You're really getting burned if you think all sunscreens are alike

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You're really getting burned if you think all sunscreens are alike

By LAUREL NAVERSEN GERAGHTY, New York Times News Service

June 14, 2005

Mexoryl is not the most notorious drug on the black market. But it is

one of the most ordinary substances ever to be bootlegged.

Mexoryl SX, made by the Paris-based skin-care giant L'Oreal, is an

illegal sunscreen in this country, one that is thought to be

particularly useful in preventing wrinkles.

Called by dermatologists one of the most effective filters of all

wavelengths of ultraviolet light, Mexoryl has been used in sunscreen

lotions sold in Canada and Europe for more than a decade. But the Food

and Drug Administration has not yet approved it.

The reason for the delay is difficult to know, because the FDA does not

comment on drugs going through its sometimes lengthy approval process.

Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, a dermatologist at New York University, however,

said safety is not an issue. " It's just bureaucracy, " he said.

And so the cognoscenti ask for Ombrelle Eptreme, Garnier's Ambre

Solaire or the particularly coveted Anthelios XL at certain drug stores

—or order it online from Canadian or French pharmacies, or even on

eBay. Though the FDA does not track down and prosecute those consumers,

the purchases are technically illegal.

" I started buying it from Canada, " one 46-year-old New Yorker said

about Anthelios, which she has used for three years. (She insisted that

her name not be published because she did not want it publicly

connected with illegal purchases.) The Canadian pharmacy Web site

feelbest.com sells a 3-ounce tube for a little over $20.

The woman said she finds Anthelios lighter than titanium dioxide

sunblocks and less likely to stain her clothes. " I buy it by the case, "

she said. " It's pretty good stuff. "

The demand for Mexoryl is partly driven by one of the strongest

motives: vanity. People are getting wise to the idea that UVA rays,

less known than sunburn-causing UVB rays, cause classic skins of aging,

not only wrinkles but sagging skin, brown spots and yellow

discoloration. Finding a legal sunscreen in the United States that

effectively blocks UVA light, which Mexoryl-enhanced products do, is

not as easy as it might seem.

Sunscreen labels often advertise " full spectrum " or " broad spectrum "

properties, meaning that they block both UVA and UVB rays. But products

can make this claim without specifying how well they protect against

UVA rays. And because the familiar sun protection factor (SPF)

measurements apply only to UVB blockage, consumers have no handy way to

gauge the effectiveness of UVA filters.

A 2004 Procter & Gamble study that looked at 188 U.S. sunscreens found

that only 56 percent offered significant UVA protection, though 82

percent claimed to do so.

Part of the problem is that only within the last 10 years have

scientists come to understand the biomechanics of UVA damage. " Up until

1995 the thinking was that UVA was not as important as we now know, "

Riwel said.

So far the FDA has approved only three ingredients protective against

UVA: Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and avobenzone.

But Mexoryl seems more effective than any of these at protecting

against UVA light. In 2000, Canadian and French researchers slathered

six brands of sunscreen and sunblock on the backs of volunteers and

exposed their skin to a UV sunlamp for 15 minutes. The product

containing Mexoryl (along with avobenzone, titanium dioxide and other

ingredients) was more than twice as effective in protecting against UVA

light. The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy

of Dermatology.

Mexoryl's secret is its chemical structure, Rigel said. " You can

achieve much more efficient and powerful and effective protection with

this one ingredient, or you can add it to another ingredient and get an

incredibly high SPF protection level, all the way up to SPF 90, " as

well as UVA protection, he said.

The difference between UVA and UVB light is a matter of wavelength. UVA

rays come in longer wavelengths (320 to 400 nanometers), so they pass

through the outer layer of skin, rather than burning it as do the

shorter UVB rays (290 to 320 nanometers). UVA rays penetrate deep into

the dermis, or lower layer of skin, where they can break down collagen

and other proteins that keep the skin plump and firm.

" That deeper penetration and deeper damage is what we think is really

associated with premature aging in the skin, " said Dr. Clay J.

Cockerell, a Dallas dermatologist who is president of the American

Academy of Dermatology.

The UVA says can also damage cells and DNA in the dermis, decrease the

skin's immunity and generate harmful free radicals. Though the exact

mechanisms remain unclear, doctors assume these actions explain why UVA

exposure is also associated with skin cancer.

Unlike UVB light, prevalent only when the sun is high in the sky —

between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. during summer — UVA light is virtually

inescapable.

" It's present in the same amount from sunup to sundown, 365 days a

year, totally independent of climate conditions, " said Dr. Rodan,

an associate clinical dermatologist at Stanford University.

That means it not only penetrates car windows and T-shirts, but it also

reaches the skin during fog, rain and even hurricanes.

8 Sunscreen Mistakes

Once limited to sticks, oils, and chalky creams, sunscreens now come in

lotions, gels, sprays, wipes, mousses and powders. A sun protection

factor, or SPF, is also found in foundations, moisturizers, bug sprays,

laundry detergent and even a product that protects against jellyfish

stings.

Still skin cancer continues to rise, accorting to the American Academy

of Dermatology. Among Caucasians, the rate of melanoma, the deadliest

form of skin cancer, more than tripled between 1980 and 2003.

Here are eight common sunscreen mistakes people make:

Not knowing what SPF means: SPF is a multiplier that describes how much

time a sunscreen allows a person to spend in the sun before getting

burned by UVB rays. A product with an SPF of 15, the minimum doctors

advise, lets you stay in the sun 15 times longer. The SPF says nothing

about how well a sunrcreen protects against UVA light.

Not knowing what ingredients to look for: Among U.S. approved sunscreen

ingredients, many protect against UVB light: benzones (like

dioxybenzone and oxybenzone), for example, and the cinnamates (like

octyl methoxycinnamate). But only one, avobenzone (Parsol 1789),

specifically absorbs UVA light. The sunblocks zinc oxide and titanium

dioxide reflect UVA and UVB light. But products that combine avobenzone

with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or one of the ingredients that absorb

UVB light are even better.

Skimping: To get the SPF advertised on a bottle takes a full teaspoon

slathered on the face and enough to fill a shot glass rubbed over the

body. Yet people typically apply only 20 percent to 60 percent of that,

a 2002 study found. The ears, the neck, the hands, the feet and even

bald patches on top of the head are commonly missed sites.

Applying it too late: Most sunscreens take 15 to 20 minutes to start

working because they have to be absorbed by the skin first. " If you put

that sunscreen on when you're already at the beach, you're not getting

that protection, " said Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, a dermatologist at New

York University.

Not reapplying: There's no such thing as all-day protection because the

active ingredients in sunscreens degrade in the sun after about two

hours. (That's why you sometimes hear that an SPF of 45 is no more

useful than an SPF of 10; both need to be reapplied after two hours.)

Not wearing it daily: Many people remember to wear sunscreen only at

the beach. But subtle everyday exposure to UV light can add up to

wrinkling or cancer.

Continuing to use old products: " Most sunscreens have a shelf life of

three years, " said Dr. Weinkle, an assistant clinical professor

of dermatology at the University of South Florida. (If you have kept

one around that long, however, you are probably not using enough.)

Products lose their potency even faster if bottles are left out in the

sun or stashed in a hot car, where light and heat can degrade them.

Not taking medications into account: Antibiotics like tetracycline can

make the skin more photosensitive, leaving it more vulnerable to UV

damage. So, too, can drugs included in some blood pressure medicines,

said Dr. Clay J. Cockerell, the president of the American Academy of

Dermatology.