Haruharu is a Korean brand who have recently released a couple of sunscreens with a lot of hype around them: Moisture Airyfit and Pure Mineral Relief. I recently reviewed these in a sponsored video.
Note: Neither of these are approved as sunscreens in Australia.
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Airyfit Sunscreen
- SPF 50+, PA++++
- Filters: TDSA (Mexoryl SX), octyl triazone, DHHB, polysilicone-15, BEMT (and butyloctyl salicylate)
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Airyfit Sunscreen is a Korean chemical sunscreen, with a different formula from the ones that are really popular at the moment.
I think a lot of people have heard about a family of Korean chemical sunscreens that are essentially variations on a theme. They all use the same blend of filters (DHHB, octyl triazone, MBBT, DEBT) but they each have slightly different skincare ingredients and textures. Some examples are Beauty of Joseon Relief: Sun Rice + Probiotic, Skin1004 Hyalu-Cica, Round Lab Birch Juice, Benton UV Defense, Mary & May Cica Soothing and Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel. They include some of my favourite sunscreens of all time.
Related post: Top Sunscreen Recommendations 2022
But some people aren’t as fond of these formulas. They can have white cast on darker skin, probably because of the MBBT filter (it’s chemical but particulate, so it scatters more visible light). Some people don’t like the texture, or their skin is sensitive to a particular ingredient. And some people just find them kind of boring.
Excitingly, this Haruharu sunscreen is a different chemical sunscreen formula, with a different set of filters:
- TDSA (Mexoryl SX)
- Octyl Triazone
- DHHB
- Polysilicone-15
- BEMT
- butyloctyl salicylate
And notice there’s no MBBT!
This sunscreen has zero white cast on me, and I’ve seen reviews from people with darker skin saying it has no white cast on them. It’s also made by Kolmar, the big Korean sunscreen manufacturer that makes a lot of really popular Korean sunscreens (including the popular ones listed above).
I’d say this is slightly more moisturising and creamy than the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen, but it’s still very lightweight with a cream-gel moisturiser consistency. It applies very smoothly and feels hydrating without being greasy, leaving a slightly tacky, hydrated feel on my skin.
It goes on a little shiny, but sinks in pretty quickly. There’s no fragrance, it doesn’t pill on my skin, and it sits nicely under makeup.
In terms of other skincare actives, this has ceramides, along with niacinamide and adenosine which makes it a triple functional cosmetic in Korea (brightening, anti-wrinkle and sunscreen).
A nerdy tangent into ingredients and rheology
I think a lot of people underestimate how much the “inactives” in a product make a difference to the texture and overall experience, so I’m going to talk a bit more about them – it’s one of the big factors in finding a product you enjoy using.
To get the cream-gel consistency (popular in Asian skincare products, not just sunscreens), formulas usually use polymeric emulsifiers. These ingredients hold the oily and watery parts of product together without needing to use as high an input of traditional emulsifier ingredients (like cetearyl alcohol etc.), which can feel thick and heavy.
You can usually see these somewhere near the top of the ingredient list, usually along with humectant solvents. In this sunscreen the polymeric emulsifier is polyglyceryl-3 distearate (the humectant solvent used is propanediol).
Related post: Surfactants Are Everywhere, aka Stop Being Terrified of Chemicals
Ingredients: Water, Dibutyl Adipate, Propanediol, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Tromethamine, Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Methicone, Polysilicone-15, Stellaria Media (Chickweed) Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Flower Extract, Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Bellis Perennis (Daisy) Flower Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Palmitic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Poly C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate, Methylpropanediol, Carbomer, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Adenosine, Polyether-1, Myristic Acid, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Tocopherol, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Phenethyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride, Disodium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Phosphate
Related: Get Lab Muffin Updates and Your FREE Exfoliation Guide!
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Pure Mineral Relief Daily Sunscreen
- SPF 50+, PA++++
- Filters: Zinc oxide (and butyloctyl salicylate)
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Pure Mineral Relief is the other new Haruharu sunscreen. It’s also fragrance free, and mostly uses zinc oxide with an SPF booster for UV protection.
This goes on with a bit of white cast, which is what you’d expect from a zinc oxide sunscreen, but it dries down to only a small amount of white cast. The level is as good as I’ve had with any other untinted zinc oxide sunscreen. The white cast is noticeable in some lighting, and disappears on my skin with makeup on top.
The finish is not very greasy, and has more of a hydrated feel. It’s slightly slidey after drying down, so you can blend out white streaks easily after it settles.
Again, it has a creme-gel formula and uses a polymeric emulsifier – this time the main one is polyglyceryl-3 polydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone.
I personally tend not to prefer mineral sunscreens, but this is one of my favourite formulas so far. Again it’s from Kolmar, who I feel just really know how to make sunscreens that people enjoy using.
The skincare actives in this are niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, which I think contributes to it being so hydrating on my skin and non-drying, while not being greasy – which is rare with mineral sunscreens on my skin!
Ingredients: Water, Zinc Oxide, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Propanediol, Propylheptyl Caprylate, Caprylyl Methicone, Polyglyceryl-3 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Niacinamide, Methyl Trimethicone, Isododecane, Stellaria Media (Chickweed) Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Flower Extract, Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Bellis Perennis (Daisy) Flower Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Magnesium Sulfate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Lauryl Polyglyceryl-3 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Glyceryl Caprylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopherol, Glycerin, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Phenethyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride, Disodium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Phosphate
Packaging
Both of these Haruharu sunscreens have pump containers, which I really appreciate. It makes them convenient to dispense, and you can easily work out how many pumps you need to use. A lot of people (including me!) might measure out their sunscreen amount initially, then do a rough estimate of the amount afterwards. But human brains are made to be perfectly accurate, so you might accidentally use less and less over time.
With a pump, you don’t need to rely on your faulty human brain, so you can just keep using the same number of pumps each time. For my (relatively small) face I need about 3 pumps, and I’d guess most people would need 3-6 pumps. (The amount you need also depends on how you apply your sunscreen, since your hands will count as extra surface area!)
Related post: How Much Sunscreen Do You Need For Your Face?
These sunscreens were originally reviewed for a sponsored video, but this text version is not sponsored. This post contains affiliate links – if you decide to click through and support Lab Muffin financially (at no extra cost to you), thank you! For more information, see Disclosure Policy.
