New FDA Rules on Sunscreen

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Is My Sunscreen Protecting Me? New FDA Rules for Products Should Make the Answer More Clear

Millions of people each year are diagnosed with skin cancer, often caused by the sun’s harmful ultraviolet-A and ultraviolet-B rays. In fact, the Mayo Clinic estimates that, from 1979 to 2009, diagnoses of melanoma (the most dangerous form of skin cancer) jumped eight times among people ages 18 to 39 – possibly due to the rise in popularity of tanning beds.

In a recent edition of the online Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Holmes reports that
Sun Protection Factor (SPF) in some sunscreens, makeup, moisturizer, or foundation either may not be enough or only provides protection against one type of ultra-violet ray. Plus, even products that offer protection against both types of the sun’s rays needs to be applied thoroughly and frequently.

To give Americans more armor in the fight against skin cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing new guidelines on June 18th to make labels more clear on products that have sun protection properties, including makeup and sunscreen. The Wall Street Journal’s report indicates that a sunscreen’s SPF often only indicates defense against the sun’s U-V-B rays, not U-V-A – which can cause signs of age to appear on the skin. And even more importantly, both types of ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer. The bottom-line is, you may be using a sunscreen with an extraordinarily high SPF and spending all day in the sun without getting burned, giving you a false sense of protection against skin cancer because U-V-A rays are still penetrating your skin.

The FDA’s new guidelines should help determine which products offer protection against both types of ultra-violet rays. The labels will say “Broad Spectrum,” along with an indication of the product’s SPF, to give consumers an idea of it’s ability to defend against both U-V-B and U-V-A rays.

Some makeup companies, like L’Oréal USA, are already adding more U-V protection ingredients to cosmetic and sunscreen products in order to comply with the FDA’s new guidelines by the time they are implemented.

Ultimately, dermatologists say you should wear a sunscreen that protects against both types of the sun’s harmful rays, with an SPF of 15 or more, every single day. The article mentions that adequate protection is about a small shot glass of sunscreen each day applied on exposed areas of the skin. This is important even in your own home, because windows typically only block U-V-B rays. Also, lip balm with at least an SPF 15, especially for the bottom lip, should be worn daily.

If you have questions about what you should look for in products that offer protection from the sun’s ultra-violet rays, or if you would like more information on skin cancer prevention and screening, please contact Dr. David Durst today.