Are sunscreens safe to use?

May 18, 2021

Written by Vu-Hoang Lê

May 18, 2021

Written by Vu-Hoang Lê

Are the claims made by the skincare companies about their products accurate?

The recent “scandals” associated with sunscreen testing of varied brands, made us draft an article to educate our customers to know about the claims given by any skincare brand. So, during this post, we’ll check out what are claims, how are they substantiated and what do they mean. I hope it'll illustrate why it isn’t surprising that when a separate company investigated sunscreen claims themselves, they got different results.

What are claims?

Any statement you make about your product after several tests and with full authenticity. Everything from the outline of what the merchandise is, the quantity within the bottle, the ingredients that are written about and any performance statements made are claims. If it's written on your bottle, in magazine ads, on TV, radio, or a paid sponsorship on social media, they're all claims. And one among the overriding rules about claims (at least within the US) is that it's illegal to knowingly make false claims. Unless it’s political advertising, then you'll about make any claim you wish.

Example.

Let us take a simple example, the company’s claim about its sunscreen is as follow.

“Unscented Sun”

SPF50+ PA++++

+Essential Oil-Free

+ Safe ingredients for all skin types

+ UV Shield + Brightening + Anti-wrinkle

+ Calming & Moisturizing

+ Not-sticky & No-white cast

How are claims substantiated?

For most everyone, the foremost important claim on this bottle is SPF50+ PA++++

SPF is for Sun Protection Factor. The PA may be a claim made about protection against UVA rays. It simply means Protection Grade of UVA rays. This Japanese measurement ranking is predicated on the Persistent Pigment Darkening (PPD) reading at 2-4 hours of sun exposure. The protective grade of sunscreen is usually labelled as PA+, PA++, PA+++. More pluses mean more protection from UVA rays.

Testing Standard

The test methods for SPF and PA calculations are supported by two international standards for in-vivo evaluation: ISO-24442 and ISO-24444. These methods require you to use 2 mg or 2 µL per cm2 of product on the skin then irradiate it with UV from a man-made sunlight source. The minimum time until redness develops is evaluated to urge the SPF value

While these test methods are around an extended time, they're not what I might call “robust.” that's, there's tons of room for variability such as…

Condition of the subject’s skin

the tactic by which the merchandise was applied and spread

The distribution of particles within the formula

Colour evaluation for the endpoint

Claims testing isn't science.

While the tactic for testing SPF is dressed up within the costume of science, this is often NOT science. this is often a test designed to offer you a light reading that you simply can then place on your bottle to offer consumers an honest idea about how your product will work. it's not a test designed to completely tell you ways long you'll leave within the sun before you get burned or harmed by UV.

If it were “science” there would be multiple batches of an equivalent formula tested on multiple consumers with many different skin types. the thing in science is to work out the simplest answer to an issue. the target of claims substantiation is to seek out a solution that's not false in one specific test.

Then the bottom-line claims testing is usually reliable.

Realities of claims testing

The pleasant thing about SPF testing is that there's typical. for many other cosmetic claims' tests, this is often not the case. Instead, companies structure their test to demonstrate whatever they claim is true.

Skincare company claims, “Safe ingredients for all skin types”. Well, unless they’ve tested the merchandise on everyone’s skin, how would they know it’s safe? It’s conceivable that somebody out there has some skin type that a few ingredients aren't safe.

They also claim, “Not sticky”. this is often simply a subjective measure. So, if you had many people test the merchandise, several of them might say it's sticky.

You should never be surprised when ANY cosmetic claim is tested by some independent testing house, and you get different results. Claims testing isn't science. It’s just a flip of the coin.

Are sunscreens safe to use?

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