Experts warn against cosmetic sun production products

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Health experts are concerned that Australians might be relying too heavily on cosmetic 'sun protection' products instead of regulated sunscreens to protect themselves from harmful UV.

Transcript

00:00Well, we know Australia is the skin cancer capital of the world, so sunscreen here is

00:06very tightly regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, or the TGA.

00:11But experts are concerned that young people in particular are being misled by social media

00:16marketing and clever packaging into buying products that have the word sun in them, but

00:21aren't necessarily a regulated sunscreen.

00:24So things like sun drops, sun balms, sun butters, these are often cosmetic products,

00:29sometimes referred to as secondary sunscreens.

00:32If they have an SPF rating, they do need to be tested to reach that rating, but it doesn't

00:37mean they go through all the same testing as TGA regulated sunscreens.

00:42The harm there is if you're using a tinted foundation or a moisturiser with SPF, you're

00:47probably not slapping on the same amount as you would with a regular sunscreen.

00:51So the advice is to make sure you're putting on regular sunscreen as well as those cosmetic

00:55products when you're out in the sun.

00:58And so the best way to tell if what you're using is a regulated sunscreen is to actually

01:03check the bottle for the letters AUSTL followed by a number, and that means that that product

01:10is on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

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