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THURSDAY, July 5 (HealthDay News) -- Beachgoers lulled into the breezy, bronzed glow of summer take note: Most sunscreens don't live up to their promise of protecting against harmful ultraviolet rays, a new study contends.
"Sunscreens just aren't as good as people think they are," said Dr. James Spencer, a dermatologist in St. Petersburg, Fla. "They aren't perfect, but they are the best tool we have."
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"There's no such thing as a safe tan," added Dr. Darrell Rigel, a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University who does laboratory research on melanoma and other skin cancers.
The culprits in sunshine are the ultraviolet rays, particularly UVA and UVB.
Rigel said that sunscreens were designed initially to block out UVBs, because scientists thought these rays were to blame for sunburns and skin cancer. More recent studies suggest that UVA rays are also dangerous. But most current sunscreen labels don't offer a measure of UVA protection, he said.
While there's agreement on how to measure UVB rays, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has spent almost three decades trying to determine how best to measure UVA rays. There are at least six different ways to do it, and the health agency hasn't settled on the best one. The agency said it would have a final answer in the coming months.
Spencer is working with the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to create a seal of approval for sunscreens, much like the American Dental Association has done. Companies wanting to carry the AAD seal would have to submit independent measures of their product to show that it offers adequate SPF protection and provides "broad-spectrum" protection against ultraviolet rays, as well as evidence of durability.
Meanwhile, unless you're a chemist or a dermatologist, it's tough to make sense of labeling on sunscreen lotions.
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