinted mineral SPF is about coverage

For most brands, it is as the tint evens skin tone and hides zinc's white cast. We however tint for a different reason: skin health.

The pigments that give a mineral SPF its tint are iron oxides and iron oxides are one of the few ingredients shown to help shield skin from visible light including high-energy blue light which UV filters alone don't block well. So our colour isn't doing a cosmetic job. It's doing one your zinc can't do on its own.

This is also why we created our Mother of Pearl bronzing drops. For any non tinted SPF lovers, we'll simply add our bronzing drops onto the skin after your daily dose of SPF and the pearl formulation is designed to protect the skin from blue light and free radical damage. Bonus points for giving your skin an incredible glow too. 

Myth #3: All chemical sunscreen actives are safe

Consider this: The mineral actives Zinc and titanium are the only 2 ingredients classified as GRASE (Generally Recognized As Safe and Effective) . Every organic/chemical filter (avobenzone, oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, homosalate, etc.) sits in the "more data needed" category. Just google chemical UV actives and let all the studies on their hormone disrupting abilities do the talking.

This is why Mother SPF only formulates sunscreens with Zinc Oxide. 

Myth #4: Nano and non-nano zinc oxide offer the same safety and efficacy.

While both forms of zinc oxide provide broad-spectrum UV protection, nano-sized particles can penetrate the skin barrier under certain conditions and raise concerns regarding systemic absorption, cytotoxicity and potentially generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) under UV exposure.

All Mother SPF formulations use non-nano zinc oxide-only to ensure that particles remain on the skin’s surface where they effectively reflect and scatter UV radiation without risking dermal penetration or systemic exposure. 

Myth #5: All sunscreens are tested the same.

A lot of the popular SPF products you've seen overseas maybe the cult Korean ones or the fancy European ones you simply can't buy in Australia. 

Why not? 

Because Australia doesn't treat sunscreen as a cosmetic product like other countries do, it treats it as a therapeutic good. Basically a medicine.That means TGA oversight, testing on human volunteers, pharmaceutical-grade GMP manufacturing, and an AUST L listing on the ARTG. It's slow, expensive and seriously hard so plenty of international brands don't bother.

Mother SPF is proud to be made right here in Australia by a licensed TGA manufacturer. About 2 out of 3 Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer during their lifetime and so we don’t mess around when it comes to our SPF testing. 

You can read more about our testing here.