Sunscreen Inflation? : Skin Doctors Debate Sun-Protection Factors Numbered Higher Than 15

WHILE sunscreen makers race to put the highest sun-protection-factor numbers on product labels, some dermatologists are warning that numbers over SPF 15 may represent little more than a marketing ploy. Yet, other doctors encourage patients to use products with high SPF numbers. Why the controversy?

Dr. Arnold Klein, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at UCLA School of Medicine, says that labeling products with an SPF greater than 15 may be misleading.

“Higher numbers give people a false sense of security, making them think that it is safe to stay in the sun all day. Prolonged exposure to the sun simply isn’t safe,” Klein says.

Most sunscreen preparations do better protecting the skin from the sun’s burn-producing ultraviolet B (UVB) rays than from UVA or infrared (IR) rays. Most products fail to protect the skin from the damaging UVA rays and IR rays. Such exposure explains why people tan, even though they are wearing sunscreens with high SPF numbers. A tan always represents sun damage to the skin. Such damage is cumulative and can result in skin cancer and premature aging of the skin.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates sunscreen products, a lotion labeled SPF 15 allows an individual to remain in the sun--without burning--15 times longer than he or she could without the product. That is, if it takes a fair-skinned person 10 minutes to show signs of a burn, that same person could theoretically remain in the sun for 150 minutes wearing an SPF 15.

Dr. Nelson L. Novick, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and author of the new book, “Super Skin,” maintains that numbers higher than SPF 15 are essential, especially in Southern California. Novick contends that the amount of protection received from a sunscreen is proportionate to the amount applied.

Dr. Nicholas Lowe, a clinical professor of dermatology at UCLA School of Medicine who is writing a medical text about sun protection, suggests wearing an SPF 15 every day and using an SPF 29 or 30 during periods of concentrated sun exposure, “whenever you’re outdoors for more than an hour.”

Lowe says he is encouraged by the introduction of a new ingredient called Parsol 1789, which blocks UVA rays. He notes that, to date, the only over-the-counter product approved by the FDA that includes the ingredient is Photoplex by Herbert Laboratories.

Although dermatologists and other specialists do not appear to agree on SPFs, they do concur that there is no such thing as a safe tan and that using a sunscreen of at least SPF 15, wearing protective clothing and limiting the amount of time spent in the sun are the only ways to protect the skin from damaging rays.

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