SPF Scout · Product record
Cetaphil Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Sunscreen Stick SPF 50
SPF 50 as labeled
U.S. formulation · record last retrieved 27 July 2026
What is listed
The ingredient declaration stored for this formulation, reproduced exactly as it was recorded from the source below.
18 entries · the stored declaration is recorded as complete.
What each ingredient generally does
Each entry that matched a canonical ingredient, with the function recorded for it. These notes describe the role an ingredient plays in a formulation. They do not assess an ingredient.
Titanium Dioxide
Colorant (adds colour)Opacifier (makes the formula less see-through)UV absorber (protects the formula from light, not a sunscreen filter)UV filter (filters UV rays)Titanium Dioxide is a mineral UV filter that absorbs ultraviolet light. It also works as a white colorant and opacifier, adding whiteness and making the product less see-through. As a color additive it appears on labels as CI 77891.
Zinc Oxide
Bulking agent (adds volume)Colorant (adds colour)Light stabiliser (protects the formula from light)Oral care (CosIng functional class)Preservative (inhibits microbial growth)Skin protecting (CosIng functional class)UV absorber (protects the formula from light, not a sunscreen filter)UV filter (filters UV rays)A mineral UV filter that absorbs ultraviolet light, the core sun-protection job in this product. It also helps protect the skin surface and can add whiteness or opacity. On some labels it appears as CI 77947 when used for colour.
Aluminum Hydroxide
Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Humectant (holds moisture)Opacifier (makes the formula less see-through)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Skin protecting (CosIng functional class)Viscosity control (thickens or thins the formula)A mineral ingredient that draws in and holds moisture, softens skin feel, and adjusts the product's thickness. It also adds opacity and forms a protective layer on the skin's surface.
Cera Alba
Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Film forming (leaves a thin coating)Fragrance ingredient (scent)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Surfactant (cleanses or mixes oil and water)Cera Alba is beeswax, used to soften skin, form a film, and help oil and water mix. It smooths skin feel, leaves a thin protective layer, and keeps the water and oil parts blended. It's the Latin label name for beeswax.
listed as “BEESWAX”
An antioxidant that also adds a scent note. It helps keep the oils in the formula from going off, so the product stays stable longer. Often shortened to BHT on labels.
listed as “BHT”
Butyloctyl Salicylate
Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Hair conditioning (CosIng functional class)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Solvent (dissolves other ingredients)A liquid that conditions skin and hair and acts as a solvent. It softens skin feel and helps dissolve and spread other ingredients in the mix.
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Preservative (inhibits microbial growth)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)This is a lightweight oily ingredient that softens and smooths the skin. It also helps keep the product fresh by limiting microbe growth.
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Emulsion stabiliser (keeps oil and water mixed)Foam boosting (increases foam from other ingredients)Fragrance ingredient (scent)Opacifier (makes the formula less see-through)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Surfactant (cleanses or mixes oil and water)Viscosity control (thickens or thins the formula)A multitasking fatty alcohol that helps oil and water mix and keeps the blend stable, while softening skin. It also thickens the formula and makes it more opaque, and can boost foam and cleansing.
Dimethicone
Antifoaming (stops the formula foaming)Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Skin protecting (CosIng functional class)A silicone that softens and smooths skin feel and forms a protective layer on the surface. It also cuts down foam during production, keeping the formula settled.
Euphorbia Cerifera Cera
Astringent (CosIng functional class)Emulsion stabiliser (keeps oil and water mixed)Film forming (leaves a thin coating)Fragrance ingredient (scent)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Viscosity control (thickens or thins the formula)A wax, also known as candelilla wax, that thickens the product and forms a film on the skin. It helps keep the mix stable, conditions the skin, and adjusts how thick the product is.
listed as “EUPHORBIA CERIFERA (CANDELILLA) WAX”
Isostearic Acid
Binder (holds the formula together)Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Surfactant (cleanses or mixes oil and water)A multitasker that helps oil and water mix and works as a cleansing agent. It also helps bind the formula's parts together, keeping everything blended.
Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate
Emollient (softens and smooths skin)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate is an emollient that conditions and softens the skin. It gives a smooth, light feel as the product spreads.
Ozokerite
Binder (holds the formula together)Emulsion stabiliser (keeps oil and water mixed)Opacifier (makes the formula less see-through)Viscosity control (thickens or thins the formula)A wax that thickens the formula and helps hold it together. It adjusts thickness, keeps the oil and water parts from separating, binds ingredients, and makes the product more opaque.
Paraffin
Fragrance ingredient (scent)Skin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Viscosity control (thickens or thins the formula)A solid waxy substance used to condition skin and adjust how thick the product is. It helps set the texture and can carry a scent.
Polyethylene
Abrasive (physically scrubs)Film forming (leaves a thin coating)Viscosity control (thickens or thins the formula)Polyethylene is a plastic-type material that acts as a mild scrub particle, a film former, and a thickness adjuster. That means it can smooth or polish the skin surface, leave a thin coating as the product dries, and adjust how thick the formula is.
Stearic Acid
Emulsion stabiliser (keeps oil and water mixed)Fragrance ingredient (scent)otherRefatting (CosIng functional class)Surfactant (cleanses or mixes oil and water)Stearic Acid helps oil and water mix, keeps that blend from separating, and cleanses. It also softens skin feel and adds scent, so it keeps the product stable and smooth while contributing fragrance.
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant (slows the formula oxidising)otherSkin conditioning (CosIng functional class)Tocopheryl Acetate is a form of vitamin E that acts as an antioxidant, helping keep the formula from going off. It also conditions the skin, softening its feel.
listed as “TOCOPHERYL ACETATE (VITAMIN E)”
A binding ingredient that helps hold the parts of the formula together. It is often used to coat and bind powders in a mix.
Checking this against your own list
SPF Scout's Personal Ingredient Check runs in the app, on your device. This page cannot see a personal avoidance list. Your selections are stored on your phone and are never sent to this website — there is nowhere on our side for them to go.
In the app you choose the ingredients you already avoid, and every entry in this declaration that matches one of them is shown to you with the alias path that produced the match.
This comparison does not predict whether your skin will react.
Source quality
- Source
- DailyMed drug label
- Source record
- https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=54f6df65-e90c-4070-aa95-f47496dd11bd
- Retrieved
- 27 July 2026
- Market
- United States
- Formulation date
- Not recorded
- Version
- v2 of this U.S. formulation
- Verification confidence
- High
- Entries recorded
- 18
- Record checksum
- sha256:21ec073c136eb4b7f0482606721c589fa73601f086611a3928d69c38185744e0
Earlier readings of this document
We have read this product's source document twice, and kept each reading. The earlier reading is ours: a change in how we read the document, not a change the manufacturer made to the formula.
Always compare this record with your current package.