OneSkin sunscreen. An SPF with highly unique ingredients that may stop UV driven photoaging
OneSkin sunscreen SPF:
A fantastic addition to OneSkin’s product line up
OneSkin’s sunscreen may stop UV driven photoaging in its tracks.
And that’s great news, because for anyone who is concerned about “looking older”, those who are invested in preserving the youthful function of their skin - they must start by defending themselves against the primary driver of skin aging: UV damage.
This is not a new topic to A Longer Life content. We’ve covered it several times before, including with OneSkin CEO and Co-Founder Carolina Reis.
For many, the quest to “look younger” is worthy of great investment. Look no further than the many billions of dollars in annual revenue taken in by the skincare and cosmetic industry.
It is safe for us to assume that if you’re reading this article, you are amongst the majority of people who are interested in investing in the health and appearance of their skin. You also want to make sure you invest wisely.
And that’s fantastic news, because as the largest organ, your skin needs attention and care, as failing to do so is one of the key drivers of aging itself. Want a longer life? Start with your skin.
While we may be tempted to invest our resources into the ‘beauty’ side of skincare (there are simply so many options to choose from!), we would be much better off if we were to first invest in the best sunscreen we can afford.
This is because we are much better off stopping the main driver of skin aging - UV damage (“photoaging”) than cleaning up/repairing the damage afterwards. However, too often we do not think this way.
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OneSkin: Experts in UV Driven Skin Photoaging
Creating the OneSkin SPF product, the team at OneSkin, from their laboratories in San Francisco, are uniquely positioned to study the impact of UV driven skin aging. Using their human skin equivalents and samples of skin from plastic surgeries, they can artificially age skin with UV radiation.
Correspondingly, they can also test unique combinations of UV blocking compounds, ingredients and peptides to see which are the most effective for warding off the unwanted effects of harmful solar radiation.
This capability is highly unique, and it should come as no surprise that their introduction of SPF sunscreen products to their OS-01 lineup has quite possibly created one of the most effective sun protection and repair products on the market today.
The first is a lightweight, sheer facial sunscreen OS-01 Face SPF 30+
The second is general use OS-01 Body SPF
One of the claims made about the OS-01 FACE SPF on their website:
“Formerly named OS-01 SHIELD, OS-01 FACE SPF combines powerful prevention + effective repair of UV-induced aging in one breakthrough formula. Powered by OS-01 Senescence Blocking Peptide™, OS-01 FACE SPF not only protects skin from advanced UV aging with 100% Non-Nano Mineral Broad Spectrum UV filters and potent antioxidants, it is scientifically proven to reverse UV-induced aging.”
We love the concepts of a ‘breakthrough’ formula, and ‘senescence blocking’, but are these solid science backed statements or marketing hype?
Admittedly, all of this could sound quite exciting, but one of our roles at A Longer Life is to dig beneath the surface of marketing claims by getting straight to the Founders and scientists behind these technologies.
In this tech article, we discuss the new OS-01 spf sunscreen line-up (with OS-01 FACE SPF formerly known as OS-01 SHIELD) with Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer Alessandra Zonari, to get into the specifics of the science behind the marketing claims.
OneSkin sunscreen, UV damage and cellular senescence
Click on the ‘+’ symbol below to see each question and answer.
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You would do something as sophisticated as taking these samples of skin and applying the OS-01 peptide, applying OS-01 shield sunscreen and then having samples that aren't actually protected at all and comparing the differences you see in the damage within that skin. Is that correct? And if so, could you just elaborate a little bit on how that works.
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Exactly as you mentioned, when we expose skin to UV light, we observe an increase in markers related to aging and cellular senescence. This indicates that the skin is being damaged. The cells can either become senescent (inactive) or continue to proliferate while carrying the damage, which is harmful as it may lead to skin cancer. We can track these markers, which correlate with the accumulation of damage in the skin, as well as the release of inflammatory signals.
So, after UV exposure, if the skin is not protected, there's an increase in inflammation, which accelerates the breakdown of collagen. This ultimately results in more wrinkles and sagging of the skin. We can clearly observe that, without any protection, UV exposure leads to these negative effects.
Now, what OS-01 does is provide protection against this UV damage, and when combined with sunscreen, it enhances this protection even further.
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Now there's a lot to unpack there and you've mentioned a few different terms, let's go into those in no particular order, let's start with senescence I've noticed that the language that you're using as you understand the science better of the OS-01 peptide to be senescence blocking. This is some key language that's emerged and describes how that peptide is working to protect the skin. How is that related to UV damage and what does it mean to be senescence blocking?
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‘Senescence blocking’ is the term we use to describe the action of our peptide. Cellular senescence is a process where cells accumulate damage, stop dividing, and become senescent, releasing inflammatory signals. This is a normal defense mechanism in the body to prevent cells from becoming cancerous. Typically, the immune system clears out these senescent cells. However, as we age, this process becomes less efficient, leading to the accumulation of senescent cells in the skin. These cells are often referred to as ‘zombie cells’—we want them to die and be removed, but instead, they persist and continue causing damage.
How much OneSkin SPF do I need to use?
Does OneSkin sunscreen leave a white cast?
ALL Question: How much OneSkin FACE SPF sunscreen do we need to apply?
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An easy way to measure the right amount of sunscreen is by applying two lines of it along two fingers. This amount is sufficient to cover your entire face, including your ears and neck. Since it can be difficult to measure sunscreen based on surface area, using the 'two-finger' method is a simple and effective way to ensure you're applying the correct amount.
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Thank you for that answer. I'll take that and be using that for sure in my own use of it. I will add that I have been using the products and it's very light and feels great going on my skin. I actually have pretty sensitive skin to things like sunscreen and my skin hasn't reacted at all. My partner is very sensitive to fragrances and there's none in there. It's a safe product, I've been very pleased using it.
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When developing our formulas, we are very careful to ensure they don’t cause any sensitization or adverse effects. We verify this through lab testing, and we also conduct small human clinical studies using a repeat open application test. This test checks if repeated use of the product on the same skin area causes any sensitization. We always run these tests to ensure our formulas are safe and won't cause irritation. Additionally, our products are fragrance-free, as fragrance can be highly irritating, especially for sensitive skin. None of our formulas contain fragrance or ingredients known to cause irritation.
We focus on creating lightweight formulas that are easy to spread. One challenge with mineral sunscreens, particularly those containing zinc oxide, is the ‘white cast’ they often leave on the skin, which can be undesirable. Our formula addresses this issue by spreading smoothly, and we offer two versions: tinted and untinted. The tinted version adds a slight color, which helps with spreading and reduces the white cast without providing full coverage like a foundation. This is especially beneficial for skin with more tone, as it helps minimize the white cast typical of mineral sunscreens. Achieving higher SPF in mineral sunscreens can be difficult because higher concentrations of zinc oxide increase the likelihood of a white cast, but we've worked to overcome this with our formulation.
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OneSkin sunscreen’s unique active ingredients
repair and prevent the effects of UV damage
ALL Question: What unique ingredients are in OneSkin sunscreens?
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We ensure that the active ingredients we choose are tested in-house to confirm they remain effective in the final formula. This means we are delivering on our claims with ingredients that have been thoroughly tested in the lab. After conducting numerous tests, we selected these five active ingredients because, when combined, they showed the highest potential for reducing free radicals.
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Then the role of your technology in that process, how do you view your position as an innovator and having unique resources these human skin equivalents you can grow in the lab, the samples from real humans, this UV damage set up, the genetic analysis you can do, the measuring of the reactive oxygen species and their neutralization, Tell us about how unique that position is for OneSkin and all the different sunscreen developers out there. It seems pretty unique?
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Our approach is unique because we back all our products with scientific data and validation on both their efficacy and safety. This ensures that when we bring a product to market, we are confident it works—we're not launching something blindly. The high retention rate of our customers is a result of our rigorous development process, which guarantees that each formula delivers on its promises. Unlike many companies, we have our own data to support the claims we make. This transparency allows our customers to understand what's in the formula, how it was validated, and ultimately leads to greater satisfaction with the product.
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We often find that companies founded by scientists can do what you've just described in many different forms. It might be in red light therapy, it might be in new supplement formulations, here it is in skincare, and that's a really inspiring resource that you've brought through your own expertise and your team's expertise. Thank you for sharing that with us.
I want to pivot away a bit from product specific questions and just hit a few points that are a bit more general. One of those is, there's a lot of research on photoaging and UV damage in the skin. What are some of the more recent insights that we've gained in how sunlight in particular UV damage from sunlight is aging the skin. You mentioned some of the genetic analysis you've done before. It would be things along those lines that we're interested to hear about. What's some of the latest?
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It's important to understand the effects of UVA and UVB radiation on the skin. UVA penetrates deeper into the skin, reaching the dermal layer, where it can damage fibroblasts and accelerate the aging process. In contrast, UVB doesn’t penetrate as deeply and primarily affects the skin’s surface, causing sunburn and damage to the upper layers. One thing that wasn’t widely understood in the past is the need for broad-spectrum sunscreen, which protects against both UVA and UVB radiation.
OneSkin sunscreen: OS-01 peptide + Zinc + 5 Active Ingredients
ALL Question: What are the unique ingredients in OneSkin sunscreen SPF?
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In the lab, we focus on the ‘actives,’ which are combinations of antioxidants, to develop a formula with enough antioxidants to prevent the formation of free radicals. In our experiments, we use a compound with a probe to measure how effectively the antioxidants scavenge and reduce free radicals. The compound changes color, allowing us to assess the antioxidant’s potential. We’ve incorporated these antioxidants into the sunscreen, so not only does it block UV rays, but it also helps prevent any UV-induced free radical formation. If some free radicals do form, they are neutralized by the antioxidants, preventing further damage. Additionally, the OS-01 peptide is present to help promote damage repair. Our shield formula provides three layers of protection: first, it blocks UV radiation; second, it neutralizes any free radicals that form; and third, if damage occurs, the OS-01 peptide steps in to help promote repair of the cells.
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That's fascinating, I love how you explain that. There's 3 stages of defense available in this product that you created which is highly unique. We know we can block UV damage with sunscreens that's not entirely novel. There's probably combinations of antioxidants we know we can put on the skin. One of the ones you use is vitamin C and we'll dive into those in a moment. Having a unique combination of those that you've created through testing on human skin in the lab and then having the OS-01 peptide back that up to repair any damage that gets through that 3 step process, that's pretty impressive. That's a really fascinating way to think of this sunscreen as it's the 3 tiers of defense,and in using your technology you were able to come up with 5 antioxidants to stick in that formulation. I'm going to list off what they are. They're vitamin C green tea extract, acai, tara fruit and bisabolo. You don't have to go into each of those in detail, but tell us a little bit about how you came up with that list of those 5 things.
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Whenever we search for new active ingredients, we rigorously test them in our lab to ensure they don't cause any side effects and that the combination of actives delivers the desired results. We've tested far more than just these five actives in our lab. After extensive experimentation, we found that this combination of five actives significantly outperformed other benchmarks in scavenging free radicals. We tested both individual actives and various antioxidant combinations until this specific blend emerged as the best performer. It's crucial to test each active ingredient because some, like vitamin C, are very unstable. Depending on the source or vendor, vitamin C can often be oxidized before use, rendering it ineffective as an antioxidant.
How do we choose the best sunscreen?
OneSkin sunscreen may the best choice
ALL Question: Explain the importance of blocking both UVA and UVB radiation?
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It's crucial to choose a sunscreen labeled as broad spectrum. While protecting against UVB rays can prevent sunburn, it does not shield you from UVA damage, which can accelerate skin aging without causing sunburn. Mineral sunscreens, such as those containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, provide protection against both UVA and UVB rays. Ensuring that your sunscreen protects against both types of radiation is important for preventing sunburn as well as photoaging caused by UV exposure.
Additionally, there is often confusion about Sun Protection Factor (SPF) ratings, such as SPF 30, 50, or 100, and whether one should choose SPF 120. It’s important to note that even SPF 30 blocks about 97% of UV radiation, and SPF 50 blocks only 1% more—98%. Thus, rather than focusing solely on the SPF number, the key factor is the amount of sunscreen applied. If you use an SPF 50 sunscreen but apply only a thin layer, you won’t receive the full protection it offers. Conversely, applying the correct amount of SPF 30 sunscreen can provide better protection than applying a lighter layer of a higher SPF. The effectiveness of the sunscreen is determined by the concentration of active ingredients that block UV rays.
Understanding how much sunscreen to apply and the importance of reapplication provides more benefits than simply choosing a higher SPF. In addition to SPF, you may also see a protective grade factor for UVA, often labeled as PA++. While SPF indicates UVB protection, the PA rating indicates UVA protection. Therefore, when selecting a sunscreen, checking for both the SPF and the PA rating ensures you receive comprehensive protection for your skin.
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I learned a lot there because I wasn't actually familiar with the language around SPF only applying to UVB radiation. We'll look up some resources and be sure to share that. As you're speaking I'm just taking a peek down here at my OS-01 shield and I'm noticing that it's an SPF 30. I don't see the rating for the second factor you mentioned.
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It's written broad spectrum. The PA on the first packaging was not there yet but we know it's a PA+++. We got that result already from the test.
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I'm assuming that that's a pretty high score
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Yes, You can have 1, 2, 3. You can have 4 plus as well. The 4th plus to the 3 it's kind of like a very slight difference. You always want something that at least has 3 “+++”.
That’s the end of the interview, unless you want to see the
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