SPF and You

Some of you may wonder why not all makeup products claim a specific SPF rating. At LA Minerals, we choose not to claim a specific SPF rating for various reasons:

1. Once an SPF rating is claimed the cosmetic becomes a drug.

2. As a drug, SPF ingredients are limited. For instance Titanium Dioxide, as an active ingredient, is limited to 25%, which is the level used in some sunscreen with very high SPF levels. In a cosmetic, the FDA does not limit inclusion percents!

3. It costs thousands of dollars PER SHADE for SPF testing. As a young and growing company, it would be cost prohibitive to do this, without passing the cost along to you, our valued customer.

4. The accuracy and reliability of SPF testing is controversial. The amount of product used varies from one person to the other. There is no way a lab can determine how much you put on. I recently watched a news clip on this, and to achieve the proclaimed SPF, the person would have needed to use about a 1/4 c of lotion, on their arms!

But just so you know, we do include Titanium Dioxide, and High Micron Zinc Oxide in most of our mineral makeup foundations-Hollywood, Valley Girl, and our new Wet foundation, at the following percentages:
Hollywood: Titanium Dioxide = 14%, Zinc Oxide = 7%
Valley Girl: Titanium Dioxide = 19%, Zinc Oxide = 14%
LA Wet: Titanium Dioxide = 10%, Zinc Oxide = 5%

Armed with this knowledge, it's pretty easy to look up other makeup brands active ingredient percentages and get a rough idea of our products approximate SPF. However, I strongly recommend, that if you spend a lot of time in the sun, it's best to also use a moisturizer with SPF ingredients.

We are registered with the FDA under their Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program (VCRP). The VCRP helps the FDA in its mission to protect consumers, while also helping cosmetic manufacturers and distributors make informed decisions. This basically tells them we exist, and makes it easy for them to look over our shoulder if they want. It also tells them that we practice their recommended Cosmetic GMP, good manufacturing practices.