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Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Avobenzone—you want this in your sunscreen

Avobenzone or Parsol 1789 is one of the few truly effective sunscreen ingredients. The other two are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. All three are considered physical blocks.

Avobenzone, unlike many other sunscreens, helps to block out UVA radiation from the sun. This is important: you want to use sunscreens that are classified as full- or broad-spectrum, which means they are able to protect you against both UVA and UVB sun rays.

On one of the talk shows I was a guest on, there was also a dermatologist there giving information about sun-related skin damage. He went on and on about the benefits of this relatively new sunscreen ingredient, Parsol 1789.

So when you are shopping for the best ingredients to have in your sunscreen, look for the name avobenzone or Parsol 1789. Of course nothing except the great indoors is going to keep you from receiving sun exposure and therefore sun damage. But wearing a product with avobenzone or any of the other physical sunscreen ingredients mentioned above will give you the best coverage you can find—short of an umbrella or inside a building.

For more information, see:
Keeping direct sunlight off your face is the ultimate “sun screen.”