OUR SUN CREAM IS CERTIFIED
A natural and organic sunscreen
We are proud to offer you a sun protection with a single mineral UV filter and a short ingredient list, to protect you from the sun and preserve the environment.
Made with only four ingredients, this natural sunscreen is certified COSMOS Organic. All unnecessary ingredients have been removed to offer you a product with a short ingredient list, without any shady or potentially dangerous raw materials.
We are aware that a zero impact isn't possible, but we are offering you the best possible compromise between an efficient sun protection and a zero waste and organic-certified product.
Handmade in our workshop
An efficient and photostable protection
With its SPF25, our mineral sun cream with moringa oil protects your skin from UVB as well as UVA rays. To achieve an efficient and photostable protection, we chose a single solar mineral and broad-spectrum filter: zinc oxide.
Our SPF25 cream protect against 96% of UV rays. Knowing that an SPF50 protects against 98% of UV rays, we made this conscious choice of not offering an SPF50 cream. Here's why: we decided to keep our formula short and not to multiply the number of solar filters, to limit our impact on seas and oceans.
Our suncream resists water and perspiration and can therefore be used when going to the beach or pool, in the mountains, or simply in your day-to-day life. It leaves very little white cast, making it ideal for all skin tones.
The stick form is practical to carry around and the fully recyclable cardboard packaging makes it a zero waste sun protection.
Our sun cream composition
Our sun cream is organic-certified and handmade in our workshop. Here are the four raw materials it contains:
Sunflower wax: from the sunflower head, this wax is very hard, giving the product a solid and stable texture.
Origin France, organic and COSMOS-certified
Moringa oil: from the moringa seeds, this oil nourishes your skin. It doesn't leave it greasy but rather with a nice feel to it. It repairs and softens dry and sensitive skin.
Origin South Africa, organic-certified
Shea butter: from the shea fruits, this butter nourishes and soothes your skin, protecting it against external aggressions. Rich in vitamin A, it is non-comedogenic.
Origin Ghana, organic-certified
Zinc oxide: mineral filter allowing our cream to protect your skin from UVA and UVB rays. This powder is complemented by two components:
- Polyhydroxystearic acid: wax from castor oil, which helps to improve the cream's texture.
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride: from coconut oil, it allows the mineral filter to be distributed correctly throughout our sun cream.
Origin USA, COSMOS-certified
Moringa oil
From the Moringa Oleifera tree, our moringa is virgin, from organic agriculture, and extracted by first cold pressure.
This fine oil is used in cosmetics for its excellent nourishing and moisturising properties. It has the benefit of quickly penetrating the skin without leaving a greasy feeling afterwards.
Known for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties, it will help you take care of your skin when it is exposed to the sun.
This precious oil is rich in oleic acid. It is also full of vitamin A, B, and C, and is non-comedogenic, a perfect match for our sun cream.
A mineral filter: zinc oxide
Amongst solar filters, only two are authorised in organic cosmetics: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Both of these are mineral filters.
We chose zinc oxide as unique solar filter. It offers broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays, and suits the most sensitive skin.
Titanium dioxide is a controversial product. Also used in toothpaste or in food as colouring, it has been classed as proven carcinogen by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES).
It is also banned in spray sunscreens, in the form of nanomaterial. As a solar filter, it doesn't offer broad-spectrum protection nor enough protection against UVA rays.
As for chemical filters, they aren't authorised in organic products. We ruled out the use of chemical filters, also called organic, due to their health and environmental risks.
An efficient SPF25 sun cream
Our sunscreen has an SPF25, which is considered to be a medium protection and will block around 96% of so-called erythematosus UV rays. Our sun cream's SPF is determined by an in vivo test in accordance with the ISO 24444 standard. This protection factor measures the protection efficiency against "sunburns", primarily caused by UVB rays (ultraviolet B rays). UVB rays are also responsible for most skin cancers.
Our cream also protects you from UVA rays with a 9,6 factor. We have respected the recommended ratio in relation to the SPF for good protection (the UVA protection factor must be minimum 1/3 of the SPF, so 8,3 of our SPF25). UVA are the ultraviolet A rays, mainly responsible for tanning but above all premature skin ageing (marks, wrinkles, etc.).
Our cream is also photostable and guarantees reliable protection throughout your exposure. A sun protection's photostability is an important factor to take into account. This refers to a cream's capacity of maintaining its protective effects during a set exposure time.
Understanding the sun protection factor (SPF)
The protection factor is a complicated rule, and can something be difficult to understand.
When a person, without any protection, gets a sunburn after 10 minutes (this time varies according to your skin and your own "sun resistance"), an SPF25 cream will multiply the possible exposure time by 25, before getting burnt.
It is therefore important to adjust how often you reapply sun cream according to your phototype and the SPF used.
Choosing your SPF
This is a difficult topic but what you need to remember is that different SPFs don't protect us in a proportional way. An SPF30 doesn't protect twice as much as an SPF15.
The difference between an SPF25 or SPF50 mainly lies in the exposure time during which your skin is protected. The percentage of filtered UV rays is essentially the same (96% vs 98%).
An SPF50 or 50+ is often preferred, for lighter and more fragile skin. However, this level of protection can sometimes give the impression, wrongly in some instances, of offering 100% protection, which doesn't exist. The term "full protection" or "total solar screen" are now banned as no filters are able to block 100% of UV rays, regardless of the SPF.
Choosing an SPF must be done in accordance with the exposure time and location, as well as the skin type. A lighter skin requires more caution than darker skin, with regards to sun aggressions. So be careful when choosing your sun cream and remember to frequently reapply cream.
Advice and precaution
To use our sunscreen, you simply need to push the product from the bottom for it to come out of the packaging.
Then, generously apply our sun cream on your face and body. For the cream to be efficient, apply in a thick layer. The following amount is recommended: 2mg/cm2 or the equivalent of 6tsp for the whole body. Please note that these recommendations are mainly for liquid sun creams. If you reduce this amount, you will also decrease the protection level. Reapply frequently, more so after perspiring, swimming, or towelling.
Overexposure to the sun is a serious health threat. Don't stay too long in the sun, even if you are using sunscreen as it never procures 100% protection. It is recommended to stay out of the sun between 11 am and 4 pm and to opt for shaded locations. If this isn't possible, use protective clothing, a hat, and sunglasses.
Keep babies and young children out of direct sunlight. Even in the shade, it is recommended to protect their skin with clothing or anti UV shelters. UV rays can cause severe skin illnesses.
Before opening, the Comme Avant natural sun cream can be kept for 30 months, away from any humidity. After opening, it can be kept for 6 months.
Don't apply on irritated or damaged skin.
Against industrials
Sunscreens with petrochemical filters are efficient, however their health and environmental impacts are disastrous. They pose an allergy risk and can be irritating.
Some are suspected of being endocrine disrupters and others aren't photostable (meaning they lose their UV filtration efficiency soon after application). These filters also harm marine systems and contribute to coral whitening.
However, awareness is rising and the first milestone was reached in Hawaii where oxybenzone and octinoxate have been banned in all conventionnal solar products.
By precaution, we ruled out using these filters in our sun cream. Sun protection is essential to protect us during sun exposures, but this mustn't be at the detriment of our health and biodiversity.
Frequently asked questions
Why does your cream have an SPF25?
Increasing an SPF is possible by multiplying solar filters in a cream. We preferred opting for a short ingredient list and using one single solar filter: zinc oxide, which we judged to be the safest for our health and the planet.
Bear in mind that the difference between an SPF25 and an SPF50 mainly depends on the exposure time during which your skin is protected. The percentage of filtered UV rays is more or less the same (2% difference).
We focused on what's essential to us: a solid sun cream with an SPF25, which is safe, zero waste, with a natural filter.
Does your sun cream resist hot weather?
Our sun cream has been made to resist heat and has successfully been tested at 50°C. It will simply become a bit creamier if it's very hot but will then harden again.
Does your sun cream harm coral reefs?
So far, no certifications are able to certify that a solar product has zero impact on marine life.
However, studies have shown that the impact of mineral filters are much lower than those of chemical filters.
We don't want to risk promising you that our sun cream is totally danger-free for the environment. Nonetheless, we are convinced that using zinc oxide as our solar filter is currently the best possible compromise for a sun cream to be natural and efficient.
Does your sun cream contain any nanoparticles?
It is forbidden to mention that a cream is free from nanoparticles, as all mineral filters are likely to contain some.
Today, no official method exists to identify the size and proportion of particles. The different methods used (scanning electron microscope, DLS, etc.) can impact the results obtained.
As for the zinc oxide we use in our cream, according to the documents sent by our supplier, this ingredient isn't considered as a nanomaterial according to European regulations. Currently, different regulations exist: the European Cosmetic Regulations sets the threshold at 1% of nanoparticles to define a nanomaterial, French authorities accept a tolerance of 10% facing the measuring difficulties for nanoparticles, and the European Commission sets the limit at 50%.
In short, you currently have two choices on the market:
- mineral filters which may contain nanoparticles without needing to mention it, who have been analysed with a method which will benefit them.
- chemical filters which can cause allergies, irritations, and hormonal disruptions for some. They also potentially contain nanoparticles without needing to mention it.
Even though none of these two choices are fully satisfying, sun exposure can't be considered without any sun protection. You have to choose what seems like the best alternative for you.
How to choose an organic sun cream?
An organic sun creams contains mineral filters and no chemical filters. Some have two mineral filters (titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) et some only have one. This is the case for our Comme Avant sun cream, which only contains zinc oxide. This was for us the best choice for a safe protection. With its solid format and cardboard tube, it is also a zero waste sun cream.
Which sun cream is best for babies?
Our moringa oil sun cream is family-friendly. However, we recommend keeping your child out of direct sunlight and providing maximum protection in addition to our sunscreen, with other types of protection (hat, sunglasses, protective clothing, anti UV shelters, etc.).
Tests carried out on our suncream
Our products are made in France (Marseille) in line with the current French norms. Comme Avant focuses on transparency, quality, and customer respect. This is why we clearly display the tests we have carried on our products.
