Some websites maintain titanium dioxide is inferior to zinc oxide, another mineral sunscreen ingredient whose core characteristics are similar to those of titanium dioxide. The reality is that titanium dioxide is a great broad-spectrum SPF ingredient and is widely used in all manner of sun-protection products. What gets confusing for some consumers is trying to decipher research that ranks sunscreen ingredients by a UV spectrum graph. By most standards, broad-spectrum coverage for sunscreen ingredients is defined as one that surpasses 360 nanometers (abbreviated as “nm” - how the sun’s rays are measured). Titanium dioxide exceeds this range of protection, but depending on whose research you read, it either performs as well as or slightly below zinc oxide.

Titanium dioxide is a versatile material with a wide range of applications. Some of its most common uses include:
1. Pigment and Food Coloring
Titanium dioxide is one of the most widely used white pigments, often used to add whiteness and brightness to products. It is used in the production of paints, coatings, plastics and other products to provide a white color or opacity.
It’s also used in food products to provide a white color. Candies, cakes and creamers are examples of foods that may contain titanium dioxide for its color enhancing and bleaching properties.
2. Cosmetics
Titanium dioxide is often used as a UV absorber and pigment in cosmetic products, such as foundations, lipsticks, creams, sunscreens and other skin care products. It helps protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV rays by blocking them, while providing a brightening effect.
However, it can cause photosensitivity, which

Titanium dioxide prices varied across the Asia-Pacific region in this quarter. The supply disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine made the supply of the feedstock titanium concentrate even more problematic, and in the first half of the second quarter, a bullish market outlook prevailed. The decline in TiO2 market values in India has also been backed by a decline in demand from downstream industries like automotive and construction.

Chloride process. This process requires a high titanium feedstock. Rutile is reacted with hydrochloric acid to produce titanium tetrachloride, which can be hydrolyzed with steam or oxidized with air to render the dioxide. A rutile form of titanium dioxide is obtained.

It’s true that titanium dioxide does not rank as high for UVA protection as zinc oxide, it ends up being a small difference (think about it like being 10 years old versus 10 years and 3 months old). This is not easily understood in terms of other factors affecting how sunscreen actives perform (such as the base formula), so many, including some dermatologists, assume that zinc oxide is superior to titanium dioxide for UVA protection. When carefully formulated, titanium dioxide provides excellent UVA protection. Its UVA protection peak is lower than that of zinc oxide, but both continue to provide protection throughout the UVA range for the same amount of time.