Sunscreen

	Organic (chemical) filters	Inorganic (mineral) filters
Substances	avobenzone, octocrylene, octinoxate, oxybenzone, octisalate, homosalate	titanium dioxide, zinc oxide
Effect	absorption of UV radiation	absorption of UV radiation reflection (< 5% of the UV range (5))
Application	regularly (every two hours) adequate amount (2 mg/ cm² of skin, i.e. 35 g of cream for the whole body for an adult of standard height and weight)	regularly (every two hours) amount (2 mg/ cm² of skin, i.e. 35 g of cream for the whole body for an adult of standard height and weight)
Skin penetration	penetrate epidermis and are systemically absorbed (20)	minimal if any penetration of the skin (22, 23)
Possible side effects	allergic / irritant contact dermatitis phototoxic/ photoallergic contact dermatitis contact urticaria	no relevant skin-irritating properties or sensitization potential (3) reflection of visible light (> 400 nm) can cause whitening effect
Use for	teenagers and adults	babies and children sensitive skin

References

(3) Lautenschlager et al. 2007 - Adverse Reactions to Sunscreens
(5) Cole et al 2015 - Metal oxide sunscreens protect skin by absorption, not by reflection or scattering
(20) Matta et al 2020 - Effect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients
(22) Gulson et al. 2012 - Comparison of dermal absorption of zinc from different sunscreen formulations and differing UV exposure based on stable isotope tracing
(23) Sadrieh et al. 2010 - Lack of significant dermal penetration of titanium dioxide from sunscreen formulations containing nano- and submicron-size TiO2 particles