CeraVe Mineral Sunscreen Stick SPF 50 for combination skin

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Questions and answers

What the research says

• Microfine titanium dioxide does not penetrate human skin when formulated in an oil-in-water emulsion with the pigment dispersed in the aqueous phase, compared to oily dispersions and liposomal encapsulation which allow deeper skin penetration.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2000

• Topical application of micronised titanium dioxide results in no dermal absorption, with the particles being deposited solely on the outermost surface of the stratum corneum.

  Skin Pharmacology and Applied Skin Physiology, 2001

• Replacing microsized titanium dioxide and zinc oxide with nanoparticles in sunscreens eliminates opaqueness and alters UV protection balance while inducing (photo)cyto- and genotoxicity and penetrating viable skin layers during long-term exposures.

  Nanotechnology, Science and Applications, 2011

• Hyaluronic acid extracts are safe and efficacious products for skin repair when used in tissue regeneration alone or in combination with herbal or Western medicine.

  Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015

• Topical 0.5% hyaluronic-ZnO nanogel applied twice daily reduced inflammatory-lesion counts by 58% at week four in human subjects compared to baseline without causing erythema.

  Biomedicines, 2025

• Nels cream achieved a similar reduction in inflammatory and noninflammatory lesion counts compared to 5% benzoyl peroxide in acne vulgaris patients, but caused significantly fewer side-effects such as peeling and dryness.

  Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2000

• Topically applied coated and uncoated zinc oxide nanoparticles under flexing and massage are retained in the stratum corneum with no significant penetration into the viable epidermis and no cellular toxicity in human skin.

  Nanomedicine, 2016

• Microfine zinc oxide and titanium dioxide do not penetrate the stratum corneum of porcine skin in vitro, indicating that their use in sunscreens does not pose a health risk from internal exposure.

  Toxicology in Vitro, 2006

• Hyaluronic acid-grafted titanium dioxide nanoparticles increased SPF from 13.3 to 19.1 while demonstrating low photocatalytic activity, exceptional thermal stability with >95% SPF retention, enhanced moisturization with >80% hydration retention, and minimal cytotoxicity with 88.5% cell viability in HaCaT keratinocytes compared to unmodified nanoparticles.

  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2025

• UVB-damaged skin slightly enhanced titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticle penetration from sunscreen formulations, but minimal transdermal absorption was detected in pigs.

  Toxicological Sciences, 2011

• Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.

  Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011

• Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.

  Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022

• Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.

  BMC Oral Health, 2019

Ingredients

Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate, Paraffin, Candelilla Wax, Ozokerite, Dimethicone, Beeswax, Polyethylene, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceramide Np, Ceramide 6-Ii, Ceramide 1, Cholesterol, Phytosphingosine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyhydrostearic Acid, Aluminum Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Bht, Carbomer, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Isostearic Acid, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Xanthan Gum

Behind this fit score

Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.