Ultrasun

Ultrasun is a Swiss sun-protection company based in Zurich, developing and manufacturing sunscreen and after-sun products since 1992 [1]. It positions itself as a dermatological specialist for sensitive skin, and its formulas are built around protection across the full solar spectrum — UVA, UVB, infrared and blue light. The company is owned by the Lalique Group, a Swiss firm [8].

The brand remains active, with a current catalogue spanning face, body and family, children and baby, sports, tanning and after-sun ranges, and it continues to develop and produce in Switzerland after more than thirty years [6].

Ultrasun traces its beginnings to 1992, when a Swiss chemist developed the first Ultrasun sun cream [6]. According to the company, the work grew out of a personal need: the founder wanted a gentle yet protective sunscreen for his brother, who had sensitive skin and had suffered skin cancer.

The founder's identity is not settled across sources. Ultrasun's own account credits only "a Swiss chemist" and does not name him. Third-party accounts disagree: Cult Beauty names Tazio Tettamanti [7], while other published sources credit Willem Fabels and Dr. Sander Zieger [8]. The 1992 founding date, the Zurich base and the Swiss manufacturing are consistent across sources; the name of the chemist is not.

Ultrasun is owned by the Lalique Group, identified as the brand's parent company [8]. The group was previously known as Art & Fragrance and adopted the Lalique Group name in 2016 [9]. It is a Swiss company whose interests extend beyond skincare into glass art, decorative goods and perfumery.

The company describes itself as "the dermatological sun protection specialist for sensitive skin," and sums up its approach as "dermatological sun protection — without compromise." Its stated values are scientific, pure, sustainable and Swiss.

Central to the positioning is what Ultrasun calls its "clean formulas" principle: reliable protection while excluding ingredients it regards as harmful or controversial. The brand says its products leave out synthetic fragrances, mineral oils, silicones and certain emulsifiers, along with UV filters such as octocrylene and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate. Products are marketed as dermatologically tested, non-comedogenic, water-resistant and fragrance-free, and the company states they are suitable for sensitive skin and, in some ranges, for babies.

Ultrasun's range is organised around sun and after-sun care, with dedicated lines for the face, the body and family use, children and babies, sports, and tanning. Its formulas draw on a set of active ingredients the company highlights, including the antioxidant complex GSP-Plus, derived from Swiss grape seeds, and Cybright G, an algae extract used in an anti-pigmentation face fluid.

The brand's central technical claim is its lamellar structure technology. Cult Beauty describes Ultrasun as "the only sun care brand to utilise patented Lamellar technology," in which filters and skin actives are held within lamellar gel structures that lie flat on the skin to form an even, water-resistant layer [7]. The company says this structure allows effective protection at lower filter concentrations. On UVA protection specifically, Cult Beauty reports that Ultrasun exceeds EU guidelines and protects at "over 85% throughout the day" [7].

The brand states it was the first sun protection brand worldwide to receive the BASF EcoSun Pass, an environmental assessment for sunscreen formulations [6]. Its products also carry the Swiss Allergy Seal of Quality, awarded through the country's allergy centre [7]. The company describes its formulas as vegan, apart from lip products containing beeswax, and as cruelty-free and reef-friendly, and states that all development and manufacturing take place in Switzerland.

Cult Beauty has published a guide to Ultrasun covering its Swiss heritage and lamellar technology. The Good Shopping Guide, an ethical brand directory, assessed the brand and gave it a score of 65 out of 100, narrowly meeting its ethical benchmark of 67 [8].

In that same assessment, The Good Shopping Guide gave Ultrasun a bottom rating in its Environmental Report criterion. The rating reflected the sustainability reporting of the parent Lalique Group, which the guide said "does not contain any targets and also has limited evidence of progress on previous targets" [8]. The brand's animal-welfare and vegan ratings were classed as acceptable, a middle rating.

Ultrasun is an active brand with a maintained website and current product lines. It reports more than three decades of continuous development and production in Switzerland, and it remains part of the Lalique Group's portfolio.