Just when you thought you had sunscreen figured out, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new ingredient for use later this summer.

This adds another layer to the many different kinds available—from the beauty brands that are infusing their makeup and moisturizers with SPF to the environmentally conscious mineral sunscreen (the stuff that makes people’s face white).

Heading into the height of summer, here’s everything you need to know about the latest sunscreen developments.

What is this new, FDA-approved ingredient bemotrizinol?

Bemotrizinol, or BEMT, is the first new ingredient approved by the FDA since the late 1990s.

Consumers in other countries love it because it is longer lasting, provides robust sun protection and doesn’t feel greasy or leave white residue.

Dermatologists say the decision is long overdue. Bemotrizinol has been widely used for decades in Asia and in Europe.

It provides broader spectrum protection than other ingredients, shielding skin from both UVA rays—which penetrate deep into the skin, causing premature aging—and UVB rays, which cause sunburns.

Current chemical products on the market use a mix of ingredients to achieve broad-spectrum coverage, but the formulations have weaknesses and require frequent reapplication.

When can I buy it?

Companies can start using the new ingredient in their products on Aug. 9.

Kenvue, Neutrogena’s parent company, has confirmed that it is planning to add bemotrizinol to its collection but didn’t say when exactly. CVS Health said it is having conversations with its store-brand sunscreen supplier about using the ingredient.

It may take a while to see the product on drugstore shelves.

“To get new products to shelves very quickly, it really depends on the company,” Bank of America analyst Anna Lizzul said. “Innovation on some of these products can take a year.”

Does my SPF moisturizer or foundation work as sunscreen?

Given the increasing awareness of the risks of sun damage, SPF has found its way into plenty of cosmetic products. Moisturizers, foundations, concealers, powders and lip balms have increasingly been marketed with additional sun protection in the past couple of years.In stores like Ulta and Sephora, twice as many tinted moisturizers and foundations with SPF launched in the first five months of this year when compared with the same period a year ago, data provider Circana found.While extra SPF is helpful, it is important to not treat most beauty products as one-and-done sun protection, experts say. For many foundations and powders, you would need to use several more layers than you normally would to achieve the advertised SPF protection, Mount Sinai dermatologist Dr. Helen He said.

If you’re heading outside, dermatologists recommend applying sunscreen in addition to SPF cosmetics.

What SPF should I use?

The numbers on a sunscreen’s SPF label can be a bit misleading. At SPF 30, a sunscreen already blocks 97% of UVB rays. Going up from there, the difference becomes very slight—SPF 50 is just 1 percentage point more protection at 98%. SPF 100, despite the name, protects against 99% of rays. No sunscreen truly protects the skin at 100%.

Some studies suggest that SPF 100 does provide a meaningful leg up on SPF 50 sunscreens. Other health advocates have argued that the label creates a false sense of security for consumers, who might not reapply frequently enough as a result.

The FDA has toyed with imposing a cap on advertised SPF values since 2011, arguing that numbers stretching toward 100 are misleading. That cap was first proposed at SPF 50, and later increased to 60. The agency never made a final decision.

The bottom line: Dermatologists recommend daily use of an SPF 30 or higher, and reapplying every two hours.

What has better protection: mineral or chemical sunscreen?

Chemical sunscreens are considered safe by dermatologists, but studies establishing that some chemical UV filters harm coral reefs—and others pointing to possible associations with hormonal health issues in humans—have put some consumers on edge.

Before the approval of BEMT, the FDA in 2019 stated that only two mineral sunscreen ingredients could be deemed safe and effective, saying there is “insufficient data” to say the same about chemical UV filters. The following year, a study showed that chemical UV filters were absorbed into the bloodstream at levels that warrant further safety testing.

Since then, the European Union has lowered the acceptable concentration of certain chemical filters, including homosalate and oxybenzone. Australia has proposed new restrictions as well.

In the U.S., oxybenzone is in just 5% of chemical sunscreens these days, according to the Environmental Working Group. To compare, in 2007, it was in 70% of those products.

Interest in mineral sunscreen has risen significantly among U.S. consumers in the past two years, Lizzul said. New strides in formulations mean that many of the products no longer leave a white cast.

Dermatologists agree that exposure to UV rays, a known carcinogen, is far more dangerous than any specific sunscreen use.

“The best sunscreen is the one that you’re actually going to use,” Dr. He said.

In times of extreme heat, sunburns are even more dangerous because they limit the body’s ability to cool off.