The sunscreen safety standards include a SPF over 30 and water resistance.
While people are more and more prone to skin cancer, dermatologists warn that the sunscreen safety standards are not always respected by producers.
The sunscreen is frequently used as a convenient method to protect against sun damages. However, many people buy products that do not comply with the recommendations made by the authorities.
The American Academy of Dermatology reminds the public that a sunscreen should have a sun protection factor of at least 30, and it should also cover a large spectrum of UVA and UVB rays.
Sun exposure can lead to premature aging, wrinkles, sunburns and age spots.
A new study that was published in the JAMA Dermatology journal this week shows that the most popular brands of sunscreen do not meet the safety standards. The principal reason is the fact that they lack water resistance properties.
„In this cohort of highly rated sunscreen products, a significant proportion did not adhere to AAD guidelines, mostly attributable to a lack of water resistance. The most striking variation in this cohort was price, which varied by more than 3000%,” said the authors of the study.
From a scientific point of view, observing such a big difference in prices for dermatological products that display the same standard benefits to the health is indeed amazing. Moreover, the consumers did not pay any attention to the protective properties and were more interested in the cosmetic value of a product which is intended to help people avoid skin cancer.
The research team from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago studied the 1% most popular sunscreens on Amazon.com. The website is said to host around 9% of the total sunscreen sales in the US.
The study revealed that 26 of the 65 top-rated marks of sunscreen did not meet the AAD safety standards.
Almost all of the sunscreens claimed to have a protection factor over 30, and they all advertised the fact that they covered a broad spectrum of sun radiations.
The less good news is that only 62% of the popular products were water resistant.
Another conclusion of the study was that consumers offer positive ratings based on the appearance of the product. The quality comes from a second place. Clients are impressed with the color, the scent and the texture of the sunscreen, and leave details such like water resistance to the end.
The medical experts recommend people to stay in the shadow, to use protective clothing and to use a quality sunscreen which should be applied several times during the day.
Image Source: YouTube
