Active: Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive: Water/Aqua ●
TL;DR. This ingredient functions primarily as a mineral UV filter, providing broad-spectrum sun protection by absorbing, reflecting, and scattering UV radiation. At 21%, it is present at a high active level typical of primary sunscreen protection.
What does Active: Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive: Water/Aqua do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient functions primarily as a mineral UV filter, providing broad-spectrum sun protection by absorbing, reflecting, and scattering UV radiation. At 21%, it is present at a high active level typical of primary sunscreen protection.
Is Active: Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive: Water/Aqua clean?
This ingredient is widely accepted in clean-beauty frameworks, especially in non-aerosol sunscreen formats, and is generally well tolerated on sensitive skin. The main clean-standard friction is around particle size, inhalation concerns in sprays or loose powders, and the need for transparent disclosure when nanoscale grades are used.
Is Active: Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive: Water/Aqua sustainable?
This material is mineral-derived, so its sustainability profile depends on mining, purification, and particle-processing practices rather than renewable sourcing. It is inorganic and not biodegradable, but it is not expected to bioaccumulate in the same way as many persistent organic UV filters.
Is Active: Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive: Water/Aqua COSMOS-approved?
This ingredient can be permitted under COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic products when it meets the standard’s requirements for mineral origin, processing, and any nanoparticle disclosure rules. From a Green Chemistry view, it scores well for photostability and low skin reactivity, but less well for nonrenewable sourcing and lack of biodegradability.
How does Active: Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive: Water/Aqua work chemically?
The molecule is an inorganic metal-oxide lattice that provides UV protection through a mix of absorption and light scattering, with performance shaped by particle size, coating, and dispersion quality. It is photostable, insoluble, usable across normal cosmetic pH ranges, and commonly used around 5% to 25% in sunscreen formulas, with high-load formulas needing good suspension and dispersing systems to control whitening and clumping.
Last updated 2026-05-16