Sunscreen – can it be trusted?

A 4-month-old baby is suffering “horrific” blister burns after SPF 50 Cancer Society sunscreen (sunblock) failed to protect the wee tot from New Zealand’s harsh rays, his mother says.

The Cancer Society has confirmed an investigation into the sunscreen is under way following five “serious” complaints over this summer season.

The organisation has about 60 complaints each season. This season 30 people have complained so far which was on par with previous years, said chief executive Mike Kernaghan.

Consumer New Zealand chief executive Sue Chetwin told the Herald that under its testing, Cancer Society, among other sunscreen brands, had not always met SPF claims, and it was a concern that needed addressing with more frequent testing by the manufacturers.

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Reefton mother-of-two Lyndall Watson spoke to the Herald about her son’s “heartbreaking” experience.

On Saturday, the family arrived in the Marlborough Sounds for an overdue summer break but very quickly their holiday turned into their worst nightmare, Watson said.

That afternoon, at about 1pm, the family headed down to the beach.

Baby Noah’s face and hands were covered in the SPF 50 Cancer Society sunscreen 30 minutes before getting to the beach, as they were the only areas exposed, Watson said.

She said Noah was kept in the shade with a hat on and she re-applied more of the sunscreen within an hour, as it looked like he was already getting burnt.

Trusted Brand

“I trusted Cancer Society to protect my children. You assume they are a safe option as they are the experts, so the last thing I expected was this,” Watson said.

The family left the beach about 4pm, when Watson noticed a red spot on her son’s nose.

“At first I thought it was a mosquito bite but then it started spreading to his eyes and blistering. Seeing this happening to your baby is heart-breaking,” Watson said.

Her oldest son, who is 3, was also burnt on his back but not as bad.

“He was in the water so it’s surprising he didn’t get as burnt as Noah but then I guess his skin isn’t as sensitive as a baby.”

Four days later, after repetitive aloe vera gel layering, baby Noah was only just starting to recover. He was prescribed creams from his doctor and an ACC claim had been made “in case there are any issues down the line”, Watson said.

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“The doctor said we would need to keep Noah out of the sun for the rest of the summer and take extra precaution.”

Watson said she had since thrown the bottle away but only bought the sunscreen three days before the outing so it could not be expired.

Kernaghan said five complaints from this season had gone through into a formal process.

Sunscreen Compaints

“I can confirm we have been contacted by both of the people who have featured recently in the news around their sunscreen complaints.”

Watson said she had not yet made a compliant but she intended to soon.

She stressed she wanted to share her story to help warn others about the potential dangers.

Kernaghan said the society was working through the complaints in a formal process as they took sun protection very seriously and know the damage sun can do to New Zealanders.

“This process aims to understand how the sunscreen was applied, how often and how much. This process ensures our products are working as they should.”

Chetwin said there was an issue with how often organisations looked at their sunscreen formula.

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“Sunscreen providers conduct their own testing but that needs to be more frequent. We have limited funds to test every product but we do test the popular brands like Cancer Society.”

Consumer NZ was currently awaiting results for the latest round of Cancer Society sunscreen, Chetwin said.

She confirmed that in 2017 Cancer Society failed its SPF testing.

Consumer NZ testing of sunblock is conducted in a lab in Australia on around 10 people.

By: Emma Russel

Sunscreen -v- Sunblock

Do we really need protection from the Sun?

The answer to that would be a big yes! No matter who it is, everyone needs to be wary of the Sun’s harmful effects when it comes to skin damage. Despite what many people think about using sun protection only during summers, you need it all year round, because the Sun is out nearly every day! Think of it like this; is there sunshine? Then, you need protection against it.

You may be wondering, ‘Aren’t they the same thing?’ The answer to that is, not really. Read on to find out more.

What Is Sunblock?

Sunblock acts as a physical barrier between your skin and the Sun’s harmful rays. Sunblock contains organic and non-organic ingredients that sit on the surface of the skin to prevent the UV rays from penetrating into the skin.

What is Sunscreen?

Sunscreen is usually the more popular option. While sunblock mostly works physically this type of sun protectant works chemically and prevents long term damage signs from the Sun’s rays. It screens the UV rays and reverses any harmful effects that the rays may have on the skin. It is always advised to wear sunscreen when you step out of the house.

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For the longest time, I’ve always wondered what that ‘SPF’ label on sunscreens and sunblocks meant. So, if the same question has plagued you, find out below what exactly it is!

SPF is basically the Sun Protection Factor. It is roughly estimated as the amount of UV radiation it takes to burn your skin under the sun. You can determine how long you can protect yourself and when you need to reapply based on how long it takes for your skin to burn without protection and the SPF. For example, if the SPF is 30, and if your skin starts to burn in 20 minutes without any sunblock or sunscreen, then you just multiply it to find out how long your skin will stay protected with the sunscreen. So, 30×20=600 minutes of protection which is about 10 hours.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the differences between sunblock and sunscreen.

Difference Between Sunblock and Sunscreen

Here are some of the main properties of sunblock and sunscreen.

Sunblock

Protection: A sunblock’s primary job is to protect you from the UVB rays. The ‘B’ here stands for burning. This means that a sunblock will protect the outer layer of your skin by creating a barrier and reflecting all the harmful rays.

Ingredients: You’d usually find zinc oxide, titanium oxide as the major components in a sunblock. This actually makes it thicker which some people can find it harder to use.

Consistency: Since this is actually a physical barrier, it’s quite thick and opaque.

Pros

• A sunblock would probably be more beneficial for preventing sunburns, so if you know you’re going to be under the harsh Sun all day, it’s best to use a sunblock
• Don’t have to keep reapplying as often.

Cons

• Because of its thick consistency, it tends to look white on the skin.

Tips

• Reapply the sunblock as required
• These days you find sunblocks that don’t have too much of a white cast, so you can get them if white bothers you
• Most of them are water-resistant these days, but if you’re planning to go to the beach, make sure that it’s water-resistant.

Sunscreen

Protection: As the name suggests, sunscreen filters the harmful rays that your skin is exposed to. Like sunblock protects you from UVB rays, sunscreen protects you from UVA rays, where the ‘A’ stands for aging. So, while sunblock works physically, sunscreen works chemically preventing and repairing any long-term damage to the skin.

Ingredients: Sunscreens often use active ingredients like avobenzene and oxybenzene.

Consistency: A sunscreen has the consistency of a normal lotion.

Pros

• It’s not too thick, which is what makes it ideal for everyday use
• It’s not greasy, which means that it won’t affect your makeup routine.

Cons

• Doesn’t give enough protection under the intense Sun.

Tips

• Wait 30 minutes after applying sunscreen before stepping out
• Use a cream with a high SPF if it’s summertime
• Apply it to every inch of the exposed skin.

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Final Verdict on “Sunscreen Vs Sunblock”

These days, most companies make products that have both sunscreen and sunblock properties with broad spectrum SPF. But if you’re looking for something quite specific, then you can find those as well. Honestly, at the end of the day, it all depends on what you prefer. For someone like me, whose exposure to Sun is for hardly an hour in total; a sunscreen would be okay. A sunblock would end up making the face quite greasy, and you really wouldn’t want that when going to work. However, if off to the beach, you’d would probably opt for something a little stronger and a more direct protection against the Sun.  So it’s definately worth it to pick a sunblock with a high SPF.

So, as mentioned, it all depends on what works for you and the situations at hand. Either way, make sure you’re wearing some form of SPF every time you step out; even if it may not look too sunny because it will still protect you from any other harmful pollutants and keep your skin looking healthy.