By James Limbach
ConsumerAffairs.com
May 25, 2010
Memo to beach bums: get ready to pump it and spray it, and don't apply it in the wind.
New tests by Consumer Reports Health reveal that four spray-on sunscreens provided the best protection from the sun's Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. The ratings are available in the July issue of the magazine, which also looks at insect repellents.
CR Health identifies four products that earned top overall scores: Up & Up Sport Continuous SPF 30 (Target), a CR "Best Buy;" Walgreens Sport Continuous SPF 50; Banana Boat Sport Performance Continuous SPF 30; and Aveeno Continuous Protection SPF 50. These products provided "Very Good" UVA protection and "Excellent" UVB protection and met their SPF claim even after treated skin was soaked in water for 80 minutes.
At an outside lab, Consumer Reports Health assessed how well each product blocked UVA and UVB rays, in addition to how well they lived up to their claimed sun protection factor -- the measure of UVB protection -- after volunteers soaked in water while wearing the sunscreen.
UVA and UVB can both cause sunburn, skin damage, and certain skin cancers. UVA can also cause wrinkles. SPF is a measure of UVB sun protection on skin treated with sunscreen; put simply, if your skin normally turns red in ten minutes, then an SPF of 30 could lengthen that time to 300 minutes.
The tests also evaluated how the sunscreens smelled, felt, and absorbed into the skin. Those tests were performed by CR's trained sensory panelists. Overall, the top four performing sunscreens had a slight or moderately intense floral or citrus scent and left little residue on the skin.
"A top performing sunscreen isn't going to give you any protection if its smell or the way it feels on your skin is so offensive to you that you won't use it," said Gayle Williams, deputy editor, Consumer Reports Health. "The Aveeno Continuous protection spray is one of the mildest in terms of scent and leaves a bit of greasy residue that is mild compared to some others. But if you prefer that beach scent, you might try the Up & Up by Target or the Walgreens Sport Continuous."
What to buy and use
Consumer Reports Health offers to following tips for buying and using sunscreens:
• Buy sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 (plenty for most people) that claims to be water resistant.
• For full-body protection, adults should apply two-to-three tablespoons of lotion 15 to 30 minutes before going out in the sun. Reapply every two hours or after swimming or sweating. Applying sprays can be tricky if it's windy.
• To avoid staining your beach clothes, don't spray or rub sunscreen on clothes.
• Wear tightly woven clothing and a hat, limit your sun time, and seek shade during the hottest hours of the day.
• If you buy a sunscreen and it has no expiration date, write down the purchase date on the bottle with a permanent marker. Discard your sunscreen at its expiration date or if you've had it for more than two years as it may have lost its potency.
• Don't make your purchase decisions based on brand alone. Different formulas or SPFs within the same brand may not have equivalent performance.
Warnings about SPFs
Meanwhile, it its fourth annual Sunscreen Guide, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) warns that products with high SPF ratings sell a false sense of security. The EWG says that's because most people using them stay out in the sun longer, still get burned (which increases risk of skin cancer) and subject their skin to large amounts of UVA radiation, the type of sunlight that does not burn but is believed responsible for considerable skin damage and cancer.
High SPF products, which protect against sunburn, often provide very little protection against UVA radiation, the EWG points out. Also, most people don't get the high SPF they pay for: people apply about a quarter of the recommended amount. In everyday practice, a product labeled SPF 100 really performs like SPF 3.2, an SPF 30 rating equates to a 2.3 and an SPF 15 translates to 2.
"Many sunscreens available in the U.S. may be the equivalent of modern-day snake oil, plying customers with claims of broad-spectrum protection but not providing it, while exposing people to potentially hazardous chemicals that can penetrate the skin into the body," said Jane Houlihan, EWG Senior Vice President for Research. "When only eight percent of sunscreens rate high for safety and efficacy, it's clear that consumers concerned about protecting themselves and their families are left with few good options."
Keep the bugs at bay
Consumer Reports Health also tested 10 insect repellents at an outside lab, where brave testers bared their arms in mosquito-filled cages and let deer ticks crawl on them. The magazine recorded how long it took for two common types of mosquitoes to start biting and for deer ticks to decide it was safe to crawl over treated areas.
Six repellents protected against deer ticks and mosquitoes for seven hours or more. Four of those contain diethyl-meta-toluamide (deet) in varying levels. The Environmental Protection Agency judges deet safe when used as directed, but it has caused rare toxic reactions when misused.
It shouldn't be applied to infants less than two months old. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using repellents with deet concentrations higher than 30 percent on any children. CR Health thinks that no one needs a repellent with more than 30 percent deet.
Bottom line, most of the tested products will do the job if you're going outside for only a couple of hours, but look for a highly rated product to protect you on longer excursions.
The six top choices, all earning a "Recommended" Rating from Consumer Reports, worked for at least seven hours, though they feel and smell somewhat different: Off! Deep Woods Sportsmen II, Cutter Backwoods Unscented, Off! FamilyCare Smooth & Dry; 3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent 8, Repel Plant Based Lemon Eucalyptus, and Natrapel 8-hour with picaridin.
