Survey reveals sun cream shocker!
Thursday 29 May 2008
Those of us who have already spent a fortune on brand quality sun cream to make sure we don’t burn to a crisp on holiday are quite likely to feel cheated out of their money after some new shocking survey results hit us today.
Tests have revealed that expensive sun creams sold by leading high street names do not offer as much protection from harsh sun rays as they claim to. The results also showed that cheap sun lotions can provide equal or even better protection than expensive brands.
The Which? study tested 14 products based on their SPF – Superdrug Solait, for example, has a 27.4 SPF rating although the packaging classes it at only 15 – so you get a lot more protection for your money.
Other sun creams that did well in the survey were Sainsbury’s Sun Protect Lotion, Asda Sun System and Wilkinson Wilko Sun Protection System. All of these products contained higher protection than they claimed on the packaging and only cost around £3 per bottle.
Piz Buin In Sun, on the other hand, got classified at a much lower SPF although costing a whopping four times as much as the Superdrug lotion.
Caroline Cerny, who fronts Cancer Research’s Sun Smart campaign, explains what to look out for when buying sun protection:
“We recommend using a sun cream that says, for example, broad spectrum on the product label. That means it also protects against UVA light, the rays that contribute to premature skin ageing but are also being linked with cases of skin cancer.”