P4O use zinc oxide as their only active ingredient, and here is why:

+ It is the only reef-safe UV filter available.

+ Zinc oxide provides excellent sun protection and has several advantages over synthetic actives. Zinc particles sit on top of your skin and act as a reflective barrier (exactly like a mirror) to block both UVAs & UVBs from penetrating your skin and causing damage and ageing.

+ It is the only FDA* and TGA** approved broad spectrum sun protection ingredient, and unlike any other active ingredient, its concentration in a product has no limitation. It is also the EWG (Environmental Working Group) nº1 ingredient for skin protection.

+ Zinc oxide is also effective for healing the skin. It can be used to heal wounds, reduce the tenderness associated with sunburns and soften chapped skin. It is sometimes used as an acne treatment - it is believed to reduce the appearance of blemishes and reduce skin irritation and inflammation, reducing the number and severity of acne breakouts.

* Food & Drug Administration (US).
** Therapeutic Goods Administration (AU).

Many sunscreens contain ingredients that wash off our skins (or down the drain) to harm coral reefs, even at very small concentrations. Using a "reef safe sunscreen" means that no ingredients in that product will cause detrimental effects to marine life. That includes coral reefs but also marine mammals, turtles, fish and a variety of marine species. Remember that certain brands falsely claim to be "Reef-Safe" but actually contain chemicals harmful to ocean life, so always check the label for these common toxic ingredients: Oxybenzone, Avobenzone, Octinoxate, Homosalate, Octocrylene, Parabens, Triclosan.

No sunscreen actually blocks 100% of UV rays. SPF50+ sunscreens offer similar levels of UVB protection as SPF30 sunscreens but offer extra UVA protection. SPF50+ sunscreens allow 1/50th of ambient UV radiation through but filter out 98% of UVB radiation. SPF30 sunscreens admit 1/30th of ambient UV radiation, but block out 96.7% UVB.