Why New Light Is the Sunscreen Indian Skin Actually Needs

Most sunscreens were not made for us. Not for our climate, not for our skin tone, and not for the very specific way UV damage shows up on Indian skin.

Global brands were formulated elsewhere and made available here, white cast, heavy texture, and all. Indian brands have started to close that gap, but a different problem persists: many still rely on older-generation filters that are under increasing regulatory scrutiny for systemic absorption and safety concerns. Formulated for India. But not always with the safest or most effective ingredients to do the job.

New Light was built to solve both, Indian skin and climate at the brief stage, and a filter system that reflects where the science actually is.

Why PPD & PA++++ > SPF

Most people reach for a sunscreen and check the SPF number. For Indian skin, this is the wrong thing to look at first. SPF measures UVB protection, the rays responsible for sunburn. UVB matters, but it accounts for only about 5% of the UV radiation that actually reaches our skin.

The remaining 95% is UVA. And for Indian skin, UVA is the more consequential threat. UVA penetrates deeper, into the dermis, where it degrades collagen and elastin and accelerates photoageing. In melanin-rich skin, it triggers pigmentation disruption at a rate lighter skin tones don't experience in the same way. Tanning. Hyperpigmentation. Sun spots. These are not incidental. They are UVA doing its job, on skin that is more susceptible to exactly this kind of damage.

UVA protection isn't measured by SPF. It's measured by PPD (Persistent Pigment Darkening), and that's what PA++++ actually tells you. The minimum PPD to claim PA++++ is 16. New Light achieves PPD 22, equivalent to 95.5% UVA protection. Not the minimum, meaningfully more. At the same time, even higher PPD ratings require heavier filter loads, which compromises texture, which compromises daily compliance. And a sunscreen that doesn't get used every day has an effective SPF of zero. With New Light, we wanted to push the PPD to its limit, while ensuring genuine, regular wearability.

New Light also protects against damage done by blue light, emitted by both the sun and screens, which contributes to oxidative stress, free radical damage, and pigmentation over time. A concern that is increasingly relevant for anyone spending significant hours in front of a device.

SPF is only part of the solution and a sunscreen that only talks about its SPF is solving approximately half the problem and presenting it as a complete solution.

The Filter Problem Most People Don't Know Is a Problem

Here is something the sunscreen category does not advertise particularly loudly: many of the most commonly used UV filters are under increasing regulatory scrutiny. Most sunscreens on the market — including many premium ones — use a mix of older-generation chemical filters. Oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone, homosalate — filters commonly used in chemical sunscreens — have raised concerns around systemic absorption and potential endocrine disruption. Several are now restricted or under review in the EU and US. Avobenzone, one of the most widely used UVA filters, is also photo-unstable. This means the protection you applied in the morning is meaningfully reduced by afternoon.

Newer-generation filters work differently. They are large-molecule filters designed to stay on the skin's surface without meaningful absorption into the bloodstream. They are photostable (do not break down under UV exposure) and deliver broad-spectrum protection. All without the white cast that makes mineral filters a non-starter for most Indian skin tones. New Light uses four of them, and none of the filters currently under regulatory scrutiny appear anywhere in the formula:

Tinosorb S — absorbs and scatters both UVA and UVB radiation across a broad spectrum, photostable
Tinosorb A2B — absorbs, reflects, and scatters UVA and UVB radiation, and reduces blue light permeability, photostable
Uvinul A Plus — absorbs UVA radiation across a wide range, targeting the wavelengths most responsible for pigmentation, photoageing, and collagen degradation
Uvinul T 150 — absorbs UVB radiation with high efficiency, intercepting the rays responsible for sunburn and direct DNA damage to skin cells

Beyond The Filters

Most sunscreens stop at prevention. New Light does not. Niacinamide regulates melanin production and distribution, working on the uneven tone and pigmentation that UV exposure drives over time. It is also a known antioxidant. Further, EGCG (from green tea extract) is a potent antioxidant that neutralises free radical damage triggered by UV exposure. The photodamage that has already accumulated is being addressed alongside the damage that hasn't happened yet.

The formula also includes Sodium Lactate and Sodium Gluconate, both natural components of the skin's own moisturising factors, which draw in and retain moisture, keeping skin comfortable throughout the day.

The Texture Problem Is Actually a Compliance Problem

The most effective sunscreen in the world does nothing sitting on a shelf.

In Indian summer conditions (high temperatures, high humidity, often high pollution) most sunscreens are deeply unpleasant to wear. They feel heavy. They pill under makeup. They leave a white cast that no amount of blending fully corrects on deeper skin tones.

The result is that people use less than they should, or skip it entirely. This matters more than it sounds. SPF ratings are calculated based on a specific application amount — use significantly less and the protection drops much faster than the numbers suggest. The figure on the tube assumes you are being generous. Most people are not being generous, because the texture makes generosity unreasonable.

New Light was formulated to make daily use a non-event. Weightless texture. A natural-skin finish that is neither matte nor obviously dewy. Zero white cast. A price point that allows for actual generosity — face, neck, the parts of your arms that see the sun every single day without you registering it.

The best sunscreen is the one you use every day. The formulation exists to make that possible.

The Testing

New Light has been independently tested to ISO 24444:2019 standards, the international benchmark for in vivo SPF testing. SPF 51.1 obtained in vivo. PA++++ UVA rating. PPD 22. Critical wavelength of 377.

These are not claimed numbers. They are third-party verified, with a registered study number: CTRI/2025/03/083452.

The Summary

Indian skin needs strong UVA protection — not just a high SPF number, and not just the minimum PA++++ threshold. It needs filters that are photostable and don't raise systemic concerns. It needs a texture that works in heat and humidity, on skin tones that have historically been an afterthought in sunscreen formulation.

New Light was built around all three. SPF 50. PA++++. PPD 22. Newer-generation filters only. No white cast. A weightless finish that makes daily use the path of least resistance.

Which, it turns out, is the only way sunscreen actually works.