An article regarding myths about sunscreen.
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An article regarding sunscreen ingredients being absorbed into the body.
A couple of follow on comment from the Nine Article:
Participants in the new study were asked to apply sunscreen on 75% of their bodies the first day. On days two through four, they were asked to apply the same amount at four times during the day.
This is very high usage and may not represent usual sunscreen use by most.
āThe skin is not a perfect barrier and so absorption of small amounts of chemicals from sunscreens (and indeed other skin care products such as cosmetics) is to be expected,ā said Rob Chilcott, a professor of toxicology at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK.
āThis does not mean that sunscreen products are unsafe to use, but that appropriate safety tests need to be performed by manufacturers,ā he added.
So while there is evidence that avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene homosalate, octisalate, and octinoxate were absorbed, this does not mean sunscreen is unsafe. The US Food and Drug Administration has indicated that it āwants manufacturers to research before they can be considered GRASE or "generally regarded as safe and effectiveā.
I suspect that the media will grab hold of the findings and produce some alarmist type articles (even though scientific evidence about safety is pending). These articles will become ammunition for those who advocate against the use of the sunscreen.
EDIT: Just found this articleā¦looks like the alarmist, sensationalist media has startedā¦
The US FDA didnāt state that the chemical pose health concerns or find that they were toxic. The research paper supports the US FDA statement that more assessments need to be undertaken to determine the risks associated with the chemicalās absorption.
The full paper for those who are interested can be found here:
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What about the chemicals in sunscreen. Has anyone ever tested these chemicals to see if they increase the chance of skin cancers.
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There are internet myths about sunscreens causing cancers, including skin cancer. There have also been celebrities/influencers which have also perpetuated these myths.
The Australian Cancer Council has addressed these mythsā¦
Sunscreen can however cause skin reactions in those sensitive/allergic to ingredients and some individuals avoid sunscreens with certain ingredients .
It is also worth noting that sunscreen donāt guarantee one wonāt get skin cancer, it just provides some protection to reduce the risk of getting skin cancer. It should also not be relied upon as being the only sun smart measure. Exposure times and time of day in the sun, clothing/hats etc also need to be considered as well.
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As summer has reached us in Australia and many of hit the beach or pool to try and keep cool, it is important to adopt slip, slop and slap. Relying on one can still result in sunburn and longterm skin damage.
Selecting a good quality sunscreen with the highest possible SPF is also important to protect the skin from the impacts of the sun.
There has been reports lately that ALDI Ombra 50 SPF Sunscreen may not be living up to the claimed SPF labellingā¦
ā¦with a number of users complaining that still get severely burnt when applying the sunscreen regularly over the course of a day. Looking at Product Review, it appears that a considerable number of other users of the recent batches of sunscreen have also bee having the same problemā¦getting sunburnt while using the sunscreenā¦
I wonder if there is a problem with this particular sunscreen not having a consistent quality and that it may have been made with a low SPF, lower than that nominated on the label.
I also wonder if there are community members which have also experienced having sunburn from using Aldi or other commonly available sunscreens, after applying the sunscreen in accordance with the labelling?
It might be one for Choice to look into especially if they can get their hands on one of the Aldi sunscreens which there has been reports of sunburn still occurring after its use.
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An article offering some timely advice regarding sunburn.
Some more advice regarding avoiding getting sunburnt.
An article regarding many sunscreens actually providing afraction of their claimed protection.
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Is the Cancer Council selling sunscreen with chemicals in it. There was a doctor on TV saying that you can get Sunscreen with all natural mixtures. We need to know which ones these are because they are hard to find and unless you recommend them young Mothers wonāt take any notice.
Yes, otherwise they would be selling empty containers.
He/she would be promoting the use of chemicals too.
If you are making the distinction between synthetic and naturally occurring chemicals then I donāt see why. Synthetic does not imply harmful and naturally occurring does not imply harmless. Each substance you apply to your skin has to separately evaluated, sorting into arbitrary categories will not do the job.
Whether ānaturalā sunscreens are effective is the same question as whether other kinds are. If you allow zinc oxide cream as being natural (despite coming out of a factory) then it is fairly effective, depending on its opacity.
Hopefully young mothers will notice what their doctor and child health centre says.
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Zinc Oxide and or Titanium Dioxide are the usual chemicals that most ānaturalā sunscreens rely on as the active ingredient. Mostly manufactured but it would be a possiblity to source an untreated naturally occurring oxide but it would come with impurities that I would be hesitant to use and would need extraction techniques involving other chemicals to ensure purity.
Then there is the non-nano discussion held by some. Study of effects place this risk use of nano particles as negligible, two links provided but there are others:
So the use of āchemicalsā is unavoidable and the natural ingredients used are also chemicals whether organically derived or not. Organically derived chemicals can also be most deadly to a human,e.g., Ricin CDC | Facts About Ricin, Strychnine Strychnine - Wikipedia and Cyanide CDC | Facts About Cyanide, all are naturally occurring and organically produced. Even Jojoba oil is classed as a Class 2B compound (possibly carcinogenic) as is Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide.
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Cancer Council Ultra Sunscreen SPF50+ 250ml
This sunscreen has the name CancerCouncil on it. It is manufactured by Vitality Brands. It is supposed to be water resistant for 4 hours. You slop this product on for protection and get burnt. Have a look at productreview.com.au.
People are getting seriously burnt, complaints have been made, but nothing happens, and no action is taken by either Cancer Council or Vitality Brands. I have lodged a complaint with Product Safety Australia, I have contacted Cancer Council who referred me to Vitality Brands, who will ātestā the product when I return it.
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Welcome to the Community @SuperSteph,
I merged your topic into the existing one about sun screens, and if you peruse it from the beginning you will see a few similar concerns with various sunscreens. Thanks for raising your concern, and especially that you have reported it to the CC/Vitality Brands.
Many issues relate to improper use, and some may be the formulation or being used well after expiration - it seems many people are oblivious the expiration on sunscreen is a real issue. In some cases a personās skin is more relevant than any sunscreen, for example my partner who has very fair skin will āgrill to a crispā in a few minutes regardless of sunscreens.
If and when you receive a formal reply we hope you will post it here.
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Hi @SuperSteph, welcome to the community.
The challenge with sunscreen is that many donāt know how much to use and very often too little sunscreen is applied to the body. This is highlighted earlier in the thread.
Even for a product like Cancer Council Ultra Sunscreen SPF50+ 250ml, the label states āOn an average sized adult, approximately 35mL should be applied. This is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of sunscreen to each arm, leg, front of body, back of body and face (including neck and ears).ā.
This means that for the 250mL container, it only has about 7 body applications. If one applies every 4 hours, this means 250mL would only last a few days. I suspect that there would be very few consumers that apply the sunscreen to that recommended on the label. Which raises an issueā¦if one does not apply the sunscreen as recommended on the label, a SPF of 50 canāt be achieved. Not applying as recommended means the sun protection factor will be significantly less than SPF50, thus increasing the risk of sunburn in a short time and/or it being washed off after a short time in the water.
It would be interesting to know if you applied the sunscreen in accordance with the label.
I now apply sunscreen heavily after understanding how SPF ratings are calculated. It is not an overly enjoyable exercise as the skin literally drips with sunscreen and ones skin feels greasy/slippery and very shiny after application. I donāt like the feeling of it on me to meet the application rates and now prefer to wear long sleeve/pants, broad brim hat and SPF rated sunglasses when in the sun for extended periods - and only apply sunscreen to those exposed areas (face, ears, neck and back of the hands).
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We currently use the same product and also the SPF30+.
Iāve nearly all the high risk factors for sun burn and experienced no issues with the product despite spending a large part of each day outside in the Queensland sun. Iād typically reapply after a couple of hours of activity or avoid further time in the heat and sun.
Details from one tube.
Is this the same product, looking to the supplier āSkin Health Pty Ltdā it does not reference Vitality Brands?
Itās worth asking if the product labelling is misleading. The ātested for 4 hours water resistanceā claim is different to the recommendation to reapply every 2 hours. Hopefully consumers are not reading the 4 hrs as a safe time limit without reapplying.
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āTested for four hours water resistanceā is not the same as āHas 4 hours water resistanceā. The product may have achieved 4 hours water resistance (i.e., product was found in the test after 4 hours) but not necessarily at an amount that offered good or even some protection. There is even no certainty for how long the product remained on the test object or person in the test period.
Sweating removes some product from the skin, as does towelling, rubbing in the sand or on other objects, So a recommendation to immediately apply after the previous events is noted. So if you donāt sweat, donāt towel, donāt rub against anything, donāt get rained on or get wet, then the product may provide an effective barrier for some reasonable time which is noted as 2 hours (in capitals). The tested claim is use of puffery in most cases. As puffery it is usually not considered misleading as a normal person would understand that it was a puffed up claim.
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It this particular example is it appropriate to apply the same test, given the consequences (level of harm) of failing to appropriately access the claim as puffery?
I realise thatās not something any of us can decide in this discussion. And there may indeed be a manufacturing issue with the sunblock, yet to be confirmed.
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Suncreen products have not been tested for some time. My daughter was horribly burnt on the weekend after applying Banana Boat Sport 50+ with Powerstay technology Sweat Resistant, which is supposed to be 4 hour water resistant (although with the suggestion that it be reapplied every 2 hours). She was in the sun for just over 2 hours, with a short swim during this time. At exactly the same time, my other daughter used a Neutrogena sunscreen, with the same exposure and short swim, and was not burnt at all. After talking about this product, multiple friends said that they had heard similar stories about Banana Boat (basically, it is a poor product). This is quite dangerous, I feel, as often you do not know that youāre sunburnt until after you leave the sun. Is it time for re-testing sunscreen products, Choice?
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Hi @SusanB, I merged your post into this existing one about sunscreens. Regarding the ā4 hoursā you might find interest in a few posts highlighting some of the āweasel wordsā often used in advertising.
Also, for completeness in this topic, while any product can have a bad run Banana Boat had some spray ons (not the product you mention) recalled in 2021.with a 2024 or earlier expirey date.
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