BEST SUNSCREEN OF 2022: LA ROCHE POSAY ANTHELIOS OLD SHAKA FLUID VS THE NEW UV MUNE400

Hi guys! Welcome back to my blog! Or if you are new here, hi I am Danny. I am a pharmacist specialized in cosmetology! I do skin care product reviews here on my blog, and you are welcome to subscribe to my mailing list if this is your thing.

In today’s blog post, I am going to talk about the new La Roche Posay UV Mune 400 sunscreen and how it compares to its old version Shaka Protect Fluid. What is the difference? Is the new one that much better? Let’s first compare the UV Filters.

UV FILTERS

Back in 2020 when I reviewed the old version of this sunscreen, La Roche Posay claimed that this sunscreen had the highest UVA protection achieved in an Anthelios product. This is probably not true anymore, because they have outdone themselves with the new UV MUNE. Wait for it, I will explain.

Anyways, the old Shaka Protect version had 6 UV filters:

Ethylhexyl Salicylate,

Uvinyl T 150 (Ethylhexyl Triazone),

Tinosorb S (Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine),

Avobenzone (Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane),

Mexoryl XL (Drometrizole Trisiloxane),

Mexoryl SX (Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid).

Mexoryls are the “it” UV filters on the market, they provide high and photostable UVA protection, and they are the L’oreal group, exclusive agents, only L’oreal owned companies have them and La Roche Posay is owned by L’oreal of course.

As you know already, or if you don’t know already, the problem on the market is UVA protection. We have plenty of UVB filters but not as many UVA filters. And the UVA filters that we do have are usually not photostable (Avobenzone) or they don’t protect against the ultra-long UVA rays, or to be more specific there is this 380-400nm gap that is just impossible for UV filters to reach, and protect against. Let me explain that.

There are 2 types of UVA rays, UVA 1 and UVA 2. UVA 2 spans from 315-340nm, and UVA 1 spans from 340-400nm.

The picture was taken from the labmuffin.com website.

And UVA rays are the ones that can reach the deeper layers of the skin and cause damage also known as photo-aging a.k.a. wrinkles and dark spots plus there are more UVA rays reaching the earth’s surface than there are UVB rays.

This is why I always emphasize how important is it to have high UVA protection in sunscreen.

If we take a look at this picture, we can see that all UV filters that we have today fail to protect in 380 to 400nm gap (UVA 1 rays-ultra long). Avobenzone reaches it but still fails to protect. All except the Mexoryl 400. This is the first sunscreen that can protect in this gap.

New UVMUNE 400 has 8 UV filters:

Ethylhexyl Salicylate,

Tinosorb S (Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine),

Uvinyl T 150 (Ethylhexyl Triazone),

Avobenzone (Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane),

Mexoryl 400 (Methoxypropylamino Cyclohexenylidene Ethoxyethylcyanoacetate),

Uvinyl A Plus (Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate),

Mexoryl XL (Drometrizole Trisiloxane),

Mexoryl SX (Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid)

The new UVMUNE 400 Fluid has 8 UV filters, out of which 6 are the same as in the previous version and we have 2 UV filters added: Uvinyl A Plus and Mexoryl 400.

Uvinyl A Plus provides more UVA protection and Mexoryl 400 is the only UV filter available today that protects in the previously mentioned 380 to 400nm gap.

And this is HUGE! La Roche Posay really did an incredible with this new UV filter. And today in 2022 we have a filter that actually protects against the ultra-long UVA rays.

EFFECT ON THE SKIN

I don’t have the old version anymore, but based on my memory of it, and the previously recorded footage from when did a review on the old Shaka Fluid, they seem the same. They are both lightweight, and very liquid, leaving a glossy finish with no white cast. I honestly cannot tell the difference, maybe I would if I had the old version here, but this way I cannot tell the difference.

You can also apply the new version around the eyes; it’s not irritating just like the previous version wasn’t. Watch the demo application down below.

CONTROVERSIAL INGREDIENTS

These both have Alcohol listed high. This never bothered me. Alcohol is the solvent, penetration enhancer and makes those elegant and light-weight formulations that we love. The truth is that this sunscreen probably wouldn’t have been this lightweight if it wasn’t for alcohol.

But I understand that some people find it drying or irritating on the skin, and if you are one of those people, reconsider how and if you can work around this because you will not find a sunscreen with protection higher than this. If it’s irritating, I’m sorry to hear that but if it’s drying, why not try adding more moisturizer on top afterward or something like that? That is definitely something that I would do.

In the previous review(of the old shaka fluid), I mentioned that did experience breakouts on my face after using the old version for a short time, and the ingredient that was causing them was most likely the highly comedogenic Isopropyl Myristate. I didn’t have such problems with the new version and guess what; Isopropyl Miristate isn’t included in the new 2022 version. So even if you are acne prone you don’t have to worry about this one.

FINAL VERDICT

Is this the best sunscreen of 2022? My modest opinion would be YES because as I already said, this sunscreen offers the highest possible UVA protection achieved to this day. If that changes, I will keep you updated. Sensor characteristics are great as in the previous version, plus they eliminated the ingredients that were causing breakouts. So I hereby proclaim this sunscreen the best one of 2022.