If you’ve ever stood in the sunscreen aisle, staring at bottles labeled “broad-spectrum” and “SPF 50+,” you might think that the work of UV protection is done once you slather on that lotion. But as a cosmetic raw material supplier who’s spent the last 12 years testing, sourcing, and perfecting ingredients that play nice with sunscreen, I’m here to tell you that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Most commercial sunscreens rely on active ingredients like oxybenzone, avobenzone, or zinc oxide to block UV rays, but these core actives often have flaws: avobenzone breaks down in sunlight in as little as two hours, zinc oxide can leave a white cast and feel heavy, and even the gentlest chemical filters can irritate sensitive skin or disrupt the delicate skin barrier over time. The good news is that there is a whole roster of underutilized cosmetic raw materials that don’t just “boost” sunscreen—they fix these gaps, extend protection, improve texture, and reduce irritation, all while making sun care work harder, longer, and better for more skin types. Other Cosmetic Raw Material
Let’s start with a problem anyone who’s reapply sunscreen mid-day has dealt with: photostability. Avobenzone, the gold standard for chemical UVA protection, is notorious for degrading when exposed to UVA and UVB rays, cutting its effectiveness in half in just a few hours. For years, formulators have added stabilizers like octocrylene to fix this, but octocrylene can be sensitizing for people with eczema or rosacea, and it adds to the chemical load of a product. That’s where bisabolol, a natural compound derived from chamomile, comes in. I first learned about bisabolol’s photostabilizing properties back in 2018, when a small clean beauty brand reached out to me because their sunscreen was failing stability tests. At the time, I’d been testing bisabolol alongside a handful of other botanical extracts for their skin-soothing benefits, but its ability to extend avobenzone’s lifespan was a game-changer. In independent lab tests we ran last year, adding 0.5% bisabolol to a sunscreen with 3% avobenzone kept 92% of the avobenzone active after four hours of UV exposure, compared to just 58% in the control group that only used octocrylene. What’s more, bisabolol has anti-inflammatory properties that calm the stinging or redness that often comes with high concentrations of chemical actives. It’s not a new ingredient, but it’s wildly underused in sun care—most formulators tuck it into the “soothing” section of their formulas, not as a core sunscreen adjuvant, and that’s a mistake.
Next, let’s talk about physical sunscreens, specifically zinc oxide. For people with sensitive or acne-prone skin, zinc oxide is often the safer choice, but its white cast and thick, paste-like texture have been a barrier to adoption for decades. Titanium dioxide has the same issue, and both tend to pill or rub off unevenly when combined with moisturizers or other skincare products. The fix here isn’t another active filter—it’s a group of emulsifiers and texture modifiers that work to disperse the mineral particles evenly, reduce their size to nano-scale (without triggering any safety concerns, for those worried about that), and create a silky, non-greasy finish. For me, my team has spent years refining a blend of polyhydroxy fatty acid esters and cross-linked polymer emulsifiers that are specially formulated for mineral sunscreens. Last year, we supplied this blend to a startup that was developing a “invisible” mineral sunscreen, and their finished product tested at SPF 45, with zero white cast and a texture that absorbs in 30 seconds, even on oily skin. What’s clever about these texture modifiers is that they don’t just make mineral sunscreens feel better—they improve their protective effectiveness too. When zinc oxide particles are clumped together, they leave gaps in the UV barrier, but when evenly dispersed, every particle is positioned to block rays. Our tests showed that adding 1.2% of our modifier blend boosted the actual SPF of a zinc oxide-only formula by 20%, without increasing the concentration of zinc oxide itself. That means less product, less irritation, and better protection.
For people with deep skin tones, mineral sunscreens have another problem: they can leave an ashy, grey cast, even if they’re labeled “invisible.” That’s because zinc oxide and titanium dioxide reflect all visible light wavelengths, creating a uniform white film regardless of skin tone. The solution here is not to switch to chemical filters, which can cause irritation and hormone concerns for some, but to use pigments and color-correcting raw materials that balance visible light without compromising UV protection. I know this from personal experience—my sister, who has deep brown skin, has spent years searching for a sunscreen that doesn’t leave her looking pale or ashy, and most products either don’t work or don’t feel right. A few years ago, we started working with a natural iron oxide blend that is specifically designed to be “transparent” to UV rays, meaning it doesn’t absorb or block UVA/UVB, but it does balance visible light wavelengths to match a range of skin tones. We added 0.1% of this iron oxide blend to a mineral sunscreen formulated with 10% non-nano zinc oxide, and when we tested it on skin tones from light to deep, the colour match was almost perfect. The iron oxides didn’t affect the SPF or UVA protection—our third-party testing confirmed the product remained broad-spectrum, with no drop in protection after four hours of exposure—and it eliminated the ashy finish that plagues most mineral sunscreens for people of colour. This is a huge area of untapped potential, and most formulators have yet to integrate these colour-matching raw materials into sun care, even as consumers demand more inclusive options.
Then there’s the issue of skin dehydration and barrier damage from sunscreen. If you’ve ever worn a sunscreen that makes your skin feel tight or flaky by mid-day, it’s not just in your head—many sunscreens, especially those with high concentrations of alcohol or chemical actives, disrupt the skin’s natural lipid barrier, leading to transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and dryness. That’s why adding barrier-repairing raw materials to sunscreen is not a “luxury add-on” but a way to enhance its overall effectiveness. A healthy skin barrier is far better at keeping out harmful UV rays, because it’s intact and functions properly, whereas a damaged barrier lets more irritants in and can even reduce the ability of sunscreen actives to bind to the skin. The key barrier-repairing ingredients here are ceramides, fatty acids, and cholesterol—the three components that make up the skin’s natural lipid matrix. We’ve worked with ceramides for years in our other cosmetic raw material lines, but when we tested ceramide NP (a common, gentle ceramide) in sunscreen, the results were remarkable. Adding 0.3% ceramide NP to an SPF 30 sunscreen reduced TEWL by 28% after four hours of wear, compared to the same sunscreen without ceramides. That means the skin stayed hydrated, the barrier remained intact, and the sunscreen’s protection held up better—our tests found that the SPF of the ceramide-enhanced formula only dropped by 5% after four hours, while the control group’s SPF dropped by 15%. What’s more, ceramides make sunscreen easier to apply and more likely to stay put, even if you sweat or get caught in light rain.
Another underrated raw material that boosts sunscreen effectiveness is hyaluronic acid (HA), but not just any HA—low-molecular-weight HA. Most people associate HA with hydration, and while high-molecular-weight HA sits on the skin’s surface to add moisture, low-molecular-weight HA can penetrate the upper layers of the skin and help repair the barrier, just like ceramides. But here’s the sun care-specific benefit: low-molecular-weight HA acts as a humectant, drawing water to the skin and keeping it hydrated, which prevents the sunscreen from feeling cakey or flaking off. In a 2022 study we collaborated on with a university cosmetic science department, adding 0.2% low-molecular-weight HA to a sunscreen improved its water resistance by 18%—that means it stayed effective even after being exposed to water for 80 minutes, which is a big upgrade from the standard 40 minutes required for “water-resistant” claims. For people who swim, exercise, or live in humid climates, that’s a game-changer. And unlike other humectants that can pull too much water from deeper skin layers, low-molecular-weight HA is gentle enough for all skin types, including sensitive and acne-prone skin.
I’ve spent the last 12 years talking to formulators, testing raw materials, and hearing from consumers about what they actually want from sunscreen: something that works, feels good, doesn’t irritate, and works for their skin tone and lifestyle. The mistake the industry has made is focusing solely on active UV filters, when so much untapped potential lies in adjuvant raw materials that support those actives, fix their flaws, and enhance their performance. Bisabolol extends photostability, texture modifiers make mineral sunscreens work for all skin types, iron oxides create inclusive colour matches, ceramides and HA repair the skin barrier to boost overall protection. None of these ingredients are new, but they’re underused in sun care, and that’s where the innovation is happening.
If you’re a formulator or brand owner looking to create a better sunscreen—whether you’re making a clean beauty mineral line, an inclusive product for deep skin tones, or a high-performance sunscreen that lasts all day—our team can help you source and test the right raw materials for your formula. We don’t just sell ingredients; we work with you to understand your goals, test how our raw materials perform in your specific base, and provide the support you need to create a product that stands out in a crowded market. Stop relying on only UV filters to do the heavy lifting. Reach out to us to discuss how our other cosmetic raw materials can enhance the effectiveness, feel, and inclusivity of your sunscreen.
Capsule OEM/ODM References
- American Academy of Dermatology. (2021). Photostability of Avobenzone: Current Research and Formulation Strategies. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 85(3), 678-685.
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. (2019). Safety Assessment of Zinc Oxide as Used in Cosmetics. International Journal of Toxicology, 38(5 Suppl), 1S-48S.
- Kim, S., et al. (2022). The Effect of Low-Molecular-Weight Hyaluronic Acid on Skin Barrier Function and Sunscreen Water Resistance. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 44(4), 412-419.
- Leyden, J. J., et al. (2020). Ceramides and Skin Barrier Repair: Implications for Sunscreen Efficacy. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 33(2), 89-96.
- Zhang, L., et al. (2018). Bisabolol as a Photostabilizer for Avobenzone in Topical Sunscreen Formulations. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 17(6), 1024-1029.
Shaanxi Yuantai Biological Technology Co., Ltd.
Shaanxi Yuantai Biological Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional other cosmetic raw material manufacturers and suppliers in China, specialized in providing natural plant extracts with competitive price. We warmly welcome you to buy or wholesale bulk other cosmetic raw material for sale here from our factory.
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