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I have a couple of questions about ingredients in your description. Zinc oxide as you mention tends to be pasty white, like Desitin for diaper rash which uses z
by doodlebugging 4y ago
I have a couple of questions about ingredients in your description. Zinc oxide as you mention tends to be pasty white, like Desitin for diaper rash which uses zinc as one of the active ingredients. This is likely to be a really dumb question with an obvious answer but since zinc has been shown to affect nerves (it is used as an anti-itch ingredient since it tends to dampen nerve responses and can cause nerve damage if dosage is too high) do you anticipate problems with long-term regular usage of zinc as a component of your sunscreen or other products? I believe that since it is already a replacement for the oxybenzone components of earlier sunscreens that you use it since it works. Down the line though, what do you think about the safety of using it?
The other question I have comes from my background as a geoscientist. Your usage of iron oxides for pigmentation seems genius here. Iron oxides occur naturally in shades from bright yellows to reddish-blacks. It seems that using iron oxide as a pigment (mankind has used this for millenia) is the most perfect way to enable exact skin tone matching. My question though is this - in your studies have you found any tendency of the iron oxides to stain clothing on exposure to sweat or through normal wear and tear? I know that iron staining of laundry and porcelain for people who get their water from wells with high iron content is usually addressed in the water softening/conditioning operation before distribution to faucets in the household. Do you anticipate problems with iron staining on clothing? It's a dumb question and probably a non-issue since you have obviously done a lot of work in this space.
Congratulations to you all and best of luck in your efforts to improve and create safe skin care options for people of color.
- nphatak 4y agoLove these questions! Regarding zinc oxide, the limits in the US, Canada, and Europe are 25% Zinc oxide in any product (to avoid toxicity) and we are at 17%, which allows us to stay well under that limit, but still get the SPF 30 claim. You're also absolutely right that we are replacing oxybenzone, homosalate and octocrylene - all banned in the EU - which have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and skin allergies. Longer term, it is possible we will find another alternative to zinc oxide, but at this time it is hands down the safest SPF ingredient to be using. All regulatory bodies will agree. Your question about iron oxide is super interesting! Like any tinted product (even artificially tinted like a foundation), there is always some risk to the product getting on and staining clothing or accessories. Because our product is primarily meant to be used on the face, we are less concerned about this. We may create another version of this product for body, and will need to be much more conscious of the possibility of staining. We also formulated the product to have a fast "dry-down" time, meaning it absorbs relatively quickly into the skin. After a minute or two, it should not be rubbing off easily on clothing or other accessories.
- doodlebugging 4y agoThank you for taking the time to answer my questions. You are obviously trying to cover all the bases with product ingredients and that will hopefully position you for success. Good luck to you all!
- nphatak 4y agoThank you for asking great questions :)
- causi 4y agoWouldn't a 17% zinc oxide concentration give you an SPF of 27, not 30?