Stabilizer, no toxicity. Salicylate-from Benzoic Acid. Light and colorless, faintly aromatic, very stable. Low toxicity, low skin irritation. Obtained as a white flaky solid with a delicate persistent roselike odor, and soluble in most fixed oils and in mineral oil.
Tanning is the body's way to protect itself against the harmful rays of the sun.
When sunlight hits the hard keratin cells contained in the epidermis, the body's immune response is triggered. The production of Epidermal cells is accelerated, causing a thicker layer of hard cells to form which protects the underlying cell layers from the continued onslaught of the sun's rays. Melanin, a series of microscopic grains of color pigment ranging from red to brown to yellow, is the body's own sunscreen. When UV rays hit the skin, increased production of melanin is stimulated. Melanin is actually injected into the nuclear membranes of epidermal cells and in order to protect the DNA from further damage.