• Moondust Natural Skin Protector Plus is designed to help protect people with sun-sensitive skin from routine exposure to solar radiation and other environmental damage. It can be used safely all year round even under make-up because it contains no harsh or harmful chemicals. Our special  formula may be suitable for people with certain allergies and skin conditions like acne.

• SPF [Sun Protection Factor] is mainly based on the criterion of preventing tanning during sun exposure. However, another criterion representative of long-term UV cancer-causing damage such as scientific sunburn or apoptosis is necessary for assessing real sun protection. Moondust Natural Skin Protector Plus fulfills this important requirement and includes Apoptosis Protection Factor (APF}.

• Moondust Natural Skin Protector Plus also helps protect against other UV-related skin damage that can be caused by extended sun exposure.

• Most sun products use microfine zinc oxide powder which can be readily absorbed into the skin and decrease its protective activity. However, in Moondust Natural Skin Protector Plus, pure zinc oxide in a non-greasy creme provides a base that sits on the surface of the skin to form a physical barrier against harmful solar radiation and other environmental damage.

• SPF basically stops tanning, but Moondust sunscreen has another added parameter – APF – that helps to prevent scientific sunburn (or peeling) which has been linked to skin cancer.

• Colour without peeling is a suntan; colour with peeling is sunburn.

• Bad sunscreens can sometimes cause permanent damage to the skin; Moondust suncare products cannot repair this previous damage, but will protect the skin from further future damage.

• Our scientific UVA/UVB protection system is so effective that Moondust suncare products will keep you looking as young as you feel.

Some people tan by increasing melanin production following sun exposure. The melanin pigment which absorbs UV light is the natural defense system of the human body against sun damage. However, some people do not tan well and experience sunburn instead. This occurs when the unprotected skin cells are actually killed by solar radiation and fall off the surface of the body within a week.

Melanin is natural pigment which can be classified into two main groups: eumelanin (brown/black melanin) and pheomelanin (red/yellow melanin). Both types are heterogeneous copolymers composed of the building blocks shown above. Therefore, the exact structure is difficult or impossible to define.

Everyone (except albinos who have white hair, pink eyes, and pink skin) has some melanin in their hair and skin. It is the body’s natural protection against harmful UV rays from the sun. Human melanin is a coloured pigment that occurs in four different colours: yellow, red, brown, and black. Many people have a combination of these different types. Therefore, people tan differently according to their melanin pigments.

Direct Method: The only direct method available is to measure melanin content in the skin. However, the methodology required may be invasive (a biopsy) and access to a laboratory is needed.

Indirect Method: *If you are a person who tans and never burns, sun protection will help to reduce UV-related signs of skin deterioration and ageing.

*If you tan a reddish or yellowish colour, you may need some extra sun protection especially in hot climates with a higher SPF value than 20.

*If you are a person who routinely burns, you should always wear sun protection with APF.

*If you are not sure, it is good to remember that too much Moondust sun protection with SPF and APF will not hurt anyone because it is all natural.

The more melanin you have in your skin, the more easily you are likely to tan and the less likely you are to experience sunburn. This is because the melanin in your skin deflects the harmful UV rays in sunlight. So, it is roughly a direct relationship.

The less melanin you have in your skin, the more likely you are to get sunburn. This is because the lack of melanin causes your skin to absorb the harmful UV rays in sunlight, which physically burn it . If you get sunburn easily (turning red and your skin peeling off), you may be more susceptible to skin cancer. So, this would be an inverse relationship.

*Zinc Oxide acts as a physical block that scatters light thereby stopping it from reaching the skin.

The graph below shows how this active ingredient absorbs light in the UV A and B ranges. The left side of the graph shows how much light is blocked by the zinc oxide. The bottom of the graph shows the UV wavelength at which it is being tested. The different sets of points on the graph represent different concentrations at which the ingredient is being tested:

*The optimal concentration range for the zinc oxide is between .7 – 7.5%; below the minimum value, the activity of this ingredient may not be optimal and may not provide significant UVA and UVB apoptotic sunburn protection (inadequate skin surface coverage may also occur); above the maximum value, although the activity of the test compound is retained, there are other consumer factors to consider such as colour and consistency.

This type of study is known as an Absorbance Graph that measures the amount of light passing through a substance (zinc oxide in this case). Some sunscreen ingredients may not be subjected to this rigorous type of scientific test to measure how much UV light they are stopping from reaching the skin’s surface. This is the special test for determining Apoptosis Protection Factor {APF} in all Moondust Natural Suncare.              Individually, an acceptable reading lies between Level 1 and 4 for an active ingredient. The higher the reading on the scale from 0 to 4, the greater the amount of UV light that is being blocked. 

Table 1.  UV Absorbance Readings of Zinc Oxide:

• The first published case-study shows that certain commonly used active ingredients in sunscreens may not always work to prevent scientific sunburn. It also explains the sunburn cycle step by step in humans {Siddoo-Atwal C. 2011. Indian Journal of Ecology 38(2): 300-301}

• The second published case-study shows that our unique combination of ingredients works together to prevent sunburn. It also gives the scientific basis of how the two main active ingredients work to block ultraviolet radiation from penetrating the skin {Siddoo-Atwal C. 2012. Indian Journal of Ecology 39(1): 131-134}

• The third published review article gives a current comprehensive overview of skin cancer and its causation and explains why our product works {Siddoo-Atwal C. 2009. Indian Journal of Ecology 36(2): 103-110}

• The final published article focuses on the potential role of honeybee products in the detoxification of carcinogens and cancer prevention providing a basis for their inclusion as one of our key ingredients {Siddoo-Atwal C. & Atwal AS. 2012. Acta Horticulturae [ISHS] 963: 237-245}