I’d still pick mineral any day.
I don’t wear a lab coat. I came with lived experiences.
I have spent an unreasonable number of nights reading sunscreen ingredient lists, researching UV filters and going down internet rabbit holes — since my family has battled with reactive immunity system and especially since I became mum.
So when the US FDA approved a new sunscreen filter this year, I paid attention.
Bemotrizinol. Also known as Tinosorb S.
The internet, understandably, broke.
It’s the first new sunscreen active ingredient added to the US over-the-counter sunscreen framework since the late 1990s. The ingredient was first submitted to the FDA back in 2005.
And I couldn’t help thinking:
Did I just launch a mineral sunscreen at exactly the wrong time?
If you’ve ever used a Korean, Japanese or European sunscreen and wondered why it feels so light, elegant and almost like skincare, part of the reason is that those markets have had access to a wider range of modern UV filters for years.
Bemotrizinol isn’t new to the rest of the world. It has been used in Europe and many other countries for years. Other modern filters, such as Tinosorb M and Uvinul A Plus, have also been around outside the US for a long time.
America is, in some ways, catching up.
And that got me curious.
Why did it take so long?
The simple answer is that sunscreen is regulated differently in the US.
In America, sunscreen is regulated by the FDA as an over-the-counter drug. That means sunscreen ingredients have to go through a different regulatory process from cosmetics.
Honestly, I’m okay with that.
If something is going on my skin every morning — and my daughter’s skin too — I don’t mind regulators asking a lot of questions.
But here’s where sunscreen conversations get interesting.
“Not yet confirmed” doesn’t mean “unsafe”
This was probably the biggest thing I learned while researching all of this.
The FDA has looked closely at the sunscreen active ingredients used in the US.
For zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, the FDA has recognised them as GRASE — Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective — for sunscreen use.
For 12 other commonly used filters, including familiar names like avobenzone, oxybenzone, homosalate and octinoxate, the FDA has said there isn’t enough data in the public record to make a positive GRASE determination and has requested additional information.
That does not mean the FDA has declared those ingredients unsafe.
And I think that’s an important distinction.
“Not enough data to confirm” and “proven dangerous” are two very different statements.
There are also two older ingredients — PABA and trolamine salicylate — that the FDA treated differently because of safety concerns.
And now, in 2026, there’s another update: bemotrizinol has been added to the US sunscreen framework and the FDA considers it GRASE.
So no, the story isn’t simply “mineral good, chemical bad.”
It’s more nuanced than that.
Which brings me to another question I kept seeing online.
If sunscreen ingredients can be absorbed, should we worry?
A few FDA-funded studies published in JAMA found that several commonly used chemical sunscreen filters can be detected in the bloodstream after sunscreen is applied generously over large areas of skin.
That sounds scary.
But the researchers were very clear about one important point:
Absorption does not automatically mean harm.
The studies showed that these ingredients can enter the bloodstream. They did not prove that the amounts detected cause illness or that people should stop using sunscreen.
In fact, the FDA continues to recommend sunscreen because the benefits of protecting your skin from UV radiation are well established.
So I’m not going to conclude that chemical sunscreen is dangerous
But when I have a choice between different approaches, I personally find it reassuring to choose a sunscreen where the active mineral filters have a long history of use and recognised FDA GRASE status.
For me, less to wonder about is a perfectly reasonable reason to choose something.
And what about “reef safe”?
This one also deserves a bit more deep dive.
You may have heard that chemical sunscreens are banned because they damage coral reefs.
The reality is more specific.
Hawaii, for example, restricts sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate. The legislation was specifically focused on those ingredients.
But “reef safe” isn’t a magic scientific category. The term itself isn’t defined by the FDA, and the science around sunscreen and marine ecosystems is still developing.
So again, I don’t think we need to turn this into:
chemical = bad
mineral = good
The world rarely works that neatly.
So why mineral?
Here’s where it becomes personal.
Mineral sunscreens use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as their UV filters.
They protect your skin by interacting with UV radiation at the surface of the skin — primarily by absorbing it, with scattering and reflection also playing a role.
And importantly, mineral sunscreens are often a good option for people with sensitive or easily irritated skin. The American Academy of Dermatology specifically recommends mineral sunscreen for sensitive skin and notes that zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are less likely to irritate babies’ and toddlers’ sensitive skin.
That’s what I care about.
Not whether one category can be declared universally “better.”
But whether my skin gets along with it.
Why I chose mineral for pinkrubus?
I’m not anti-chemical filter.
Everything is chemistry. What matters is the specific ingredient, the formulation, the evidence behind it — and whether your skin tolerates it.
For me, though, the choice became personal.
My skin can be reactive, my siblings have very sensitive skin and I have a brother who suffers ezcema for as long as I can remember. We had tried enough sunscreen that simply didn’t agree with our skins.
Then I became a mother.
And suddenly I found myself reading every ingredient list that came anywhere near my daughter’s skin.
Not because I believe every unfamiliar ingredient is dangerous.
But because when it’s your child, you naturally ask:
“Is there a choice I feel more comfortable with?”
For our family, mineral became that choice.
So when I created pinkrubus, I didn’t want to formulate another sunscreen simply because the market was growing nor only to chase another hype.
I wanted to create the sunscreen that people like us can reach for.
Mineral UV filters.
Sensitive-skin-conscious formulation.
No fragrance.
And a texture that doesn’t feel like you’re wearing a layer of sunscreen.
Because here’s the thing I’ve come to believe after all this research:
The best sunscreen isn’t the one with the most impressive ingredient list.
It’s the one you’ll actually put on every morning.
And reapply when you need to.
And keep using for years.
Am I too late?
Maybe.
There are more sunscreen technologies available today than ever before. Modern chemical filters can make incredibly elegant sunscreens, and consumers have more choices than they did even a few years ago.
I think that’s a good thing.
But I don’t think innovation makes mineral sunscreen irrelevant.
If anything, it gives us more choice.
Some people will prefer chemical filters.
Some will prefer hybrid formulas.
Some will choose what is 'trendy'.
And some of us will still look at the ingredient list and think:
I’ll take the mineral one.
Not because I think everyone else is wrong.
Just because, for me and for some, it’s the choice that feels right.
And that’s really why pinkrubus exists.
Not to tell you what sunscreen you should use.
But to make one thoughtful choice a little easier.
Suncare, done right.
Sources & further reading
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) — FDA Expands Sunscreen Options for the First Time in 20 Years
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) — Questions and Answers: FDA Posts Deemed Final Order and Proposed Order for Over-the-Counter Sunscreen
Matta et al., JAMA (2020) — Effect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Matta et al., JAMA (2019) — Effect of Sunscreen Application Under Maximal Use Conditions on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients
American Academy of Dermatology — Sunscreen FAQs
American Academy of Dermatology — Dermatologist-approved pregnancy skin care
