Rozy says…I looked for SPF 200 on the internet (the INTERNET for crying out loud!) and I couldn’t find a single seller. wtf?
The ever articulate Alchemist responds:
Next year the FDA will introduce new limits making the maximum allowable claimed SPF50+. Although before this change was flagged there was certainly a race for ever increasing SPF numbers in the USA. I can imagine some brand manager demanding an SPF200 product in a new product meeting, so why not…?
- Cost. Sunscreen agents are expensive
- Aesthetics, organic sunscreens feel horible and oily, inorganic suncreens would leave the skin too white
- Diminishing returns. A SPF15 will block about 94% of UV light, SPF30 97%, SPF50 98%, SPF100 99%
A tip of the hat to Forum member Alchemist for responding to Rozy’s question! (I could totally relate to the idea of a marketing brand manager demanding another unrealistic product. Been there, done that!!)
Image credit: http://www.public-domain-image.com/
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
In some Asian countries there is a SPF 130 and PA+++ sunscreen! It’s Japanese (but you can’t buy it in Japan because in Japan they only allow SPF 50+) and has a very cosmetically elegant texture!
http://www.mentholatum.com.my/products/suncare/sunp.html
Wow I never knew spf 15 could block so much!! cool!! can any sunscreen 100 percent of uv rays? I think spf 200 would be waste of resources than!
umm you can buy spf30 easily in thailand… even in internet and they are not that exspensive i think,..
I read up on this a while ago, and the premise is that an SPF 15 gives you 15 times LONGER in the sun before you get burnt. Not on the amount of rays blocked.
And SPF of higher than 50 isnt possible, because the SPF would naturally degrade/wear off the skin in that amount of time.
I would like to edit my previous post for typos etc.
I read up on this a while ago, and an SPF 15 gives you 15 times LONGER in the sun before you get burnt. Not measured, per say, on the amount of rays blocked.
“A product’s SPF (Sun Protection Factor) number is a basic indicator of how long you can stay in the sun before getting burned.”
So the premise is that an SPF of higher than 50 isnt possible, because the SPF would naturally degrade/wear off the skin before the amount of time that it would give you is reached.
xx