All About Skin Lightening: Product Recommendation: Neutrogena Pure & Free Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF 50

Monday, March 14, 2011

Product Recommendation: Neutrogena Pure & Free Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF 50

Photo Credit: Neutrogena

I am a firm believer in the daily use of sunscreen. I practice it and recommend it to most people starting a skin care regimen or a skin lightening regimen. In many ways, daily use of sunscreen does come across as a bit extreme. Not everyone has the time, energy or skin type to withstand such a meticulous task, lol. Personally I always make sure I wear sunscreen when I step outside, even if it is just to walk to my car. I usually only wear sunscreen indoors during the summer, since daylight from windows does pose as a threat to our skin. But in the winter and on cloudy days where often times the UV Index is 0 or close to that, I forgo the use of sunscreen. That is pretty much the only times where I don’t wear sunscreen.

In the winter time and on days where the UV Index is low, I wear less protective sunscreens because I like to save my holy grail sunscreen (or highly protective one) for days where it really matters (direct sunlight, going on vacation etc.). This winter I used the Olay Complete SPF 15 Sensitive Skin Classic Gentle Formula (zinc oxide and octinoxate). I love the lightweight, fluid-like texture of it.

I recently found out about Neutrogena’s new all physical sunblock – the Pure & Free Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF 50.

For those who like sunscreens like Devita SPF 30, or other sunscreens that have physical sunblocking ingredients like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, you will definitely like this one!

The Neutrogena Pure & Free Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF 50 has a lightweight liquid formula similar to their Ultra Sheer Liquid one which came out last year. It’s definitely not in the same league as Japanese sunscreens in terms of finish, but it’s better than most out there. Again, it contains 2 physical sunblock ingredients – titanium dioxide and zinc oxide which is perfect for those cloudy days or days where you’ll be indoors and not in direct sunlight.

It is affordable, oil-free, fragrance-free and comes in a 1.4 fl oz. (40 ml) bottle would should be shaken well before applying.

I think this is an excellent sunscreen for its value (SPF 55/PPD of 4.5-5) and is ideal for days where you won’t be in direct sun light or getting any excessive sun exposure. Sensitive skin types will definitely benefit from this, as I know a lot of people cannot tolerate ingredients like avobenzone, tinosorb or mexoryl SX and XL.

Official Site:
http://www.neutrogena.com/product/pure+-+free-+liquid+daily+sunblock+spf+50%C2%A0.do?sortby=bestSellers

Ingredients:

Titanium Dioxide 5%, Zinc Oxide 3%
Water, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Trisiloxane, Dimethicone, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Silica, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer, Bisabolol, Magnesium Sulfate, Caprylyl Glycol, DMDM Hydantoin, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, BHT

Labels: recommendations, sunscreen

14 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Mileena!

Couple of weeks ago i asked you for repalcement of my beloved susncreen Sofina since it has been discontinued and you recommend biore sunscreen in white bottle is there any way you can post active ingredients for this one? I have oily acne melasma prone skin. I am looking for good japnese sunscreen with physical filters. Thank you; March 14, 2011 at 8:22 PM
Mileena said...: Hi!

I do remember! The ingredients are almost identical to the Sofina. Zinc oxide and octinoxate with similar concentration of each. =); March 15, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Mileena said...: If your skin is really prone to getting melasma or you already have melasma, I would go with a higher PPD sunscreen than a Japanese one. La Roche Posay's Anthelios Ultra Light SPF 60 Fluid. Pretty lightweight (not as matte as a Japanese one) but a higher PPD of around 12-15 which is necessary for melasma prone skin.

<3; March 15, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Thank you so much; March 15, 2011 at 2:10 PM
Mileena said...: You're welcome ♥♥; March 15, 2011 at 3:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow, it's hard to believe that it's considered SPF 50 with only 5% titanium dioxide and 3% zinc oxide. DHC's White Sunscreen has 5% titanium and 10% zinc, and it's labelled SPF 25. Crazy. Plus, the DHC one doesn't have a formaldehyde releaser (DMDM hyantoin). Yuck. I'll be staying away from this one, but thanks for letting us know about it. You're doing a great job. ;) Bless you.; March 15, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Mileena said...: Yeah, it's definitely not the best in the bunch but I do know a lot of people who like Neutrogena products regardless of some of the ingredients I personally do not use. It's still a good price for the it's value. Devita SPF 30 is a much better physical sun block and the DHC's White sounds better.

♥; March 15, 2011 at 4:58 PM
Anonymous said...: hey mileena. just thought you'd find this interesting as i did:

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/112/case_reports/dirtydermatoses/rosen.html

it's mainly about different skin conditions being solved by isopropyl alchohol. case 4 is really interesting. beware some pics are gross!; March 15, 2011 at 7:01 PM
Mileena said...: Wow, thank you for that link. That certainly is interesting. I had no idea an ingredient as common isopropyl alcohol could alleviate a form of hyperpigmentation like that. *cringes at the pics* but very fascinating.

thanks for sharing! I love reading about stuff like this!; March 15, 2011 at 9:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Mileena!

While back you post an article re arbutin for melasma . I want to ask you few question if you don't mind. I have been suffering from melasma and acne i tried hydroquinne in past it helped but my melasma patches came back in larger size after few months. I have been reading that arbutin is simmilar to hydroquinne means same family is this true ?reason i am askin because i going to use a bb cream called legre and it has 300 mg arbutin in it . Is that ok to use for long time or not i like to cover my acne scars and melasma but dont want to risk with larger and darker patches after sometime. Pls help me in this one. I am confused i just want to stay away from hydroquinne type products. Thank you; March 16, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Mileena said...: Arbutin is in the same family as hydroquinone as it contains a form of it. The hydroquinone (skin lightening) aspect of Arbutin is different though. It doesn't pose the *same* cytotoxic effects, in fact it has been shown to produce little to no adverse effects in most people.

Arbutin and Alpha Arbutin are great alternatives to straight on use of chemically created hydroquinone which is very harsh. Arbutin is naturally found in many plants and some fruits. It is safe to use generally.

If you've had a negative experience with an HQ product, then most likely arbutin or alpha arbutin or not the best type of ingredients to use. Granted, arbutin has to be at a high percent (5% or greater) to create melanin suppression and BB creams rarely contain this amount. The BB cream is fine to use and probably won't have any effect on pigmentation whatsoever IMO. It's just too weak to do anything.

Shiseido's Whitess Intensive Skin Brightener (expensive!!!) contains 5% arbutin and is very effective.; March 16, 2011 at 12:45 PM
Mileena said...: You're welcome!♥; March 16, 2011 at 3:42 PM
orlando said...: mileena hello is gos_is_back from brightskinforum, remember me ? olive skin guy ? lol
well, i have been using ultra sheer liquid for a while, actually i recommended it on brightskinforum before u reviewed it here lol

i wanted to know which one offers the most protection ? i have read that physical sunblocks are better because u don't have to wait 30 minute in order for the sunblock to be absorbed by the skin.
does the ultra sheer liquid offer more protection than this one ? they cost the same.
which one is less heavy and more matte ?; March 18, 2011 at 7:53 PM
Mileena said...: Hi Gos!

Of course I remember you! How are you doing? ♥

It's true - physical sunblocks don;t require any waiting time for protection. Chemical sunscreens have settle on the skin undisturbed for at least 10-15 minutes to form the protective coating while physical sunblock ingredients do not.

The Ultra Sheer Liquid has much stronger protection though than this one (the Pure & Free Liquid). The Ultra Sheer Liquid has a higher UVA protection factor (PPD of around 11-12ish).

The Pure & Free is more like 5-6. In terms of matte-ness, they both are similar in matte-ness. I would say the Ultra Sheer is probably more matte, I test tried both of them on my hands in drugstores and the Ultra Sheer Liquid left my skin more matte feeling and looking. Though nothing compared to Japanese sunscreens =P

The Pure & Free Liquid sunblock may also cause a slight (ever so slight) white cast on the skin since it's strictly physical ingredients and I don't believe it's fully microencapsulated (the Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide). So a slight white cast look is more apparent with it. But still nothing harsh and it can be blended in and after 20 minutes should look completely unnoticeable.

=); March 19, 2011 at 6:17 AM

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All About Skin Lightening

Monday, March 14, 2011

Product Recommendation: Neutrogena Pure & Free Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF 50

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