Chances are, zinc oxide has already made its way into your personal care routine, even if you weren't totally aware of it. This naturally derived mineral ingredient is a star player in some products you might not expect — such as being the active ingredient in diaper rash creams and ointments — as well as the ones you're familiar with — namely sunscreens. Zinc oxide can also be used in cosmetic makeups to increase the opacity and the coverage of the product, or it can be found in other Over The Counter (OTC) products as an active ingredient that protects and treats minor skin irritations.
Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the two mineral sunscreen filters generally recognized as safe and effective by the FDA. These two sunscreen active ingredients form a barrier on the surface of the skin to protect from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays. Zinc oxide as one of the effective sunscreen ingredients, it provides broad-spectrum protection against both UVB and UVA rays (as it's known, UVB rays are associated with sunburns, while UVA rays cause skin aging, and both contribute to skin cancer).