How To Pick A Sunscreen: What The New FDA Rules Really Mean

With a dizzying array of options on the market, walking into a store and knowing what sunscreen to buy is difficult.

The Food and Drug Administration's new sunscreen rules, announced earlier this week, aim to change that. In a year's time, a few simple tweaks right on labels should make it easier for consumers to parse out exactly what's what. Among them:

• Products will no longer be able to be labeled "waterproof" or "sweatproof." Instead, they will have to list how many minutes they can last in the face of moisture. Also gone? The word "sunblock." Too misleading.
• Only sunscreens found, in the lab, to protect equally against UVA and UVB rays will carry a "broad spectrum" designation. (The current SPF ratings that most consumers rely on refer to how well sunscreen stands up to UVB rays only.) In addition, only sunscreens that are SPF 15 and higher will be able to claim they reduce the risks of skin cancer and aging.

But before those changes kick in, there's no need to be stumped by sunscreens. Dermatologists say there are a few main things you can look for when shopping.

Check What's Inside

First, look for ingredients like Zinc oxide, Avobenzone or Titanium dioxide, which ensure broad spectrum coverage. (For a more complete list, check out the American Academy of Dermatologists' website.)

Need it even simpler still?

"My personal bias would be towards zinc, because just the one chemical gives full, broad protection," said Dr. Raja Sivamani, a resident physician in dermatology at UC Davis.

Get The Right Protection

Second, look for a sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or higher, said dermatologist Dr. Thomas Rohrer. He said some people question whether anything higher than 15 really makes a difference -- but his vote is "yes."

"Nobody uses the amount of sunscreen that people do in testing in real life," he said. "So it does help to go up to an SPF of 30, or even beyond."

Be Sun Smart

Both derms stressed that the biggest factors may not be determined in the drug store aisle, but when people are out in the world. Avoiding the peak hours and wearing protective clothing are really the first lines of defense, Sivamani explained.

Slather It On -- All Day Long

Also? Reapply, reapply, reapply, even if using a water resistant formula and especially if you've picked a spray. Roher said that people who use sprays may get a "false sense of security" by just misting themselves, meaning they don't get the same volume of sunscreen that they might with a cream or gel.

"You need a strong SPF, but the most important thing is to apply a lot of sunscreen and apply it frequently," he said.

Comments

[Jennifer Hagan]

07:21 AM on 06/19/2011

It would have been nice if they would have included which sunscreens are safe for babies and young children versus those that aren't. Usually under a year, some sunscreens you can't use. My friend who is a chemist keeps telling me which ones to not use but I forget each summer.

[EarlP]

01:48 AM on 06/19/2011

botanical sunscreens.

[maribelles]

04:50 PM on 06/18/2011

Then there is the possibility that this is all bunk:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/22/new-study-shows-many-sunscreens-are-accelerating-not-preventing-cancer.aspx.

With a medical industry suppressing real cancer cures, and arresting and even murdering holistic practitioners (See Healing Cancer from the Inside Out, about Gerson murder) who have had good evidence based success with cancer healing, how would we know the truth? Sunscreen certainly is not going to restore the health robbed from a society by Monsanto, presticide/herbicide use, toxic wastedumps, poison water from fracking, the extensive nutrient depletion of processed standard american food, and the tremendous imbalances to the body caused by rampant overmedication. So how about starting with the foundations of health, first?

[Jennifer Hagan]

07:22 AM on 06/19/2011

Your article doesn't exist.

[Swedenworks]

10:44 AM on 06/18/2011

What about retinyl palmitate? Did they remove it from sunscreens?

[Keo]

10:13 AM on 06/18/2011

The advice to keep slathering the stuff on, over and over again, is worse than irresponsible.
There is no good evidence that sunscreen protects fully from the potentially harmful effects of radiation.
The best advice would be to "use sunscreen AND limit your exposure to the sun."
The message that "repeated, liberal use of sunscreen will allow you to spend all day baking on the beach without any risk of skin damage and/or cancer" is a dangerous one--and that's part of the message being put forth here.
Truth is, we don't know everything about skin cancer. We DO know that there's been a lot more of it since the advent of sunscreens. Climactic changes likely have a good deal to do with that, but another factor may be that sunscreen manufacturers have been very successful in marketing their products and, at least inadvertently, encouraging people to get too much sun exposure.

[lj9283]

09:51 AM on 06/18/2011

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually.

Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.

One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.

Over the past 31 years, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.

In 2004, the total direct cost associated with the treatment for nonmelanoma skin cancer was $1.5 billion. (Nonmelanoma skin cancers develop on sun-exposed areas of the body, like the face, ear, neck, lips, and the backs of the hands.)
In adults 65 or older, melanoma treatment costs total about $249 million annually. About 40 percent of the annual cost for melanoma goes to treating stage IV (advanced) cancers, though they account for only three percent of melanomas.
http://www.skincancer.org/Skin-Cancer-Facts/

[tissa]

09:01 AM on 06/18/2011

Badger Sunscreen--organic and natural--and recognized as one of the best sunscreens---reapply if you are in and out of the pool.

[noteaforme]

08:28 AM on 06/18/2011

I heard there was some kind of shower gel that left you sunblocked for the day. Where can I buy this?

[Benjo333]

06:54 AM on 06/18/2011

Long sleeve shirt and a hat...hows that.

[rini]

09:53 AM on 06/18/2011

four walls and a ceiling??

[zoetrope]

09:45 PM on 06/17/2011

I grew up in Massachusetts without any sun exposure to talk about
........unless we are talking about my blistering exposure as a child
from excursions to Wingasheek Beach.

I lived in Ft. Lauderdale for 20 years without a tan or sun exposure.

Imagine my surprise when I was diagnosed with malignant
melanoma on my right shoulder two years ago!!

Apparently this is related to my childhood burning episodes 60 yrs ago when
SPF was an unknown entity.

From my personal experience, SPF really matters.
I hope that from the deep wide excision on my shoulder that I am over this.

[jgarma]

07:25 PM on 06/17/2011

The PBS Newshour had a revealing interview about sunscreen and the potential damage the sun can do -- and especially that tanning booths can do!

You can listen or watch Judy Woodruff interview Dr. Ali Hendi, a dermatologist with The Skin Cancer Foundation, in :Sunscreen Lotions that Work": http://wp.me/pA04z-KT

[Mr Nightlinger]

03:14 PM on 06/17/2011

Stay out of the sun. Stop trying to tan.

[rini]

09:54 AM on 06/18/2011

If you are going to hang out outdoors, maybe don't pick eleven AM to two PM or near June 21 (the most direct rays on the longest day of the year.)

[carleronn]

02:51 PM on 06/17/2011

What a waste of taxpayer money. How did we ever exist without such important work from our government?...lol

[peegan]

05:34 PM on 06/17/2011

People aged a lot quicker and di ed a lot younger.

[Loli O]

08:21 PM on 06/17/2011

Good, if poeple don't die, we run out of everything.

[lj9283]

09:52 AM on 06/18/2011

The cost for skin cancer is over $1.5 billion/year.

[somewhatodd]

01:04 PM on 06/17/2011

best thing to do is what people always did, and that is wear hats and long clothes. it's actually cooler in loose breathable long clothes than in shorts since the sun is not bearing down right on your skin.

patagonia makes a great 30spf sun hoody that breathes really good. those cheap white garden work gloves with the finger tips cut off make low cost hand protection. i have store bought sun gloves and they are nice, but those cheap white cotton work gloves are good enough too and a $1 a pair!

[jeffrey678]

12:29 PM on 06/17/2011

I always have a difficult time finding a sunscreen that has a decent fragrance or no fragrance.