Lignin Oleate-Enhanced Tinted Mineral Sunscreens: Towards Inclusive Photoprotection for Skin of Colour

Currently, the cosmetic industry is still not inclusive in catering for a broad range of skin tones, particularly for consumers with melanin-rich skin. This is especially true in sun care (Geisler et al., 2021). An interest in more naturally-derived sun care formulations has grown, both due to chemophobia and fear of the impact of sun care formulas on health and environmental safety (Wu et al., 2024). Lignin-based materials are steadily gaining interest in the cosmetic space due to their sustainable, multi-functional formulation benefits, along with their potential in enhancing the UV performance of sun care formulations (Espinoza-Acosta, Figueroa-Espinoza and RosaAlcaraz, 2022; Piccinino et al., 2022). This experiment explored lignin oleate’s (LO) role as a functional active in sun care applications, its effect on the physical and organoleptic characteristics of a mineral sunscreen preparation with high naturality.