What’s New and Hot in Sunscreen in 2020? - Appalachian Spring Dermatology

As many of my readers know, I’m a little obsessed with sunscreen. If you ask me, “What’s the best sunscreen to buy?” My answer will be WAY TOO LONG and include the word “zinc” about a thousand times. Each year at this time, I usually go to Walmart to scope out what’s on the shelves for this year. Do I love educating people about sunscreen enough to go to Walmart during COVID-19? Is this essential business? Hmm…

For now, let’s start with what’s new, hot, and trendy in sunscreen.

More zinc and titanium –Tons of recent reports have focused on the negatives of chemical sunscreens. With more reports of chemical sunscreens absorbing into our bloodstream, now more than ever, THINK ZINC. To learn more about the ills of chemical sunscreens, see my past post.

More powder sunscreen – We have been touting the praises of Colorescience powder-on sunscreen for years. Now, we have options from ZO Skin Health and ISDIN as well!

More stabilization of ingredients and antioxidants – Colorescience has coated its sunscreen particles in their new proprietary “Enviroscreen.” This coats the mineral zinc particles with an impermeable shield that prevents free radicals from attacking healthy skin cells. Normally the interaction between sunscreen and sun produces some free radicals which are suggested to be harmful to the skin. Enviroscreen reduces those free radicals and stabilizes the antioxidant in their formulations to allow them to perform better. I’m not that easily impressed, but the real science and data behind this is amazingly impressive. The new enviroscreen is not in all of their products. It is in their Total Protection: Brush on sunscreen, Face Shield in Glow and Bronze, Body Shield original and bronze, new Sport Stick, and new color Balms.

More HEV Blue light Protection- I have previous posts discussing the effects of blue light on the skin. Blue light penetrates deep into the skin, causing aging and discoloration. So, wear your sunscreen every day to protect against the effects of your devices on your skin. In the Spring Boutique, we have HEV protection in Colorescience and ZO Skin Health Sunscreen.

More Infrared Protection – Infrared rays are the warming rays of the sun. Although the warming of the sun often feels good, those infrared rays can be damaging as well. Infrared rays break down collagen leading to photoaging of the skin. In the Spring Boutique, we have infrared protection in Colorescience and ZO Skin Health Sunscreen.

More Photolyases – Photolyases are DNA repair enzymes. These little beauties repair the DNA in our skin that is being damaged by UV rays and environmental elements. Most are derived from a plankton extract Artemia Salina. To my knowledge, one of the few sunscreens with photolyases, Eryfotona Actinica, is by ISDIN, a Spanish company, available in the Spring Boutique. Others include Neova DNA Damage Control and SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion.

More “reef safe”- Again, think zinc! Many studies have shown that the chemical sunscreen Oxybenzone may be harmful to our environment and the coral reef. To read my more on this and the ban of these chemical sunscreens in some locations see my prior post.

More skin barrier safe – This has been a big trend in all skincare for 2020, so I won’t be surprised if new sunscreens mention the skin barrier as well. This one is just a prediction. To learn more about the skin barrier, check out our recent post.

This is the second in our series of sunscreen articles for 2020. To learn the basics of sunscreens, see our previous articles, and watch for our upcoming product picks for 2020, stay tuned!

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