News Coverage
Is Sunscreen A Smokescreen?
Published July 15, 2007
If you’re heading to a sunny part of Europe this summer, don’t bother asking for "sunblock."
The misleading term was outlawed last week by the European Commission because no sunscreen can completely fend off the sun’s hazardous ultraviolet rays.
This might surprise consumers in the U.S., where sunscreens have no labeling regulations and the chemicals are not tested for safety before they hit the market.
Manufacturers can say whatever they want, which is why sunscreen labels claim it "blocks all harmful rays," offers "total" or "all-day protection" and is "waterproof"” even though these statements are quite misleading.
In fact, when the advocacy group Environmental Working Group analyzed the chemicals in 786 sunscreen products-something the federal Food and Drug Administration hasn’t bothered to do-they found that only 17 percent qualified as both effective and safe, meaning they block both UVA and UVB radiation, remain stable in sunlight and contain few (if any) ingredients with suspected health hazards.
The FDA has known the wild world of sun-protection products needs some oversight since it promised to set mandatory safety standards for sunscreen in the 1970s, back when sun worshipers still fried themselves in baby oil. But almost three decades later, despite some class-action lawsuits, prods from senators and more evidence that sun exposure leads to skin cancer, we’re still waiting for official guidance.
Meanwhile, to fill the gap and help consumers find the best sunscreen, the advocacy group recently launched its sunscreen investigation and rating system, which is part of the group’s searchable "Skin Deep" cosmetic safety database of more than 20,000 products.
The assessment rates and ranks the best, worst and top-selling sunscreens. It also lists which products are appropriate for children and babies, which ones have good UVA protection and which are nano-particle free.
(Many zinc and titanium-based sunscreens contain nano-size particles, something that isn’t necessarily on the label. And although the group’s analysis unexpectedly found zinc- and titanium-based products to be among the safest and most effective, the report says, "there are still concerns about the overall safety and oversight of nanotechnology as well as impacts to workers and the environment.")
In addition to ranking name-brand products, the study also dispels some common misconceptions about sunscreen.
Most consumers, for example, rate sunscreen effectiveness based on its sun-protection factor, or SPF, which refers to the product’s ability to screen the sun’s burning rays. But SPF refers only to protection against UVB rays. It doesn’t include UVA, which we now know penetrates the skin more deeply than UVB radiation and can also cause skin cancer and wrinkles.
So even though a product boasts a high SPF factor, or a “broad spectrum” marketing claim, it might offer little protection against UVA rays. Products with the poorest UVA rating included Neutrogena Sunblock Lotion (SPF 30), Neutrogena UVA/UVB Sunblock Lotion and Coppertone Sport Sunblock lotion (trigger spray), according to the EWG analysis.
Moreover, SPF 50 sunscreens provide just 1.3 percent more protection from UVB rays than SPF 30 sunscreens. That’s why it’s more important to apply sunscreen generously than to rely on products with ultra-high SPF ratings.
In Europe, the new labeling will include a standard UVA logo so consumers will know whether the products protect against both kinds of rays. They’ve also standardized terms such as “low,” “medium,” “high” and “very high” protection, depending on the SPF.
Both ideas are worth considering here.
Here are the EWG’s five most effective and safest sunscreens:
UV Natural Sport SPF 30 +
Badger SPF 30
Peter Thomas Roth Titanium Dioxide Sunblock SPF 30
Lavera Sun Screen Neutral SPF 40
Vanicream Sunscreen Sport (formerly Sunscreen SPF 35) SPF 35.
Bottom five
L’Oréal Dermo-Expertise Line Eraser, Pure Retinol, Daily Treatment with SPF 15
B. Kamins Chemist Bio-Maple day cream SPF 15
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion with SPF 15
B. Kamins Chemist Day Cream SPF 15
Caren et Cie Face Treatment (French Vanilla) SPF 15.
