This lightweight daytime moisturizer contains sunscreen ingredients, but because they are not listed as active you absolutely cannot count on it for sun protection. The sunscreen ingredients include octocrylene, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (more commonly known as avobenzone, a very good UVA/anti-aging sunscreen), and ethylhexyl salicylate. These do provide sun protection, but in the United States and several other countries they must be called out as active rather than listed with the other ingredients so you know how much of them you're getting.
This product has other drawbacks as well, including a fairly average formula whose antioxidant content isn't that impressive (and your skin can definitely benefit from antioxidants when combined with sunscreen). Moreover, the antioxidants this contains won’t remain stable for long because of the jar packaging. See More Info below for details on why jar packaging is a problem.
All told, this is a costly product for what amounts to an average formula and iffy sun protection. If you decide to take your chances, it is suitable for normal to slightly oily skin.
- Lightweight texture works well under makeup.
- Expensive.
- Jar packaging compromises the effectiveness of the antioxidants.
- Sunscreen ingredients are not listed as active, so this is unreliable for daily sun protection.
- Contains fragrance ingredients known to cause irritation (though they are present in low amounts).
- Too few state-of-the-art ingredients, making this a poor choice for anti-aging.
More Info:
The fact that it's packaged in a jar means the beneficial ingredients won't remain stable once it is opened. All plant extracts, vitamins, antioxidants, and other state-of-the-art ingredients break down in the presence of air, so once a jar is opened and lets the air in, these important ingredients begin to deteriorate. Jars also are unsanitary because you’re dipping your fingers into them with each use, adding bacteria, which further deteriorate the beneficial ingredients.
The Dead Sea water in this product offers no special benefit for skin. If anything, because water from the Dead Sea is so salty and because it also contains sulfur along with other irritating minerals, it ends up being drying and irritating for all skin types. Soaking in Dead Sea water can have benefit for those with certain types of skin rashes, but there is no research showing it has benefit as a skin-care ingredient.
I enjoy the feeling of this light daytime cream on my face. Powered by Dead Sea minerals, Dunaliella algae and date palm extract, it hydrates my skin and protects it from sun damage. Fine lines and wrinkles begin to smoothen and fade and I look visibly younger.
Mineral Spring Water, Octocrylene, Isohexadecane, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Stearyl Alcohol, Squalene (Phytosqualene), Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethame, Cyclomethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Quaternium-18 Hectorite, PEG-40 Stearate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Tristearate, Cetyl Phosphate, Sorbitan Olivate , Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Alanine, Creatine, Glycerin, Glycine, Magnesium Aspartate, Saccharide Hydrolysate, Urea, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, Maris Sal (Dead Sea Water), Butylene Glycol , Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Water, Aminomethyl Propanediol, Cyclomethicone, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Disodium Lauriminodipropionate Tocopheryl Phosphates, Allantoin, Xanthan Gum, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Propylene Glycol, PVM/MA Copolymer, Fragrance, Dunaliella Salina (Dead Sea Alga) Extract, Phoenix Dactylifera (Date) Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, PVP, Lecithin, Squalene (Phytosqualene), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Beta - Sitosterol , Ascorbyl Palmitate, Hydrogenated Vegetable Glycerides Citrate, C 13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7 , Polyacrylamide, Butylphenyl Ethylpropional, Linalool, Citronellol, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Benzyl Salicylate, Geraniol
Ahava At-A-Glance
Strengths: Most of the cleansers are good.
Weaknesses: Expensive; several of the daytime moisturizers with sunscreen do not list active ingredients; Dead Sea mud is not the cure-all for anyone's aging skin; disappointing toners; lackluster moisturizers and serums; jar packaging; no AHA or BHA products; no products to manage acne; no products to lighten skin discolorations; average masks; irritating men's products.
Ahava is the Hebrew word for love, and this group has adopted it for these skin-care products imported from
Keep in mind the Dead Sea in Israel is called "dead" because nothing can live in it (technically, there are some bacteria and fungi that can). There are many environmental factors that contribute to making the Dead Sea one of the saltiest lakes in the world, but we won't get into that discussion. A comparison should give you an idea of just how salty it is. The seawater in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has a salt content of 3–4%, while the Dead Sea has a salt content of 32%, as well as a large concentration of minerals such as sulfur, magnesium, calcium, bromide, and potassium. If you haven't been to the Dead Sea, we can tell you the aroma of the sulfur in the water is overwhelming. It is hard to imagine that anything so noxious would be considered a desirable beauty treatment.
Despite the smell and the high mineral content, there are no clinical studies or research showing that
Studies by the Department of Medicine and Department of Epidemiology and Dermatology at the Soroka Medical Center of Kupat-Holim in
Even if Dead Sea salts could benefit normal skin in some way, the amount you'll find in the Ahava products and products from other Dead Sea–oriented lines are infinitesimally small in comparison with the amounts used in the published studies, and your skin deserves so much more than these one-note products can deliver. For more information about Ahava, call (800) 366-7254 or visit www.ahavaus.com.
About the Experts
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