The Remarkable Research Story Behind #3 The Tinted Serum SPF50+.
The Remarkable Research Story Behind #3 The Tinted Serum SPF50+
For more than 30 years, I have dedicated my life’s work to creating the perfect, radiance-enhancing, environmental skin serum. An alchemy of skin brilliance. Nourishment and protection in equal parts.
Here is the story of its creation…
At the beginning of my career as a skincare researcher and formulation chemist, I became aware that more than 80% of facial ageing was caused by the sun. Sun damage is the enemy of a glowing, youthful complexion.
I was on a mission (an obsession is probably more accurate) to create a Super-Serum that delivered enhanced luminosity and skin nutrition, together with proactive environmental protection.
So from my earliest work in creating sunscreens, I decided to focus my attention on the inorganic (metallic) sunscreen actives—Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide—as these seemed to have the greatest potential to help me achieve my goals for my Clients’ skin: maximum radiance, with the visible benefits of optimal nutrition and protection.
After much theoretical (including nutritional) research, I decided to focus on Zinc Oxide.
Zinc is natural. Zinc makes our skin look more beautiful. Zinc is found abundantly throughout the human body. Zinc is vital to every cell. Zinc is an anti-inflammatory. And an antioxidant. The list of Zinc benefits goes on and on…
I was in love. Zinc became my professional obsession, and it remains so today.
There was only one obstacle, Zinc Oxide is notoriously difficult to work with. Being a metal, it does not like to stay in conventional emulsions. It tends to ‘drop out’ of skincare bases over time (metals are heavier than water!), and this negates any solar protective benefits.
The prize took decades to create, and while the journey was long and arduous, it has all been so very worthwhile.
You see, over the past 30 years, I have made thousands of Zinc Oxide formulas—and tested as many.
The results were invariably frustrating: either the SPF ratio wasn’t right, or if it was, the product was thick and heavy and white.
On and on I went like a man possessed, until I accepted that I needed help from others with even greater experience working with Zinc Oxide.
This awakening coincided with our huge expansion and investment in our RATIONALE Research Team; the best decision I’ve ever made in my company’s future.
Now I was surrounded by people with fresh ideas, new knowledge, enhanced theoretical and technical skills.
We were on a much faster and more assured track to success. As I write, my heart is full of admiration and gratitude to the small army of RATIONALE Researchers and Scientists who have all contributed to this triumph in skin health and beauty. Realising I was no longer the smartest person in the room, my role shifted to one of Coach, Cheerleader and Chief Obstacle Remover.
Still, it took us a full five years longer, and many more thousands of prototypes, to arrive at this point: #3 The Tinted Serum SPF50+.
The level of complexity in this formulation is staggering, involving microscopic manipulation of Zinc Oxide particle sizes to maximise the formulation’s luminosity and protective potency, not only across the UV spectrum, but beyond into Visible Light and Infrared.
This new frontier of RATIONALE Research is now recognised as Zinc Fusion.
This was our primary area of innovation on this project, taking years filled with endless experiments and tests until we finally achieved our magical UV (and beyond) numbers. The equations and calculations needed to achieve these SPF ratings could fill several hard drives!
But by RATIONALE standards, we were only on first base.
How was this formulation contributing to skin health and beauty beyond offering our proprietary Zinc Fusion protection?
Our next step was to load the formulation with Skin Identical bioactives to nourish and protect.
Unlike other RATIONALE Collections, which are bioengineered to penetrate the skin’s outer defences to target specific tissues and cells, we do not want sunscreens to cross the skin’s barrier, so our emphasis was on reinforcing the skin’s light-capturing, protective role, while offering the most sophisticated solar disarmament technologies.
We pioneered the development of a ceramic shield, which repelled pollution and protected the skin from chemical and environmental assault.
We then enriched the formula with vital skin nutrients and antioxidants, including vitamins, minerals, polysaccharides, proteins and peptides to reactivate and optimise skin vitality.
And then came the most challenging test of all: aesthetics.
The formulation had to look and feel utterly beautiful on the skin. No one had yet achieved this Holy Grail of Beauty.
Many hundreds of further improvements were made, countless radiance-enhancing, skin-refining technologies were researched and tested, until we had finally, after 30 long years, arrived at the ultimate alchemy of science and art.
Here at last was My Everything Serum.
My Life’s Work.
May it bring you lifelong luminosity and joy.
Rx