After-sun products – INCI ingredients and analysis

After-sun products are applied to the body or face after time spent outdoors, typically as a light lotion, a fresh gel or a spray. Their textures are designed to spread easily over larger areas and absorb quickly, and many are kept in the refrigerator by users for a cooler feel.

Gels are usually based on AQUA or ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE thickened with CARBOMER or XANTHAN GUM, while lotions are emulsions with oils, CETEARYL ALCOHOL and emulsifiers. Recurring ingredients include GLYCERIN, PANTHENOL, ALLANTOIN, BISABOLOL and TOCOPHERYL ACETATE. Some formulas add MENTHOL or MENTHYL LACTATE for a cooling sensation, ALCOHOL DENAT. for quick drying, and PARFUM with its declared allergens.

When reading the label, note that an after-sun product is not a sunscreen: unless UV filters from Annex VI are listed and an SPF is stated, it provides no sun protection. Ingredients appear in descending order of concentration down to 1%, after which they may be listed in any order, so the position of an extract near the end says little about its exact amount.