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Product Comparison: Sun Protection

As this product comparison shows, paying attention to differences pays off. It applies to both product groups: for sunscreen products certified as natural and organic cosmetic products and for conventional sunscreens with chemical sun protection.
Enjoying the sun without regret – who would not want that? But for skin, the sun can be both friend and foe. Enjoyed correctly and in moderation, it stimulates the body and soul. Excessive time in the sun is paid for mercilessly: skin ages prematurely, and, in the worst cases, skin cancer can be the price paid for seeking that deep tan.

	UVA protection: new regulations
	Being in the sun involves exposure to short-wave ultraviolet B rays and long-wave ultraviolet A rays. Until now, the protection factor has been based on UVB ray protection alone. According to an EU recommendation, sun-protection products should now also offer a certain degree of UVA protection. There is an official UVA label that designates products with UVA protection recommended by the EU. Look for the official UVA label, especially on natural and organic cosmetic products”! Sun-protection filters guarantee UVA and UVB ray protection. A quantitatively powerful combination of sun-protection filters can be found in sun-protection products with a factor of 30, 40, or 50, which can comprise up to 30% of the product.

Sun-protection filters: chemical and physical sun protection

Conventional sun-protection products almost always involve chemical sun-protection filters (UVA filters, UVB filters and/or broadband filters against UVA and UVB rays).

• Such sun-protection filters do not come between the skin and rays like a protective coat, but rather work through reactions on and with the skin. These processes are the reason for their frequently significant side-effects.
• Only physical sun protection is used in certified natural cosmetic products. It consists of micropigments that reflect and scatter sunlight; rays are also absorbed to a minor extent. The micropigments titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are generally used as physical sun-protection substances.
• This type of sun protection has two decisive advantages: it involves none of the side-effects that synthetic sun-protection filters can have, and has no negative environmental impact.

Synthetic sun-protection filters as a multiple stress

The question of whether the advantages of synthetic sun-protection filters actually outweigh the damage they can cause – both for people and for the environment – is a highly controversial subject.

• According to the Cosmetics Directive, only a certain number of agents are allowed, and maximum quantities have been defined for each one.
• Numerous sun-protection filters pose a significant risk, since the filtering function is based on the fact that molecules absorb a certain wavelength range. In the process, they can be modified. New compounds can be formed that have substantial allergenic potential or can lead to phototoxic reactions, i.e., become unstable in the presence of light or the skin’s own enzymes.
• A study conducted by the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Zurich also found that synthetic sun-protection filters react like estrogen in laboratory tests.
• For years, the cosmetics industry has refuted objections to synthetic sun-protection filters as unfounded. Indirectly, though, it has confirmed the criticism: many sun-protection filters are no longer used today, and some of them are not even allowed any longer. The ongoing arguments against synthetic sun-protection filters are still based on their active principle and the fact that filters that are harmful and damaging to the environment.

Sun-protection categorization     Low SPF 6 and 10 Medium SPF 15, 20, and 25 High SPF 30 and 50 Very high SPF 50+

Why a higher factor does not help

Is a sun-protection factor of 15 inadequate? No. Unfortunately, the EU did put a stop to the numbers game in its latest recommendation; countermeasures were only taken against excesses, such as sun-protection factors of up to 100.

• Products with extremely high sun-protection factors are expensive – and have little extra effect. Everything over factor 20 makes an insignificant difference in terms of protective effect. The protective effect is 93.3% UVB protection for factor 15, 96% for factor 20, 97.4% for factor 30, and 97.5% for factor 40.
• For the increments between sun-protection factors of 15 and 50+, the overall increase in effect over the six categories (20, 25, 30, 40, 50, and 50+) is only 6.7%, which gives an average 1% improvement per increment. The difference is even slimmer for factors 40 to 50+, where the percentage range per increment is 0.x.
• Prof. Dr. med. Eckard Breitbart, Head of the Dermatological Center Buxtehude and Vice Chairman of the Association of Dermatological Prevention (ADP), says “The rise in sun-protection factors amounts to taking economic advantage of a psychological factor” (www.aerzteblatt-studieren.de). In Dr. Breitbart’s view, the use of products with a sun-protection factor of over 20 does not make any sense.
• This view is consistent with the EU European Commission’s 2006 recommendation when it declared that “The increase in protection from one number to the next is insignificant, particularly in the upper ranges. An agent with a sun-protection factor of 15 absorbs 93% of UVB rays, and a product with a sun-protection factor of 30 absorbs 97% of UVB rays. Sun-protection factors of over 50 do not significantly increase UV protection.” Still, factors that make no difference have not yet been eliminated, because in the end, they do make a difference: they mean more income for manufacturers.
• Tips on the right way to deal with the sun and sunscreen can be found at the end in the product-comparison section.

Sun & sunscreen tips

Our skin is naturally well prepared for sunshine if we give it the chance to develop its natural protective capabilities. It prevents damaging rays from penetrating into deep skin layers and takes on a healthy color. Slowly accustoming skin to the sun starting in the spring is an effective preventive measure.

The skin’s own protection mechanisms

• The body develops a “thick skin,” a horny layer, as sun protection. However, this no longer works when the skin is exposed to sun for an extended period of time after a long time without exposure. The skin needs time to build up a protective layer, which is why sunbathing sessions should be kept short at first.
• The skin screens UV light by producing more melanin, the skin’s brown pigment. But melanin production takes time: for individuals with very fair skin, it takes longer than for dark-skinned, southern people.
• The skin’s only quick defense against substantial quantities of light is the production of urocanic acid. This protective surface film helps with low levels of sun exposure and dry skin, but not during a beach vacation, where it is continually washed off in water.
• When we have been exposed to too much sun, the skin begins repairing the damage caused by sunlight. It is only when an excessive amount of sun defeats these efforts that natural sun protection no longer works – and the sun worshipper is left with a sunburn.

1/2 a bottle of sunscreen for a few hours of protection

• When determining the sun protection factors, it is important to lay it on thick: 2 mg per square centimeter. In reality, though, people generally only apply 0.5 to 1 mg per square centimeter of skin area. To achieve the protection that the sun protection factor can offer, two to four times as much sunscreen would have to be applied as is normally used.
• Lower application quantities dramatically reduce the protective effect. To avoid skin damage, any reduction should be limited to 50% or 60%.
• So, for factor 20: 60% of 200 minutes = 120 minutes, or 2 hours.
• Adding more sunscreen at intervals makes sense, but this does not extend the protection time! If the initial application offered two hours of protection, the protection duration remains two hours even if more sunscreen is added later.

Enjoying the sun the right way and in moderation

• Avoid intensive midday sun; wear a hat, light clothing, and sunglasses; head for shade when it becomes too much.
• Cover unprotected skin areas well.
• Children, especially infants and babies, must be particularly well protected.
• Babies should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
• Do not place babies and infants in the sun when naked. If they do play in the sun, cover as much of their skin as possible with clothing.