Sunscreen Cream Formulation with Natural Ingredients, including Arabic gum and Beeswax Foundation

Abstract

The aim of this research was to develop sunscreen cream formulation with natural ingredients and calculated sun protection factor (SPF) for it. The sunscreen is prepared using water phase that includes distilled water as a main solvent, glycerine as a moisturizer, Arabic gum as a thickener, and citric acid as a preservative. The oil phase is composed of one of the following oils: paraffin oil, olive oil, sesame oil or pond oil, and beeswax foundation as emulsifier. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are both employed in sunscreen as inorganic physical sun blockers. The best cream texture was obtained in the case of using beeswax foundation as emulsifier by 8%. The best solubility of sunscreen cream is obtained using equal proportions of hexane and ethanol. An in vitro SPF (sun protection factor) of used samples is calculated according to Mansur’s method. Moreover, Mansur’s method calculates only SPF values of organic substances (triglyceride oils) but physical sun blockers (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) cannot be calculated by Mansur’s method. By comparing SPF values for triglyceride oils, the best protection value is obtained using olive oil. For other oils were found to be around 6. Therefore it can be founded that triglyceride oils have absorbency in UV region so that these oils can be used in the formulation of sunscreens as emollients and sun blockers. This formulation of sunscreen cream is focused on using natural ingredients, creamy texture, and efficacy..