On Your Face: Sunscreens Lack Punch

Associated Press (+ over 200 outlets), Samantha Critchell
Published June 26, 2007

ON YOUR FACE: Sunscreens lack punch When you reach for the SPF this summer, you may be getting less protection than you think. In an analysis of 800 sunscreens, only one in every six offered necessary protection against the sun's ultraviolet rays along with an assurance that its ingredients were safe to use, reported Jane Houlihan of Environmental Working Group. The group's Skin Deep database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com) ranks the safety of cosmetics. "For sunscreen, we found there isn't a perfect product," she said. "It's about a balancing act of effectiveness and safety of ingredients." It doesn't help, she added, that there are no federal guidelines covering sunscreens, although the FDA has to give a thumbs-up to active ingredients. For consumers, the biggest problem is that SPF ratings don't take into account whether the sunscreen protects against UVA rays in addition to UVB or if the product is stable after exposure to the sun. Generally, products that fared better using the Environmental Working Group standards were zinc- or titanium dioxide-based sunscreens that gave broad-spectrum protection. Houlihan said they also sit on top of skin, unlike the chemical or synthetic active ingredients that are absorbed. But, she cautioned, even the sunscreens that received lower ratings would be a better choice than no sunscreen at all. "For products that aren't rated high, the most common reason is no UVA protection, which means you're only getting half the protection you need _ which is better than nothing," Houlihan said. "The advice is always wear sunscreen when you're in the sun, and this is a tool to help you find the most effective and safest ones."