Your earliest experience with zinc oxide sunscreens might have been with a thick, gloppy lotion that made you look like a melting marshmallow.

But zinc oxide sunscreens have come a long way in recent decades. The principal scientist for Neutrogena in the Sun Care Product and Process Development division, Julie Bianchini, Ph.D., has made it her business to help break those stereotypes.

How Does Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Work?

Neutrogena has been formulating mineral sunscreens for over 25 years and was one of the first companies to include a zinc oxide concentration of higher than 20% in its mineral sunscreen lotion. It takes 9 months to a year for Neutrogena to formulate a new sunscreen.

Here’s how Neutrogena innovates on that old zinc oxide formula, a peek into that process.