New FDA Sunscreen Rules

The FDA released some new rules about sunscreen, which will go into effect next year. Some of these new rules are probably good, including a rule that will require suncreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) less than 15 to carry a warning that they are not shown to prevent skin cancer, only burning. The FDA is implementing tests before they allow a sunscreen to be labeled as "broad spectrum," and this is probably a good thing too.

A number of concerns remain or have been exacerbated by these new rules, though. To start, the maximum SPF labelling now allowed will be "50+". Supposedly this rule has been created because there is not enough evidence to suggest that a sunscreen with an SPF of, say, 100, is superior to a sunscreen with an SPF of 50. The fact is, though, that higher SPF sunscreens have been shown to be superior to SPF 50 sunscreens in high-UV environments.

Moreover, I believe companies have been encouraged to make better sunscreens by being allowed to market higher SPFs. True, there is no evidence that an SPF 100 is better than, say, an SPF 85, but when everything is "50+" it will be impossible to differentiate the ability of good sunscreens to protect, and this has been shown to be important in trials comparing sunscreens with SPF 50 to sunscreens with SPF 85.

Furthermore, FDA testing is flawed. Current rules require a sunscreen to be applied at 2mg per square cm, and most people apply sunscreen less than half this thickly. SPF protection declines rapidly with thin application, so if you apply at 1mg/square cm you will get less than an SPF 25, which, frankly, is not good enough for at-risk consumers in high-UV environments or with fair skin.

Another disappointment in these new rules relates to UVA coverage. Unfortunately the FDA continues to fail to give consumers easy-to-read labelling relating to UVA protection. Many sunscreens will be allowed to be labelled "broad spectrum" that fail to meet basic UVA protection standards in Europe. Again, the labelling encourages mediocrity and I am afraid it will give consumers a false sense of security.

Good luck to all of us in finding our new favorite sunscreen when the labels change next summer!