Sunscreens That Work; Sunscreens That Don’t

The good new is the FDA is working on regulations that will someday require sunscreen makers to verify their advertising claims. The bad news is the FDA has been working on the regulations since 1978. In the meantime, sunscreen marketers have been using SPF (Sunscreen Protective Factor) to designate the effectiveness of their products. Trouble is, a higher SPF is good for two things: a false sense of security, and a greater risk of skin irritation. The Washington Post quotes Warwick Morison, a professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, noting that an SPF of 30 blocks around 98 percent of UVB rays, while an SPF of 100 guards against 99 percent of them. It's also not great that SPF ratings in the United States are solely related to UVB rays, which cause sunburn, and do not address UVA rays, which can trigger deeper skin damage. So what's a sun loving person to do? REI recommends two things: 1. Find a sunscreen made with sunscreen ingredients that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has identified as providing broad-spectrum UV protection. 2. Really slather it on.