With the dawn of every summer comes a new wave of sunscreen innovations... and debates over labelling legislation. While sunscreen labelling remains a hot topic in the industry across the globe, it hasn’t prevented sunscreen brands from delivering plenty of new and exciting innovations .
In the US sunscreen industry, all eyes have been on the Food and Drug Administration, who earlier this year Rule changes for sunscreen labelling. While the new rules don’t affect Australian labelling, the local industry has been equally stimulated by the nanotechnology debate. Nanoparticles are used in many sunscreens on the market to make sun-blocking ingredients such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide disappear” when rubbed into skin rather than remain white. The controversy stems from the fact that compounds behave differently when they measure billionths of a metre, and these nano particles can penetrate living cells and damage DNA, potentially leading to cancer. There is the theoretical possibility that if nanoparticles enter the human body through the lungs or absorbed into skin cells, they pose a health threat. It is also possible that the particles can interact with sunlight to further increase the risk of damage to skin cells.
The Australian Therapeutic Goods Association has conducted a review on the topic, which concluded that to date, evidence suggests that these nanoparticles don’t reach viable skin cells, rather they remain on the surface of the skin and thus, the threat to consumer safety is minimal. Regardless, there is no shortage of consumer pressure on the government calling for legislation requiring sunscreen labels to define whether or not they contain nanoparticle technology, and many in the cosmetics industry echo that pressure.
We’re all aware there’s an undoubted scare campaign underway on this issue,” Craig Brock, policy director for ACCORD (the body that represents the Australasian cosmetic industry) told ABC News. We think that a way forward on this is to meet head-on the public demands for information and to recommend that the government institute a mandatory labelling scheme.”
While the European government is enforcing mandatory labelling of nanotechnology by 2013, its Australian counterpart is remaining firm (for now) on their decision not to succumb to consumer demands. In fact, you may remember how Invisible Zinc got in trouble recently for labelling their products Nano Free”.
Another buzz topic in the sunscreen industry at the moment is SPF, with changes to come from Standards Australia allowing brands to label products as being SPF 50. According to Greg Doyle, product development manager for , an SPF rating of 50 will offer twice the protection of products with an SPF of 30.
The labelling changes will see many developments across the industry,” Doyle explains. As we move to a higher SPF, Standards Australia also wants to ensure we have a much higher UVA protection rating to accompany that. From a formulating point of view, that’s one of the biggest challenges. You don’t want to completely block out UVB and still be exposed the UVA – you want to keep it in proportion.”
The development of higher UVA protection is one of the main technological advancements we’re seeing in the industry at the moment. However, to utilise the SPF of sunscreen, much of the protection lies in the actual application of the product. Research shows that many people don’t apply enough sunscreen – using only about a quarter to a third of the amount needed to reach the full SPF of the product. Furthermore, a recent UK survey revealed that men are the main area of concern, with more than half of British men not bothering to applying sunscreen, compared to about a third of women.
Doyle says the key to achieving the full SPF a product has to offer, you should apply two layers of the product. This not only gives the sunscreen time to absorb into the skin, but also ensures that you’re applying enough to achieve maximum protection.”
Another area of development in sunscreen is the new technology surrounding the UV actives used, which will allow for better texture in our sunscreen products. There’s a general belief when it comes to sunscreen that as you go up in SPF you go down in texture – it gets thicker, heavier and whiter. And that used to be true, but that’s probably changing now,” says Doyle. We’re working on developing SPF 50 products now and we’re actually achieving some nicer textures than we did at SPF 30, because of the technology that’s now available in sunscreen actives.”
While we won’t be seeing any nano- or SPF-related changes to our sunscreen this year, we can expect a massive variety of products on shelves, from bestsellers to new additions, like the ClearScreen Wipes, which goes on clear and dries instantly. Another noteworthy product range on our radar this year is Banana Boat sunscreen. With a product for kids and adults, Mineral Protect sunscreens contain naturally sourced zinc that goes on clear to create natural physical blockers from the sun's rays. Check out the following brands for a range of sun-protection products:
Hamilton
ClearScreen
UV Triplegard
