In Brief: Sunscreen monograph
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Sunscreen monograph: Clinical testing standards for SPFs should use a 1 mg/cm2 or .5 mg/cm2 thickness of sunscreen to more closely approximate real-life use, Hans Christian Wulf, MD, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, et al., state in Dec. 20 comments to FDA. The agency currently uses 2 mg/cm2 thickness as its standard for testing SPF; the European DIN uses 1.5 mg/cm2. The researchers propose the change based on a study of Danes sunbathing near Copenhagen, where people using sunscreens still experienced erythema. Lowering the thickness of sunscreen applied in testing, the researchers note, "would lower the SPF but make it more relevant to the practical situation and not only a ritual without any meaning"...