On a recent trip to Sephora, I picked up a small travel size of IT Cosmetics CC+ cream (yes, I’m a sucker for browsing through those little product bins while waiting in line). This product bills itself as “Your Skin But Better” (and it even trademarked that phrase). After taking a quick scan through the massive ingredient list, I saw that it contained physical sunscreen ingredients (a mix of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide), so it offered full protection against the full…

Lately I’ve noticed that some products advertise SPF protection, but only contain one active ingredient: titanium dioxide. Why is that a problem? Because titanium dioxide only protects against part of the UV spectrum—specifically, UVB and UVA2 rays. It does not protect your skin from UVA1 (340–400 nm) rays, according to this table from the Skin Cancer Foundation.

I just spent the past week in Vegas, and boy, did my skin feel like it was actually sizzling in that 100-degree heat. The sun feels much stronger out there—and indeed, the UV index was 9 in Vegas today, compared to 7 in NYC. You can look up the UV index for your city here on the EPA’s website. It definitely served as a catalyst for getting serious about finding a quality sunscreen that I could apply on my body every day (without going broke). And I think I found it: Alba Botanica…