SUN CARE
Ramp up summer beauty with
safe and responsible sun protection Sunscreens are a hot topic at the moment, with brands having to formulate new products for the summer season. Yet formulators are left perplexed by the uncertainty around the negative impacts of UV filters on humans and the environment. Jacques Strydom, technical manager at AECI Specialty Chemicals, highlights the benefits of sunscreens, reviews some of the concerns and offers a solution to formulators and brands.
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t has been known for many years that overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation not only causes premature skin ageing, but also plays a vital role in the development of certain types of skin cancers. UV radiation is a proven cause of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which often appear on sun-exposed areas of skin. Furthermore, the level of UV exposure that typically leads to sunburn has been proven to play a strong role in developing melanoma, the most dangerous of the three most common types of skin cancer. 8
SUN CARE // WWW.PHARMACOS.CO.ZA
It is for this reason that authorities and cancer foundations have been advising the public to use high SPF sunscreens when going to the beach or on hikes where long exposure to the sun is to be expected. However, there is another side to the sunscreen coin. This is the uncertainty regarding the potential effects of long-term sunscreen usage on the human biology. Sunscreens can be either organic or inorganic and the ones that are under scrutiny are the organic, lipophilic sunscreens, like octocrylene, which protect the skin by absorbing UVA and UVB energy. Researchers are concerned about
