manufacturers are waiting for approval to create and market that better balance."Īccording to EWG, nearly all reviewed sunscreens filtered harmful UVA rays, a nearly 20 percent increase since 2007. system is not as sensitive for UVA," Henry Lim of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health. "Essentially, sunscreens in Europe have a better probability of balanced protection, and the U.S. In the U.S., products only measure SPF based on protection against ultraviolet B rays, which cause sunburn. meet national standards for UVA protection, about half don't meet European standards. Last year, researchers with New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center published a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology that found that while most high-SPF sunscreens in the U.S. European sunscreens may fare better than American products when it comes to UVA protection. “None of the mineral sunscreens in our tests this year did well enough to make our list of recommendations,” Consumer Reports said. In fact, zinc oxide is EWG's top choice for sun protection.īut Consumer Reports argues that so-called "natural or mineral sunscreens" don't actually perform very well. Researchers at EWG and Consumer Reports fall on separate sides of the debate when it comes to just how effective mineral sunscreens are.Īccording to EWG, zinc oxide and titanium-oxide based mineral sunscreens, which contain tiny nanoparticles to reduce or eliminate chalky tints on the skin, have favorable ratings. The effectiveness of mineral sunscreens is debatable. The American Academy of Dermatology standards require an SPF of 30 or higher. This could lead to other types of sun damage (like melanoma risk) and health risks such as allergic reactions, tissue damage, hormone disruption and more.īut that doesn’t mean you should aim for products with low SPF. “People tend to misuse these high SPF products, spending more time in the sun without reapplying, putting them and their families at greater risk of UV damage.”Īccording to EWG researchers, high-SPF products contain more sun-filtering chemicals than others. “SPF values of 75, 80, or 100 lull Americans into thinking their skin is fully protected from the sun’s harmful rays for extended periods of time,” EWG senior scientist David Andrews said. A higher SPF level doesn’t always mean it’s a better product.ĮWG also urges the public to be wary of high SPF numbers, which they consider a marketing gimmick in the industry. "As a precaution, pregnant women may want to choose a sunscreen without the ingredient retinol palmitate or retinyl palmitate," the organization wrote. Still, C onsumer Reports says retinoids used for skin conditions like acne have been previously linked to birth defects. Retinyl palmitate has not been studied in humans. How harmful is it, really?ĮWG warns that retinyl palmitate "may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight," citing a 2012 study from the National Institutes of Health. The same goes for retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A. Explore » RELATED: 6 mistakes people commonly make when applying sunscreenīut EWG warns that the allergen “soaks through skin and can be detected in the bodies of nearly every American” as a hormone disruptor.Ĭonsumer Reports noted that oxybenzone and octinoxate have been found to cause hormonal changes in animals, but short-term studies in people didn't show any adverse effects. The American Academy of Dermatology also continues to recommend sunscreens with oxybenzone. According to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, "Oxybenzone and octinoxate, found in the majority of sunscreens, are safe and effective over-the-counter (OTC) active ingredients recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as important aides in decreasing the risk of developing skin cancer, the most common cancer in the U.S," the association told the Washington Post.
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