Re: Skincare products: good/bad ingredients?

May 29, 2002

You may hate to hear this, but you have to experiment! Groan . . .

I went through this process over the last few months, trying to find

something that would work.

For me (which may be meaningless for you!), I had the best luck with

the zinc oxide and titanium dioxide ones, sometimes referred to as

non-chemical sunscreens.

There are a load of them out there. Many make you look as white as a

ghost. Not a good look on me. I settled on Clinique Super City Block

25. Its a little tinted, but doesn't look like make up. Nor does it

feel sticky (my main complaint with many products).

Does anyone know about a sunscreen ingredient called Ensulizole? I saw

that as the first listed ingredient in several (chemical) sunscreens,

but could find no information about it.

Good luck.

Claire (in Seattle)

P.S. I was trying to avoid the ones that have an ingredient called

Octyl Methe--something or other. I think that is what irritated me in

the past.

Avoid any " gels " . Gel = alcohol

> I'm trying to figure out, by looking at labels, which ingredients

> may be helpful and harmful in sunscreens and makeup. (I rarely

> wear makeup, but now and then I need to.)

>

> Every sunscreen irritates and stings, some worse than others.

>

> I understand that dimethicone and cyclomethicone in

> sunscreens are very helpful in preventing irritation. PABA and

> alcohol are to be avoided. What other ingredients should be

> avoided?

>

> Thanks.

May 31, 2002

Claire, ensulizole (phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid) is a

relatively new sunscreen (not sunblock) that is often used in

combination with ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and/or isoamyl p-

methoxycinnamate. I'm not sure why its concentration is limited in

the US to 4%, whereas in other countries it can be used up to 8%. It

is water soluable, so feels less oily. It filters only UVB, not UVA

rays.

Below is a study that lists it as the least likely sunscreen of those

tested to cause an allergic reaction -- but that's for people with

normal skin, not those with conditions that predispose to skin

sensitivity, where we are warned that sensitivies were found among

these products as well:

Br J Dermatol 2001 Oct;145(4):597-601 Abstract quote

Background

Despite the enormous increase in sunscreen use, allergic contact (AC)

and photoallergic (PA) reactions to ultraviolet (UV) filters are

considered rare.

Objectives

To analyse the data from 2715 patients who underwent photopatch

testing at St 's Institute of Dermatology during the period 1983-

98.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of all positive photopatch test episodes was

undertaken with the results retrieved from the environmental

dermatology database and further verified with the original archived

patch test documentation for each individual patient.

Results

In 111 patients with positive reactions (4.1%), there were 155 AC or

PA reactions to allergens in the photopatch test series. Eighty PA

reactions were observed in 62 (2.3%) patients (32 men and 30 women,

age range 28-75 years), with UV filters accounting for 52 positive

reactions (65%), drugs 16 (20%), musk ambrette 11 (14%) and the

antiseptic trichlorocarbanilide one (1%). The most common UV filter

photoallergen was benzophenone-3 with 14 positive results, followed

by benzophenone-10 (n = 9), isopropyl dibenzoylmethane (n = 6), p-

aminobenzoic acid (PABA) (n = 5), octyl dimethyl PABA (n = 5), butyl

methoxydibenzoylmethane (n = 4), isoamyl methoxycinnamate (n = 2),

ethyl methoxycinnamate (n = 2), octyl methoxycinnamate (n = 2), amyl

dimethyl PABA (n = 2) and phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid (n = 1).

A similar number of AC reactions to UV filters was detected in this

study. Thus 49 patients (1.8%) had a total of 75 reactions: 51 due to

UV filters and 24 as a result of exposure to fragrances and

therapeutic agents. Benzophenone-10 accounted for 13 AC reactions and

benzophenone-3 for eight reactions. Twenty-two patients had a PA

reaction alone, whereas 19 patients had chronic actinic dermatitis

and 15 patients polymorphic light eruption (PLE) in addition. Thus,

34 of the 62 patients (55%) had a preceding underlying

photodermatosis.

Conclusions

These results show a low yield of positive photopatch tests. Thus,

despite the large increase in the use of UV filters over the last

decade, the development of PA reactions remains rare. Furthermore,

most of the common UV filter photoallergens identified in this study,

including PABA, amyl dimethyl PABA and benzophenone-10, are now

rarely used in sunscreen manufacture, while isopropyl

dibenzoylmethane was voluntarily removed from the market in 1993.

Currently, benzophenone-3 is the commonest contact photoallergen

still in widespread use. In contrast, the UVB filter octyl

methoxycinnamate, used in a number of sunscreens, produced only two

positive PA reactions in 12 years of testing. Nevertheless, although

these reactions are extremely rare, patients with photodermatoses

such as PLE and chronic actinic dermatitis do represent a group of

patients at increased risk of developing photoallergy. Further

photopatch test series should be regularly reviewed and updated, as

the relevance of individual photoallergens changes over time.

Currently, there is no evidence that PA reactions represent a common

clinical problem.

I'm a Clinique Super City Block user as well. " Settled " is a good

description; a better sunblock awaits discovery.

Marjorie

Marjorie Lazoff, MD

> > I'm trying to figure out, by looking at labels, which ingredients

> > may be helpful and harmful in sunscreens and makeup. (I rarely

> > wear makeup, but now and then I need to.)

> >

> > Every sunscreen irritates and stings, some worse than others.

> >

> > I understand that dimethicone and cyclomethicone in

> > sunscreens are very helpful in preventing irritation. PABA and

> > alcohol are to be avoided. What other ingredients should be

> > avoided?

> >

> > Thanks.

May 31, 2002