LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In a new report by a group that investigates sunscreen products found that most sunscreens contain at least one or more than a dozen chemicals still considered not completely safe for the general public.
On Tuesday, the Healthy Living Science program released its 2023 Guide for Safer Sunscreens.
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“We found only 25% of sunscreens on the market offer good broad-spectrum protection without troublesome chemical ingredients,” said Emily Spilman, Healthy Living Science program manager for the Environmental Working Group.
As part of the latest report, more than 1,700 sunscreen products were tested and ranked by their safety and effectiveness. More than 220 products met the group’s standards for safe recreational and beach use.
“EWG’s analysis of sunscreens includes hazard and efficacy ratings for hundreds of sunscreens, daily use sun protection factor, or SPF, and lip balm products,” the company said, “The ratings are based on a compilation of standard industry, government and academic data sources; efficacy models EWG scientists constructed; and a continuous review of the technical literature on sunscreens.”
According to EWG, only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide could be classified as “safe and effective” by Food and Drug Administration standards.
“Twelve other ingredients were proposed as not generally recognized as safe and effective due to insufficient data: avobenzone, cinoxate, dioxybenzone, ensulizole, homosalate, meradimate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, oxybenzone, padimate O, and sulisobenzone,” EWG said.
Last week, the FDA released a summer guide and recommendations for Americans and called many of the previously mentioned chemicals as “acceptable active ingredients”
“Although the protective action of sunscreen products takes place on the surface of the skin, there is evidence that at least some sunscreen active ingredients may be absorbed through the skin and enter the body,” the FDA said, “This makes it important to perform studies to determine whether, and to what extent, use of sunscreen products as directed may result in unintended, chronic, systemic exposure to sunscreen active ingredients.”
The recommendations included the advice that no sunscreen is “waterproof,” and that the labels on particular products indicate whether they remain effective 40 minutes or 80 minutes after swimming or sweating, but all sunscreens require another application.
For a complete list of approved products by EWG, check out the group’s 17th annual review of sunscreen products here.
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