Sunscreens May Be More Effective Soon
Sunscreens will be re-labeled soon, and some will be phased out under a proposed regulation announced today by the FDA. The changes also mean it will be easier to find sunscreens that protect against UVA rays (those that cause damage but don’t cause sunburn).
The safety of some ingredients is questionable
Many of the ingredients in sunscreen are similar to non-SPF products like lotions. What makes it a sunscreen is the special ingredients that either reflect or absorb ultraviolet rays. Currently 16 ingredients are approved for this purpose and are currently on the market. The FDA announced today that:
- Only two ingredients (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) are “generally recognized as safe and effective.” These are physical sunscreens that reflect ultraviolet light off your skin.
- The two ingredients, PABA and trolamine salicylate, are not generally recognized as being safe or effective and will not be used in future sunscreens.
- For the other 12 ingredients, the FDA didn’t think they had enough evidence to make a decision one way or another. They ask manufacturers to conduct additional tests and provide their data.
Part of the reason for the ingredient revision is that early sunscreen regulations assumed that people would only use a small amount of low SPF sunscreen, and that not most of the ingredients are absorbed into the skin. We now know more is being absorbed and it is worth doing additional testing to make sure these levels are still safe.
Sunscreens should block UVA better
The sun’s rays that damage the skin are of two types: UV-B causes redness, known as sunburn, and UV-A causes thickening and wrinkles over time. (There are other rays, but these are the main ones that have been studied.) You can be exposed to UVA even through windows, and even during times of the day or season when you are unlikely to get sunburn. … Both types can contribute to the development of skin cancer.
The SPF label on sunscreen only tells you how well a product protects against UVB. To find out if it has UVA protection, search for the words broad spectrum. It is currently impossible to determine how strong UV-A protection is (at least not on US packaging). Your high SPF sunscreen may have very little UVA protection and you will stay in the sun and never know.
Looking ahead, the FDA wants all sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or higher to have a broad spectrum. They should be protecting against more of the UVA spectrum than they are now, and the degree of UVA protection should match the overall UV protection. What this really means is that you can count on SPF 50 sunscreen, which will provide more protection from UVA and UVB rays than SPF 15.
The wording may change before the rule officially takes effect.
“Today’s announcement will lead to a fundamental change in the formulation of sunscreens,” David Andrews, Senior Scientist for the Working Group on the Environment , told a news conference today. (We have issues with the EWG , but they are watching the industry closely.) Companies won’t want to be caught off guard when the rules finally go into effect, which could happen in a few months or years, so they’re probably thinking right now about how they can reformulate their products.
Other suggested changes include:
- There may be no more combined sunscreens and insect sprays (pesticides and personal care products have too different labeling requirements and haven’t been tested enough together).
- Products such as sunscreen powders, wipes, and shampoos may be banned altogether unless additional testing is carried out by their manufacturers.
- Sunscreens with SPF 15 may not be available at all on the market. (This has yet to be decided, but the FDA document essentially asks the question, what’s the point of all this?)
- High SPFs may be unacceptable, with the proposed ’60+’ cap and a hard cap of 80. While there is research showing that higher SPFs may actually work better , it remains controversial whether the numbering system is robust enough to make this meaningful. difference for consumers.