111Skin launches its SPF: the brand's founder discusses the slow burn of sunscreen formulation
There’s an obvious dichotomy in a luxury skincare brand not offering a suncream as part of its line-up: all the boundary-pushing antioxidants and revolutionary retinoids in the world are, frankly, useless if you aren’t using them in tandem with a serious, studious dose of face SPF.
Of course, there are now plenty of great (and affordable) sunscreens out there, from the dermatologist favourites La Roche-Posay and Cerave to new brands such as Supergoop and Ultra Violette, which are working to sex up the category. But in the sunscreen space, a lot of prestige brands are lagging behind: for many, SPF is a glaring hole in their product line-up.
111Skin’s absence of SPF has always felt at odds with its skin-health focused ethos, but as founder Eva Alexandridis tells me, she’s been working on one for years. Formulating the Repair Sunscreen, which has launched this month, was a labour of love due to the combination of actives inside: turns out, it’s not quite as simple as those DIY sunscreen videos currently doing the rounds on social media may have you believe (you don’t need me to tell you to scroll straight past).
“We were intent on creating a sunscreen that had one of the best textures on the market while giving amazing protection,” says Alexandridis. “It took a long time to master a texture which would sink effortlessly into the skin, giving a truly weightless appearance. We also wanted to carefully curate our actives with this texture to give a combination of skincare and sun-care protection – including our NACY2 complex.”
While it's reasonably simple to formula a facial SPF that will keep skin protected from UV rays, it’s another task entirely to balance those sunscreen filters with other skin-boosting actives while keeping both elements effective; which, of course, is what makes a product worth its luxury price tag. For brands like 111Skin, an SPF has to offer more than those available in the high-street realm, delivering not just protection, but visible skin improvements over time. Getting the balance right is a fine art, with stability and preservation proving no small feat.
Alexandridis has formulated the Repair Sunscreen to contain the brand’s proprietary complex, NACY2: a combination of vitamin C, escin and encapsulated NAC. “It’s designed to help repair, soothe, and restore skin,” she explains. Indeed, NAC is having a moment in the wider industry this year, thanks to its ability to boost glutathione production in the skin. This antioxidant works within the skin to activate the skin’s reparative processes, boosting collagen production and accelerating recovery in the process.
Beyond the widely acclaimed benefits of the brand’s star active complex, Repair Sunscreen contains cotton stem cells to bring down redness, niacinamide to control sebum production and keep the barrier strong, soothing pantothenic acid, and multiple weights of hyaluronic acid.
To those who invest enthusiastically in the doctor-backed skincare category, this new arrival is sure to intrigue – and when it comes to performance, the brand has triumphed. This rich cream formula is as sensorial, and as satisfyingly good for skin, as the rest of the cult line. Of course, it goes without saying that you don’t need to invest this heavily to get a sunscreen that does the job, but for those after something that offers a little more, it’s sure to become a go-to.
You Might Also Like
