Sunscreen SPF 30

Esse

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Esse Sunscreen SPF 30 is a emulsion. Our analysis of its 32 ingredients (20 low-risk) rates it Excellent (97/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone and dry skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Emulsion
Ingredients
32
Low-risk
20
Fragrance
Fragrance-free
Origin
South Africa
SPF
30 · blocks 96.7% UVB

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 8/8
Good for dry skin
Glyceryl Oleate Isoamyl Laurate Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate Myrothamnus Flabellifolia Extract Lecithin Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Caution for dry skin
Glyceryl Oleate Isostearic Acid Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate Polyhydroxystearic Acid Hydrogenated Lecithin Zinc Sulfate Lecithin
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 1/1
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Zinc Sulfate
Caution for oily/acne-prone skin
Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate
Sensitive Skin 3/5
Good for sensitive skin
Zinc Oxide Ascorbyl Palmitate Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Caution for sensitive skin
Glyceryl Oleate Ascorbyl Palmitate Isoamyl Laurate Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Benzyl Alcohol

Ingredients list

32 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (5)
All32 Skin Conditioning19 Emollient7 Emulsifying7 Surfactant5 Fragrance5 Skin Conditioning Emollient5 Cosmetic Colorant4 Colorant3
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
3
B
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
(Emollient, Humectant, Oral Care Agent, Skin Conditioning)
Good for Sensitive Skin
Good for Sensitive Skin
2
3
Zinc Oxide
(Bulking Agent, Cosmetic Colorant, Skin Protecting, Sunscreen Agent)
Good for Oily Skin
Good for Oily Skin
1
A
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
(Emollient, Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning, Solvent)
SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Emollient)
1
Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate
(Skin Conditioning Agent Occlusive)
1
B
Isoamyl Laurate
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Emollient)
1
B
Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
(Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Emulsifying, Surfactant)
Bad for Oily Skin
Bad for Oily Skin
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
(Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Controlling)
4
Zinc Sulfate
(Cosmetic Astringent, Cosmetic Biocide, Oral Care Agent, Antimicrobial, Antiplaque)
1
Myrothamnus Flabellifolia Extract
(Skin Conditioning, Emollient)
1
Aspalathus Linearis Leaf Extract
(Skin Conditioning)
olea europaea leaf extract
(Perfuming, Skin Conditioning)
1
Polyhydroxystearic Acid
(Suspending Agent Nonsurfactant, Emulsifying)
1
Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate
(Emulsifying, Surfactant, Viscosity Increasing Agent)
1
A
Isostearic Acid
(Binding Agent, Sufactantsurfactant Cleansing Agent Is Included As A Function For The Soap Form Of Isostearic Acid., Binding, Emulsifying)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Skin Conditioning Emollient)
Helianthus Annuus Seed Cera
(Skin Conditioning Emollient)
Olea Europaea Oil Unsaponifiables
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
Rhus Verniciflua Peel Cera
(Light Stabilizer, Skin Conditioning Emollient)
Rhus Succedanea Fruit Cera
(Binding, Skin Conditioning Emollient, Viscosity Controlling)
Shorea Robusta Resin
(Tonic)
1
A
Glyceryl Oleate
(Fragrance, Skin Conditioning, Emollient, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Perfuming)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Ascorbyl Palmitate
(Antioxidant, Masking)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
A
Dehydroacetic Acid
(Preservative)
5
A
Benzyl Alcohol
(External Analgesic, Fragrance, Oral Health Care Drug, Preservative, Solvent, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Masking)
Allergens
Allergens
1
Water
(Solvent)
TOCOPHEROL
(Antioxidant, Fragrance, Skin Conditioning)
2
3
Lecithin
(Skin Conditioning, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Antistatic Agent, Emollient)
2
A
Hydrogenated Lecithin
(Skin Conditioning, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Suspending Agent Nonsurfactant)
1
CI 77492
(Colorant, Cosmetic Colorant)
1
2
CI 77491
(Colorant, Cosmetic Colorant)
2
CI 77499
(Colorant, Cosmetic Colorant)

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

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Key ingredients

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient, Humectant
Zinc Oxide
Skin Protecting
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Emollient, Skin Conditioning
SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL
Skin Conditioning
Isoamyl Laurate
Skin Conditioning, Emollient
Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
Skin Conditioning, Emollient

Benefits

No standout benefits flagged for this product.

Concerns

Contains eu allergen
Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
May not suit sensitive skin

Ingredients explained

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Emollient, Masking
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A EmollientMaskingPerfumingSkin conditioningSolvent
SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Hair conditioningSkin conditioningSkin conditioning emollient
Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate
Skin-conditioning agent - occlusive
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin-conditioning agent - occlusive
Isoamyl Laurate
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B FragranceSkin conditioningEmollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin conditioning, Viscosity controlling
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioningViscosity controlling
Zinc Sulfate
Cosmetic astringent, Cosmetic biocide
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 Cosmetic astringentCosmetic biocideOral care agentAntimicrobialAntiplaque
Myrothamnus Flabellifolia Extract
Skin conditioning, Emollient
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioningEmollient
Aspalathus Linearis Leaf Extract
Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Skin conditioning
olea europaea leaf extract
Perfuming, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A PerfumingSkin conditioning
Polyhydroxystearic Acid
Suspending agent - nonsurfactant, Emulsifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Suspending agent - nonsurfactantEmulsifying
Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate
Emulsifying, Surfactant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 EmulsifyingSurfactantViscosity increasing agent
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A FragranceSkin conditioningSkin conditioning emollient
Helianthus Annuus Seed Cera
Skin conditioning emollient
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Skin conditioning emollient
Olea Europaea Oil Unsaponifiables
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Hair conditioningSkin conditioning
Rhus Verniciflua Peel Cera
Light stabilizer, Skin conditioning emollient
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Light stabilizerSkin conditioning emollient
+ 10 more — see the full ingredients list above
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient, Humectant
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 1–3 CIR B EmollientHumectantOral care agentSkin conditioning Good for Sensitive Skin
Zinc Oxide
Bulking agent, Cosmetic colorant
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 2–3 Bulking agentCosmetic colorantSkin protectingSunscreen agent Good for Oily Skin
Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
Skin conditioning, Emollient
Potentially comedogenic - can block poresRead moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B Skin conditioningEmollientEmulsifyingSurfactant Bad for Oily SkinFungal-acne trigger
Isostearic Acid
Binding agent, Sufactantsurfactant-cleansing agent is included as a function for the soap form of isostearic acid.
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Binding agentSufactantsurfactant-cleansing agent is included as a function for the soap form of isostearic acid.BindingEmulsifying Fungal-acne trigger
Glyceryl Oleate
Fragrance, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A FragranceSkin conditioningEmollientEmulsifyingSurfactantPerfuming Fungal-acne trigger
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant, Masking
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A AntioxidantMasking Fungal-acne trigger
Benzyl Alcohol
External analgesic, Fragrance
Moderate-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 5 CIR A External analgesicFragranceOral health care drugPreservativeSolventViscosity decreasing agentMasking Allergens

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Morning only: Apply as the last step of your AM routine, after moisturiser, and reapply every ~2 hours of sun exposure.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Vitamin C (ascorbic) 5–20%

L-ascorbic acid is usually used at 5–20% (around 10–15% is common). Above ~20% adds little and tends to irritate more; it also needs a low pH to work.

Ascorbyl Palmitate

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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