SPF number on sunscreen may not be accurate
By Alena Hall, Huffington Post
When it comes to skin care products, it’s important to know about any unwanted chemicals lurking in that ingredient label. But when it comes to sunscreen specifically, it turns out that we have to worry about what’s not in the bottle, too.
In preparation for the sunniest of seasons, Consumer Reports recently tested 34 different sunscreen products to see if the sun protection factor strength claimed on the label actually matched the SPF protection in the cream. Sadly, almost a third of the brands tested didn’t hold up to their own standards, missing the mark by anywhere from 16 to a whopping 70 percent. What’s more, eight of the 11 failed products had an actual SPF of less than 30, which is the level of protection recommended by most dermatologists and other skincare experts.
“The Food and Drug Administration requires sunscreen manufacturers to test their products and label them correctly,” Trisha Calvo, Consumer Reports’ health and food deputy content editor said in a statement. “Our findings are troubling becauseconsumers may not be getting the amount of SPF protection they think they’re getting. On top of that, people often do not apply the right amount of sunscreen, fail to reapply it frequently enough, and don’t minimize their sun exposure, which could potentially put them at risk for overexposure to the sun’s rays.”
