Ahead of the summer, Which? carried out a sunscreen survey on 13 sunscreens and recommended that Boots Soltan Protect & Moisturise Lotion SPF30 (200ml) and Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion SPF30 (180ml) were ‘don’t buys’ after failing two rounds of tests, that it says follow British Standards.
‘Don’t buy’ products
The consumer company says that both products twice failed its SPF tests, offering just two-thirds of the SPF they claimed.
“Consumers must be able to trust and rely on the information provided by manufacturers so it’s disappointing to see well-known brands falling short. We want them to take action to ensure their products deliver the promised protection,” says Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.
In response, both of the product makers denied the claims, stating they meet all SPF requirements and labelling claims.
Boots said it was confident that all its sun care products met the claims and that customers can ‘rely on them to provide the level of protection expected,’ whilst Hawaiian Tropic added that its own tests suggested that its Silk Hydration and Satin Protection lotions ‘exceed the label claims, even after 80 minutes in water.’
No need to panic over sunscreens
The other 11 sunscreens tested were all deemed to be satisfactory, but it is the two that were labelled unsatisfactory that the Cosmetics, Toiletry and Perfumery Association has warned could cause unneeded alarm.
“Sun protection products are one of the most studied and tested of all cosmetic products and CTPA is extremely disappointed with the view Which? has taken of these products,” says a statement.
“The manufacturers involved have supplied robust data supporting their on-pack SPF 30 claims, but these have been ignored by Which? This is unfair and could jeopardise the confidence we have in our sunscreens.”
The CTPA stresses that an SPF rating is not based on a single study alone but on a body of evidence to augment the results of a standardised test.
This is where the Which? results and the manufacturers’ will differ as the former will use the same British Standard test methods for SPF and UVA protection once or maybe twice, whereas manufacturers base their SPF rating on a whole package of supportive information.
“That package is obtained throughout the whole product development process and must be consistent to ensure full confidence the sunscreen will deliver the SPF promised,” continues the CTPA statement.
“However, in some instances we understand the Which? results showed a level of variability, and therefore unreliability, that would be unacceptable to any company with expertise in this field.”
Making sure throughout manufacturing
Sunscreens are developed by teams of scientists and when a sunscreen is to be developed, the company will decide what SPF it wants to provide.
Cosmetic formulators will know the UV filters to use and how much is needed to achieve the intended SPF and UVA protection.
An initial SPF calculation will be performed to check the formula will deliver, and additional checks through testing will be carried out during further product development.
The final SPF number is one that has been anticipated right from the beginning and has been confirmed throughout the development process.
If at any stage of the process the results were not consistent with what was expected, then re-testing and analysis would be performed and any necessary reformulation would take place.