Decoding Beauty Breakthroughs: Coty Files Patents for Protect + Repair Sunscreens

International beauty major Coty has developed dual-power sunscreens that offer full-light protection while simultaneously repairing damage – a smart principle but one that will need solid in vivo science and clear consumer communication, say experts.

Published in June 2026, the two international patents (I & II) outline formulations designed to simultaneously protect skin from solar radiation while offering full-light repair or full-light thermoprotection. Both blends use herbal and fruit extracts in combination with amino acids, antioxidants, and a postbiotic or melatonin, for repair and thermoprotection aspects–ingredients that work synergistically with more traditional UV filters and light reflectors, Coty said.

Skin Aging, Skin Senescence and Thermal Aging

“There remains a need for sun protection compositions that not only protect from solar radiation but also repair the damage that is caused by solar radiation even in the presence of a sunscreen,” Coty wrote in its first patent filing. 

According to the company, residual thermal damage occurs to skin exposed to sunlight from ultraviolet B (UVB) and infrared (IR) rays, even when it is protected by UV filters. Coty's work, it said, has shown that a “skin thermoprotecting agent” can therefore be used to protect the skin from this “residual thermal damage”.

“There remains a need for sun protection compositions that not only protect from solar radiation but also provide full-light thermoprotection in the wavelength range 280 to 1400mm, thus protecting the skin from sun rays reaching it as well as from their consequences, including heat damages induced by IR rays,” the company wrote in its second patent filing.

Coty's first formulation centers on a blend of creatine, bifida ferment lysate, and/or Sechium edule fruit extract to repair DNA damage to the skin caused by full-light exposure, tackling both skin aging and skin senescence. “Without beyond bound by theory, it is believed that the repair derives from the repair action of bifida ferment extract against damage caused by UVB radiation and the repair action of Sechium edule fruit extract against damage caused by UVA radiation, both further supported by the energy booster action exerted by creatine,” Coty wrote. “The inventors have further found that Sechium edule fruit extract helps repair damage caused by UVB and blue light, beyond what [was] known in the art.”

The second formulation utilizes glutathione, Red salvia extract, Physalis angulate extract and/or melatonin to synergistically provide thermoprotection against heat-driven damage caused by full-light radiation, tackling oxidative stress and thermal aging.

Coty said the protect and repair formulations are suitable for a range of topical formats, including emulsions, suspensions, gels, creams, ointments, and aerosol foams, as well as powders, sprays, and foundations. The inventions can also be used in a transdermal patch format or via intradermal or subcutaneous administration, the company said.

The Expert View: The Pros and Cons of Simultaneous Protection and Repair

Two independent experts were contacted to discuss the true potential of Coty's inventions designed to offer simultaneous repair and protection from full-light solar radiation.

Antony Young, expert on ultraviolet (UV) radiation and DNA photodamage and Emeritus Professor of Experimental Photobiology at St John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, said both concepts are certainly possible. 

Offering simultaneous protection and repair within one formulation, and using natural products to do so, is a “good idea in principle,” Young said, and “should not be too difficult; it just needs good experimental design.”

A full quality assessment, however, requires in vitro work to be proven in vivo, he said. “What works in vitro does not necessarily work in vivo. Any agent that affects DNA damage/repair must be able to penetrate the skin to reach the important target cells, which are most likely to be in the basal layer, for example, the deepest layer of the epidermis.”

Uli Osterwalder, sun protection expert and founder of consulting firm Sun Protection Facilitator, said there is certainly “contradiction and conflict” in scaling and marketing dual-acting protect and repair formulas. 

“UV filters must act at the surface, whereas repair happens inside the skin,” Osterwalder explained, which could cause hurdles from a formulation point of view and also make it a “rather difficult sell to the consumer.”

Repair post-exposure also makes sense, he said. “Our body and all nature in general is adapted to the daily sun/no sun cycle. A lot of repair is happening when we sleep.”

For Young, though, the concept of repairing and protecting simultaneously is important, given repair is not 100% accurate. “The damage itself, before repair happens, is likely to trigger other adverse effects,” he said, including mutations that are persistent. Evidence also shows that damage still occurs after the ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure stops. 

Thermal damage, however, is not a significant concern “in the scale of things,” according to the expert. “I have never been convinced that thermoprotection is necessary, at least with normal sunlight exposure.”

Looking ahead, Osterwalder said the danger of dual-action sun care formulas is that they can distract from “the core task of sunscreens,” which is to protect against UV radiation that causes erythema and skin cancer.

“As chairperson of the Technical Standardisation Committee ISO/TC 217 Cosmetics, we developed methods to measure the SPF and the UVA-PF, but we did not develop a method to measure, for example, Blue Light protection. There is a reason for that. We prioritize our work. The most important and urgent work is on UV-Radiation,” the expert said. 

While Visible Light (VL) protection was discussed, given there are damaging effects that deserve to be protected against, the committee found no reason to “get active” on future developments here yet, nor on Infrared (IR) light exposure. “Any future work has to be based on scientific evidence and a consensus among the committee members.”