April 13, 2015

Aubrey Natural Sun Sunscreen Green Tea SPF 30





Packaging/Pricing:


You can find this sunscreen for ~12-16$ in most health food stores or online. 118ml (4fl.oz) of this product come in an opaque squeeze tube, which protects formulation nicely from air and sun exposure. 

Ingredients:


Active: Zinc Oxide 12%, Titanium Dioxide 5,6%
Other: Water, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Galactoarabinan, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) butter, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Seed Oil, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed)/Aleurites Fordi  (Tung Tree) Oil Copolymer, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Epilobium Angustifolium (Willow Herb) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Lonicera Japonica (Japonese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium Flower Extract, Populus Tremuloides (Aspen/Poplar) Bark Extract, Gluconolactone, Tocopherol (Vit E), Citric Acid, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder, Xanthan Gum, Tanacetum Annuum  (Blue Tansy) Oil.


Excellent (only beneficial ingredients, proven research)
Good (mostly beneficial, not extensive research or just not quite outstanding properties)
OK (mostly thickeners, emulsifiers, mild preservatives, pH adjusters, all that is necessary, but not a skincare per se) 
Bad (irritants and anything bad that shouldn't be in a skincare, usually fragrance)

Ingredients Discussion:


This is a great sunscreen for people with sensitive skin, since it features mineral sunscreen actives (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide). This particular formula definitely is geared towards people with drier skin types, because it heavily relies on some very rich non-fragrant plant oils and butters (jojoba and sunflower oils are second and third ingredients on the list, there are also shea butter and green tea oil). There are also some other skin identical ingredients, like glycerin, aloe vera juice and galactoarabinan in the formula.
Antioxidants are represented mostly by willow herb and honeysuckle extracts. There are also vitamin E and green tea powder, but there very low on the list, to really rely on them.
There are no essential oils, fragrance or major irritating ingredients in this product. However there are few questionable ingredients present (leuconostoc/ferment filtrate, blue tansy oil, poplar bark extract), I don't believe they can pose a problem, I just didn't find much research on their beneficial qualities.
Overall, the formulation is good, but I wish more antioxidants and cell-communicating ingredients would be present here.


Consumer Thoughts:


Though I've mentioned that this sunscreen is definitely designed for dry skin, I actually am not a fan of its texture. It is oily and dry at the same time. It is hard to spread and it takes some time to really settle into the skin. It feels oily, because of the great amount of oils in the formulation. On the other hand, mineral sunscreens also sometimes tend to give powdery dry texture (because those sunscreen actives are in fact crushed minerals). However, modern sunscreens use much smaller mineral particles, so you can easily find a mineral sunscreen, that doesn't feel powdery.
Also this product has green tint to it (probably because of the green tea powder). It is not that noticeable on the skin during the day, but you have to properly remove it at night (when you wipe the skin with wet cotton pad, it definitely turns green!).

Verdict:


Though it is technically not a bad product ingredients wise. But I really didn't like the experience as a user. Hard to recommend skin type that this product will be the most appropriate for. Too much oils for combination skin, too dry/powdery of a texture for dry skin. Green tinted skin is also not something I care for. There are much better sunscreens on the market.

3,5 out of 5.

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