Bacitracin Zinc vs Zinc Oxide

Zinc oxide is also used in many products for skin as zinc bacitracin.

Some people even can’t help asking: Is bacitracin zinc the same as zinc oxide?

But what exactly is the main difference between those two?

Excluding their chemical property differences, Zinc Oxide is an inorganic chemical, Bacitracin zinc is an organic peptide.

They have different Cas no, molecular weight, etc.

Zinc oxide is mainly used to treat skin conditions, including dermatitis, itching due to eczema, diaper rash, and acne.

Bacitracin zinc is mainly used as an antibiotic for infections or wounds.

Below are the detailed zinc oxide usage introductions and comparisons.

Zinc oxide is contained in baby powder and barrier creams to treat diaper rashes, calamine cream, anti-dandruff shampoos, and antiseptic ointments.

It is also a component in tape (zinc oxide tape) used by athletes as a bandage to prevent soft tissue damage during workouts.

Zinc oxide can be used in ointments, creams, and lotions to protect against sunburn and other damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet light.

Zinc oxide blocks both UVA (320–400 nm) and UVB (280–320 nm) rays of ultraviolet light to prevent sunburn.

It works as the broadest spectrum UVA and UVB absorber.

Zinc oxide and the other most common physical sunscreen, titanium dioxide, are considered to be nonirritating, nonallergenic, and non-comedogenic.

Whereas bacitracin zinc works by killing bacteria in the wounds to get quick healing.

But the Zinc oxide cost is only 1/50 of the bacitracin zinc price, if not even less.