This Just In: FDA Delays Proposed Sunscreen Labels

Thank you, everyone, for your patience, as I had to travel this week to New York City for an interview! 

With that said, a reader recently passed along a great story in the New York Times to me.  Apparently, the new FDA-proposed sunscreen labeling system — which proposed to rank the strength of UVA protection on a scale from one to four stars, and to limit the number of UVB ratings to state a maximum of “50+” — has been put on the back burner, at least for now. The reason for the delay?  According to the New York Times, the question is that “some manufacturers have objected, arguing…that consumers will mistakenly assume that the stars represent an overall product quality rating like those used in restaurant reviews.”  In addition, the FDA is currently debating “whether manufacturers, without having to submit scientific evidence, should be allowed to make marketing claims that sunscreen can do more than just prevent sunburn, or whether the burden lies on the F.D.A. to disprove other claims [as well].”  Like anti-aging, for instance. Very interesting indeed.

So what is a sunscreen fiend to do?  Currently, scientific evidence seems to point to the fact that Helioplex (in Neutrogena products), Mexoryl (in L’Oreal products) and Tinosorb (in European-Asian markets only) may provide the best UVA protection.  In addition, you may want to consider using the highest SPF you can found: as the amount of UVB an SPF is effective at blocking is directly proportional to the SPF number.   According to Dr. Rachel Herschenfeld, SPF 30 allows 1/30 UVB rays, or 3.3% through, meaning it blocks about 96.6% of UVB rays; SPF 50 allows 1/50 UVB rays, or 2.0% through, meaning it blocks 98.0% of UVB rays.  However, because some individuals experience sensitivity when wearing sunscreen upon exposure to sunlight (called “phototoxicity”), particularly when using a formulation with a higher SPF, you may want to test different types to determine the best one for you.