Birch Juice Moisturizing UVlock - SPF45

WATER, ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, CAPRYLYL METHICONE, SPARASSIS CRISPA EXTRACT, TOCOPHEROL (VITAMIN E), NIACINAMIDE,POLYGLYCERYL-3 DISTEARATE, AVOBENZONE, HOMOSALATE, CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, OCTISALATE, BUTYLOCTYL SALICYLATE, POLY C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, TROMETHAMINE, GLYCERYL STEARATE CITRATE, BETULA PLATYPHYLLA JAPONICA JUICE, ARTEMISIA ANNUA EXTRACT, ANTHEMIS NOBILIS FLOWER OIL, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, GLYCERIN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, CARBOMER, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, HYALURONIC ACID, GLYCERYL GLUCOSIDE, PROPANEDIOL, PINUS SYLVESTRIS LEAF OIL, ALLANTOIN, PORTULACA OLERACEA EXTRACT, SODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, GLYCERYL POLYMETHACRYLATE, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, METHYLPROPANEDIOL, BIOSACCHARIDE GUM-1, BENZOTRIAZOLYL DODECYL P-CRESOL, DIETHYLHEXYL 2,6-NAPHTHALATE, POLYMETHYLSILSESQUIOXANE

The actual UV protection comes from a genuine broad-spectrum organic filter stack — Avobenzone + Homosalate + Octisalate + Butyloctyl Salicylate — positioned mid-list (8–13), which is the standard, well-established combo for UVA1/UVA2/UVB coverage in the US market. Avobenzone is notoriously photo-unstable on its own. But what's notable, and a mark of real formulation competence, is that they paired it with two separate photostabilizers (Diethylhexyl 2,6-Naphthalate = Corapan TQ, and Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl P-Cresol).

Structurally there are two claim layers here: (1) sun protection — well-supported, and (2) "moisturizing" — supported by a genuinely solid humectant complex (glycerin, butylene glycol, propanediol, sodium hyaluronate, hyaluronic acid, glyceryl glucoside) sitting independently of the "Birch" branding.

The birch itself, and the rest of the botanical dressing (Artemisia annua, Anthemis Nobilis/chamomile oil, Pinus Sylvestris leaf oil, Portulaca oleracea), all fall after 1,2-Hexanediol — your sub-1% marker — meaning the entire "birch juice" story that names the product is trace-dosed. The moisturizing claim is real; the ingredient it's named after isn't why.

Niacinamide sits at position 6, ahead of an emulsifier and ahead of avobenzone — that's a meaningfully high position, plausibly in the 2–5% range, i.e., an actually-dosed secondary active, not decoration.

• Avobenzone, Homosalate, Octisalate, Butyloctyl Salicylate — UV filter system. Standard FDA-monograph broad-spectrum combo.
• Diethylhexyl 2,6-Naphthalate (Corapan TQ) & Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl P-Cresol — Worth having. Genuine, published photostabilizers protecting the avobenzone from degrading in sunlight.
• Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate — Worth having for its actual job (optical blur/no-white-cast).
• Niacinamide — Worth having. Position suggests a real dose. 2% niacinamide reduced hyperpigmentation and increased desquamation in a split-face human RCT (Hakozaki et al., Br J Dermatol 2002); separately shown to upregulate ceramide/stratum corneum lipid synthesis (keratinocyte/in vitro model — not human RCT) (Tanno et al.). Solid ingredient; just don't expect serum-level results layered under SPF.
• Sparassis Crispa Extract (cauliflower mushroom beta-glucan) — position 4, ahead of both Vitamin E and niacinamide, which is unusually high for an "extract." Either it's genuinely dosed meaningfully, or the raw material itself is a diluted carrier that inflates its list position. Evidence is thin either way: one 2025 J Cosmet Dermatol study found a moisturizing effect for Sparassis crispa (tested alongside Dendrobium officinale as compound extracts) (PubMed / PMC) — single recent study, not independently replicated, and I couldn't verify from the abstract whether it's human corneometry data or an ex vivo model.
• Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice ("Birth Juice") — Gimmick. A birch sap has some published anti-inflammatory activity in cellular/animal models (Cosmetics 2025) and a human clinical study exists for a birch-juice spray on sensitive skin (PubMed) — but neither tells you anything about efficacy at whatever fraction of a percent it's dosed at here.
• Allantoin — Worth having, exception to the trace-dose dismissal: allantoin's effective range is inherently low (FDA OTC skin-protectant monograph allows 0.5–2%), so late list position doesn't disqualify it here the way it does the extracts above.
• Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Glyceryl Glucoside, Propanediol, Methylpropanediol, Pentylene Glycol — Humectants. Worth having, unremarkable but functional. This is why the product feels hydrating, not the birth sap.