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CVS Health Ultra-Light Fluid Lotion For The Face, SPF 60

Ultra-Light Fluid Lotion For The Face, SPF 60

Our ultra light sunscreen broad spectrum SPF 60 for face provides advanced protection in a lightweight, matte finish fluid. It helps visibly reduce the appearance of sun damage. This face sunscreen is both water-resistant and oil free. When used as directed with other sun protection measures, this sunscreen can help decrease the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging caused by the sun.
Uploaded by: sunscreenfan187 on

Skim through

Ingredient name what-it-does irr., com. ID-Rating
Avobenzone (3%) sunscreen goodie
Homosalate (10%) sunscreen
Octisalate (5%) sunscreen 0, 0
Octocrylene (7%) sunscreen
Alcohol Denat antimicrobial/​antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling icky
Benzyl Alcohol preservative, perfuming, solvent, viscosity controlling
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate emollient, antimicrobial/​antibacterial
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient
Cassia Alata Leaf Extract soothing, antimicrobial/​antibacterial goodie
Cetearyl Alcohol emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 1, 2
Dicaprylyl Carbonate emollient
Dicaprylyl Ether emollient, solvent
Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate
Dimethicone emollient 0, 1
Disodium EDTA chelating
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative
Glyceryl Behenate emollient, emulsifying
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate emollient, emulsifying
Hectorite viscosity controlling
Isostearyl Alcohol emollient, viscosity controlling
Lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 Methicone
Octyldodecanol emollient, perfuming
Octyldodecyl Xyloside emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
P-Anisic Acid preservative
PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate emulsifying
PEG-8 Laurate emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
Poly C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate viscosity controlling
Polymethylsilsesquioxane
Propylene Carbonate solvent, viscosity controlling
Silica viscosity controlling
Sodium Chloride viscosity controlling
Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate surfactant/​cleansing, emulsifying
Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer
Tocopherol antioxidant 0-3, 0-3 goodie
Water solvent
Xanthan Gum viscosity controlling

CVS Health Ultra-Light Fluid Lotion For The Face, SPF 60
Ingredients explained

Also-called: Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane | What-it-does: sunscreen

The famous Avobenzone. It is a special snowflake as it is the only globally available chemical sunscreen agent that provides proper UVA protection (in the US, new generation sunscreen agents are not approved because of impossible FDA regulations). It is the global gold standard of UVA protection and is the most used UVA sunscreen in the world. 

It gives very good protection across the whole UVA range (310-400 nm that is both UVA1 and UVA2) with a peak protection at 360 nm. The problem with it, though, is that it is not photostable and degrades in the sunlight. Wikipedia says that avobenzone loses 36% of its UV-absorption capacity after just one hour of sunlight (yep, this is one of the reasons why sunscreens have to be reapplied after a few hours).

What-it-does: sunscreen

An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects the skin from UVB (295-315 nm) with a peak protection at 306 nm. Homosalate is not a strong UV filter in and of itself (gives only SPF 4.3 protection at max. allowed 10% concentration) and it is not photostable (looses 10% of its SPF protection in 45 mins) so it always has to be combined with other sunscreens for proper protection. Its big advantage, though, is that it is a liquid and is excellent for dissolving other hard to solubilize powder sunscreen agents, like the famous Avobenzone.

Regarding Homosalate's safety profile, we do not have the best news. In-vitro (made in the labs) studies have shown that it might have some estrogenic activity. Do not panic, these studies were not conducted on real humans under real world conditions. Still, if you are a 'better safe than sorry' type, be careful when using Homosalate containing sunscreens long-term and full-body.

Also-called: Octyl Salicylate, Octisalate;Ethylhexyl Salicylate | What-it-does: sunscreen | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

A colorless to light yellowish oily liquid that works as a UVB (280-320nm) sunscreen filter with a peak absorbance at 306 nm. It's not a strong filter in itself, it's always used in combination with other sunscreen agents to further enhance the SPF and to solubilize other solid UV filters.

It has a good safety profile and is allowed to be used at a max concentration of 5% both in the US and in Europe (10% is allowed in Japan).

What-it-does: sunscreen

An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects skin in the UVB and somewhat in the UVA II range with a peak absorption of 304 nm. Its protection is not strong enough on its own but it is quite photostable (loses 10% of SPF protection in 95 mins) and is often used to stabilize other photo-unstable UV-filters, for example, Avobenzone. It is also often used to improve the water resistance of the products. 

Octocrylene's safety profile is generally quite good, though a review study in Contact Dermatitis reports an "increasing number of patients with photo contact allergy to octocrylene." Mainly adults with ketoprofen-sensitivity and children with sensitive skin are affected, so if you have a small kid, it is probably better to use octocrylene-free sunscreens.

  • It's a super common and super debated skincare ingredient
  • It has several benefits: great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent and antimicrobial
  • It can be very drying if it's in the first few ingredients on an ingredient list
  • Some experts even think that regular exposure to alcohol damages skin barrier and causes inflammation though it's a debated opinion (read more in geeky details tab)
Read all the geeky details about Alcohol Denat. here >>

It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It can be naturally found in fruits and teas but can also be made synthetically.

No matter the origin, in small amounts (up to 1%) it’s a nice, gentle preservative. Has to be combined with some other nice preservatives, like potassium sorbate to be broad spectrum enough.  

An often used emollient with a light and silky feel. It's very mild to both skin and eyes and spreads nicely and easily. It's often used in sunscreens as it's also an excellent solvent for sunscreen agents. 

What-it-does: emollient

A super common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. It comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it’s light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. It’s a nice ingredient that just feels good on the skin, is super well tolerated by every skin type and easy to formulate with. No wonder it’s popular. 

Also-called: Candle Tree Leaf Extract | What-it-does: soothing, antimicrobial/antibacterial, astringent

Candle tree is a nice plant with beautiful yellow flowers that's native to Mexico. It's a medicinal tree that has very effective fungicidal properties and is used traditionally to treat fungal infections of the skin. 

Modern studies confirm antimicrobial as well as anti-inflammatory activity of the tree. According to manufacturer info it's even a great anti-aging plant extract that gives DNA protection from UV rays and supports the natural repairing process of the skin cells. 

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, emulsion stabilising, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 1 | Comedogenicity: 2

An extremely common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams and lotions. It also helps to stabilize oil-water mixes (emulsions), though it does not function as an emulsifier in itself. Its typical use level in most cream type formulas is 2-3%.  

It’s a so-called fatty alcohol, a mix of cetyl and stearyl alcohol, other two emollient fatty alcohols.  Though chemically speaking, it is alcohol (as in, it has an -OH group in its molecule), its properties are totally different from the properties of low molecular weight or drying alcohols such as denat. alcohol. Fatty alcohols have a long oil-soluble (and thus emollient) tail part that makes them absolutely non-drying and non-irritating and are totally ok for the skin.

What-it-does: emollient

A clear, colorless, almost odorless oil that spreads nicely and easily and gives a velvet dry skin feel. It is good friends with sunscreen agents and helps to solubilize them. Also, it makes sunscreens feel lighter and spread easier. 

What-it-does: emollient, solvent

A clear, colorless and odorless oily liquid that works as a fast-spreading emollient with a dry skin feel

A handy helper ingredient that has photostabilizer properties. It is useful both for color-protecting products so that they do not change color for a long time as well as for stabilizing unstable sunscreen agents, such as famous UVA filter avobenzone

DESM can also increase critical wavelength (the higher value means more UVA protection) in sunscreens and it can boost SPF by about 5 units in high-SPF products. 

What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

Probably the most common silicone of all. It is a polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule and has different molecular weight and thus different viscosity versions from water-light to thick liquid.

As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). Also, works well to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a plump look (of course that is only temporary, but still, it's nice). There are also scar treatment gels out there using dimethicone as their base ingredient. It helps to soften scars and increase their elasticity. 

What-it-does: chelating

Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.

It is typically used in tiny amounts, around 0.1% or less.

What-it-does: preservative, deodorant

If you have spotted ethylhexylglycerin on the ingredient list, most probably you will see there also the current IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol. They are good friends because ethylhexylglycerin can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too.

Also, it's an effective deodorant and a medium spreading emollient

What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying

The combination of glycerin + behenic acid that comes either in a fine powder or waxy solid form. Together with the di- and triglyceride of behenic acid, the trio has remarkable gelling properties helping cosmetic chemists to create ultra-soft and non-tacky waterfree gels. They also have great emulsion stabilizing properties, and work as high-performance compacting agents for makeup products that come in the form of pressed powders.

It's also vegetable origin, and Ecocert certified.

What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying

Glyceryl stearate citrate is similar to the super common skincare ingredient glyceryl stearate, and is similarly used to help combine waters and oils (emulsifier) and to make your skin feel nice and soft (emollient). 

The main difference between glyceryl stearate citrate and its cousin glyceryl stearate is that this one has a citric acid molecule also attached to its glycerin. This makes it what chemists call a diacylglycerol, which is a fancy word for two acids (in this case, citric acid and stearic acid) attached together with a glycerin bridge. But when it comes to cosmetics, all you need to know is that both glyceryl stearate citrate and glyceryl stearate are safe, tried and true emulsifiers. Expect to see them in formulas with both water-based and oil-based ingredients (think moisturizers and lotions).

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient, perfuming

A clear, slightly yellow, odorless oil  that's a very common, medium-spreading emollient. It makes the skin feel nice and smooth and works in a wide range of formulas.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: preservative

Though the official function of P-Anisic Acid is masking (meaning that it helps to mask not so nice smells in the product), according to manufacturer info it is rather used as a preservative. It is a skin friendly organic acid that works against fungi

What-it-does: emulsifying

PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate is a popular water-in-oil (w/o) emulsifier, meaning that it helps the oily and watery parts of the formula to mix in a way where water droplets are dispersed in the continuous oil phase and not the other way round. 

Compared to the more commonly used oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions, w/o emulsions tend to be heavier and less cosmetically elegant, but PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate is claimed to help with this and enables a light and elegant skin feel. It also has a molecular structure that creates large anchors both in the water and in the oil phase making the resulting emulsion not only cosmetically elegant but also very stable. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

spherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancer and soft focus agent. It's claimed to give silicone type softness to the formula and also works as a (temporary) wrinkle filler. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A white powdery thing that's the major component of glass and sand. In cosmetics, it’s often in products that are supposed to keep your skin matte as it has great oil-absorbing abilities. It’s also used as a helper ingredient to thicken up products or suspend insoluble particles. 

Also-called: Salt | What-it-does: viscosity controlling

Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. Normal, everyday table salt

If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. The reason for this is that salt acts as a fantastic thickener in cleansing formulas created with ionic cleansing agents (aka surfactants) such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate. A couple of percents (typically 1-3%) turns a runny surfactant solution into a nice gel texture.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A film-forming polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) to create water-resistant sunscreen formulas. It also improves the SPF value of sunscreen formulas (approx. 11-18% boost in SPF per 1% Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer). 

Tocopherol - goodie
Also-called: Vitamin E | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0-3 | Comedogenicity: 0-3
  • Primary fat-soluble antioxidant in our skin
  • Significant photoprotection against UVB rays
  • Vit C + Vit E work in synergy and provide great photoprotection
  • Has emollient properties
  • Easy to formulate, stable and relatively inexpensive
Read all the geeky details about Tocopherol here >>

Also-called: Aqua | What-it-does: solvent

Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product. 

It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water. 

It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like. Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-called rheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). The typical use level of Xantha Gum is below 1%, it is usually in the 0.1-0.5% range. 

Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It’s approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry (E415). 

You may also want to take a look at...

what‑it‑does sunscreen
Avobenzone - the only globally available chemical sunscreen that gives proper UVA protection. It is not photostable so has to be combined with ingredients that help to stabilize it. [more]
what‑it‑does sunscreen
An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects the skin from UVB (295-315 nm) with a peak protection at 306 nm. Homosalate is not a strong UV filter in and of itself (gives only SPF 4.3 protection at max. [more]
what‑it‑does sunscreen
irritancy, com. 0, 0
A colorless to light yellowish oily liquid that works as a UVB (280-320nm) sunscreen filter with a peak absorbance at 306 nm. It's not a strong filter in itself, it's always used in combination with other sunscreen agents. [more]
what‑it‑does sunscreen
An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects skin in the UVB and somewhat in the UVA II range with a peak absorption of 304 nm. [more]
what‑it‑does antimicrobial/antibacterial | solvent | viscosity controlling
Alcohol with some additives to make it unconsumable. It is great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent, and antimicrobial. In large amounts, it can be very drying to the skin. [more]
what‑it‑does preservative | perfuming | solvent | viscosity controlling
It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It can be naturally found in fruits and teas but can also be made synthetically. No matter the origin, in small amounts (up to 1%) it’s a nice, gentle preservative. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | antimicrobial/antibacterial
An often used emollient with a light and silky feel. It's very mild to both skin and eyes and spreads nicely and easily. It's often used in sunscreens as it's also an excellent solvent for sunscreen agents. 
what‑it‑does emollient
A very common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. Comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it’s light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. [more]
what‑it‑does soothing | antimicrobial/antibacterial
Candle Tree - a medicinal tree that has very effective fungicidal properties. Has also anti-inflammatory activity and might give DNA protection from UV rays. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | viscosity controlling | emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
irritancy, com. 1, 2
A super common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
A clear, colorless, almost odorless oil that spreads nicely and easily and gives a velvet dry skin feel. It is good friends with sunscreen agents and helps to solubilize them.
what‑it‑does emollient | solvent
A clear, colorless and odorless oily liquid that works as a fast-spreading emollient with a dry skin feel. 
A photostabilizer that has color protecting as well as sunscreen agent stabilizing properties. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
irritancy, com. 0, 1
A very common silicone that gives both skin and hair a silky smooth feel. It also forms a protective barrier on the skin and fills in fine lines. Also used for scar treatment. [more]
what‑it‑does chelating
Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. [more]
what‑it‑does preservative
It can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | emulsifying
The combination of glycerin + behenic acid that works as an oil-gelling, emulsion stabilizing or compacting (in pressed powders) agent. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | emulsifying
Glyceryl stearate citrate is similar to the super common skincare ingredient glyceryl stearate, and is similarly used to help combine waters and oils (emulsifier) and to make your skin feel nice and soft (emollient).  The main difference between glyceryl stearate citrate and its cousin glyceryl stearate is that this one has a citric acid molecule also attached to its glycerin. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
what‑it‑does emollient | viscosity controlling
what‑it‑does emollient | perfuming
A clear, slightly yellow, odorless oil  that's a very common, medium-spreading emollient. It makes the skin feel nice and smooth and works in a wide range of formulas.
what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does preservative
Though the official function of P-Anisic Acid is masking (meaning that it helps to mask not so nice smells in the product), according to manufacturer info it is rather used as a preservative. [more]
what‑it‑does emulsifying
PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate is a popular water-in-oil (w/o) emulsifier, meaning that it helps the oily and watery parts of the formula to mix in a way where water droplets are dispersed in the continuous oil phase and not the other way round.  Compared to the more commonly used oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions, w/o emulsions tend to be heavier and less cosmetically elegant, but  [more]
what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
A spherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancer and soft focus agent. [more]
what‑it‑does solvent | viscosity controlling
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
A white powdery thing that can mattify the skin and thicken up cosmetic products. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. Normal, everyday table salt.  If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying
A film-forming polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) to create water-resistant sunscreen formulas.  [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant
irritancy, com. 0-3, 0-3
Pure Vitamin E. Great antioxidant that gives significant photoprotection against UVB rays. Works in synergy with Vitamin C. [more]
what‑it‑does solvent
Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
A super commonly used thickener and emulsion stabilizer. [more]