Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide Water/Aqua

TL;DR. This ingredient is a broad-spectrum inorganic UV filter used in sunscreens to help protect across UVA and UVB. It can also add opacity, coverage, and a drier skin feel in complexion and care formulas.

What does Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide Water/Aqua do in a cosmetic formula?

This ingredient is a broad-spectrum inorganic UV filter used in sunscreens to help protect across UVA and UVB. It can also add opacity, coverage, and a drier skin feel in complexion and care formulas.

Is Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide Water/Aqua clean?

From a clean-beauty perspective, it is one of the more widely accepted sunscreen actives because it is low-sensitization and not associated with the common allergen issues seen in fragrance or some organic filters. Particle size, nano labeling, and inhalation exposure in loose powders or sprays are the main points clean frameworks tend to scrutinize.

Is Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide Water/Aqua sustainable?

This material is mineral-derived or made from mined mineral feedstocks, so its sustainability profile depends on mining practices and processing controls. It is inorganic rather than biodegradable, but it is not considered a bioaccumulative organic pollutant, and nano grades receive more aquatic-environment review than larger-particle grades.

Is Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide Water/Aqua COSMOS-approved?

It is permitted in COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic products when it meets the standard’s purity, particle-size, and labeling requirements. From a Green Chemistry view, it scores well for stability and low skin reactivity, but less strongly on renewable sourcing and end-of-life biodegradation because it is an inorganic mineral material.

How does Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide Water/Aqua work chemically?

This material is an insoluble inorganic crystal lattice that attenuates UV through absorption and scattering, with particle size and surface treatment strongly affecting transparency, whitening, and dispersion. Typical sunscreen use is about 5 to 25%, with 25% as a common regulatory maximum, and formulators often use coated grades plus dispersants to reduce agglomeration and photocatalytic surface activity.

Last updated 2026-05-13