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Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection

BACKGROUND: New research has attributed increased significance to the causal link between ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation and immunosuppression and carcinogenesis. In the United States, sunscreens are labeled with only their sun protection factor (SPF) and an imprecise term “broad‐spectrum protection....

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Autores principales: Andrews, David Q., Rauhe, Kali, Burns, Carla, Spilman, Emily, Temkin, Alexis M., Perrone‐Gray, Sean, Naidenko, Olga V., Leiba, Nneka
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9298345/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34601762
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phpp.12738
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author Andrews, David Q.
Rauhe, Kali
Burns, Carla
Spilman, Emily
Temkin, Alexis M.
Perrone‐Gray, Sean
Naidenko, Olga V.
Leiba, Nneka
author_facet Andrews, David Q.
Rauhe, Kali
Burns, Carla
Spilman, Emily
Temkin, Alexis M.
Perrone‐Gray, Sean
Naidenko, Olga V.
Leiba, Nneka
author_sort Andrews, David Q.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: New research has attributed increased significance to the causal link between ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation and immunosuppression and carcinogenesis. In the United States, sunscreens are labeled with only their sun protection factor (SPF) and an imprecise term “broad‐spectrum protection.” Sunscreen marketing and efficacy evaluations continue to be based primarily on skin redness (sunburn) or erythema. We sought to evaluate the ultraviolet (UV) protection offered by common sunscreen products on the US market using laboratory‐measured UV‐absorption testing and comparing with computer‐modeled protection and the labeled SPF values. This approach enables an investigation of the relationship between the labeled SPF and measured UVA protection, a factor that is ignored in current regulations. METHODS: Fifty‐one sunscreen products for sale in the United States with SPF values from 15 to 110 and labeled as providing broad‐spectrum protection were tested using a commercial laboratory. All products were evaluated using the ISO 24443:2012 method for sunscreen effectiveness. The final absorbance spectra were used for analysis of in vitro UV protection. RESULTS: In vitro SPF values from laboratory‐measured UV absorption and computer modeling were on average just 59 and 42 percent of the labeled SPF. The majority of products provided significantly lower UVA protection with the average unweighted UVA protection factor just 24 percent of the labeled SPF. CONCLUSION: Regulations and marketplace forces promote sunscreens that reduce sunburn instead of products that provide better, more broad‐spectrum UV protection. The production and use of products with broad spectrum UV protection should be incentivized, removing the emphasis on sunburn protection and ending testing on people.
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spelling pubmed-92983452022-07-21 Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection Andrews, David Q. Rauhe, Kali Burns, Carla Spilman, Emily Temkin, Alexis M. Perrone‐Gray, Sean Naidenko, Olga V. Leiba, Nneka Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed Original Articles BACKGROUND: New research has attributed increased significance to the causal link between ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation and immunosuppression and carcinogenesis. In the United States, sunscreens are labeled with only their sun protection factor (SPF) and an imprecise term “broad‐spectrum protection.” Sunscreen marketing and efficacy evaluations continue to be based primarily on skin redness (sunburn) or erythema. We sought to evaluate the ultraviolet (UV) protection offered by common sunscreen products on the US market using laboratory‐measured UV‐absorption testing and comparing with computer‐modeled protection and the labeled SPF values. This approach enables an investigation of the relationship between the labeled SPF and measured UVA protection, a factor that is ignored in current regulations. METHODS: Fifty‐one sunscreen products for sale in the United States with SPF values from 15 to 110 and labeled as providing broad‐spectrum protection were tested using a commercial laboratory. All products were evaluated using the ISO 24443:2012 method for sunscreen effectiveness. The final absorbance spectra were used for analysis of in vitro UV protection. RESULTS: In vitro SPF values from laboratory‐measured UV absorption and computer modeling were on average just 59 and 42 percent of the labeled SPF. The majority of products provided significantly lower UVA protection with the average unweighted UVA protection factor just 24 percent of the labeled SPF. CONCLUSION: Regulations and marketplace forces promote sunscreens that reduce sunburn instead of products that provide better, more broad‐spectrum UV protection. The production and use of products with broad spectrum UV protection should be incentivized, removing the emphasis on sunburn protection and ending testing on people. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021-10-19 2022-05 /pmc/articles/PMC9298345/ /pubmed/34601762 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phpp.12738 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
spellingShingle Original Articles
Andrews, David Q.
Rauhe, Kali
Burns, Carla
Spilman, Emily
Temkin, Alexis M.
Perrone‐Gray, Sean
Naidenko, Olga V.
Leiba, Nneka
Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection
title Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection
title_full Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection
title_fullStr Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection
title_full_unstemmed Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection
title_short Laboratory testing of sunscreens on the US market finds lower in vitro SPF values than on labels and even less UVA protection
title_sort laboratory testing of sunscreens on the us market finds lower in vitro spf values than on labels and even less uva protection
topic Original Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9298345/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34601762
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phpp.12738
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