Not Many Sunscreens Effective or Safe

A research has revealed that many of the sunscreen products offer little protection from the sun or even contain ingredients harmful to the skin, Medical News Today reported Friday.

In an examination of about 1,000 marketed sunscreens, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an American non-profit organization for environmental studies, found that four out of five products offered little protection from the sun or contained chemicals harmful to the human body. The organization disclosed the results Wednesday in a report titled Sunscreen Summary — What Works and What`s Safe.

In particular, sunscreens picked as the worst products included those from brands also well known in Korea, such as Coppertone, Banana Boat and Neutrogena.

“Most of the products failed to offer protection from UVA, which is ultraviolet wave with a wavelength above 350nm (nanometer, 1nm=1/billion meter) and increases melanin pigment and wrinkles. Only 15 percent of the 952 investigated products blocked both UVB (below a wavelength of 350nm) and UVA, and contained the minimum hazards,” the report said.

The report also added that many products were advertised in words that are not true, some of which are: "All day protection," "Mild as water," and "Blocks all harmful rays."

Furthermore, it warned that particles like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide in powder and spray sunscreens with nano-scale ingredients might be absorbed more easily through the lungs than the skin.

Coppertone and Neutrogena each released statements and refuted that they “verified the effect through sufficient clinical tests before putting the products on sale.”

isityou@donga.com