The official guidance for the level of sun cream needed is misleading

The official guidance for the level of sun cream needed to protect from skin cancer, is misleading, new research suggests.

Currently, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends using a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15, as this is of sufficient strength to prevent sunburn and reduce the risk of skin cancer.

But the Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) is warning NICE to reconsider its recommendation, believing the advice is not in the interests of public health.

The DTB says that people using sunscreen generally apply much less than the instructions recommend.

Typically people were found to be getting no more than half of the protection labelled on the bottle they were using.

According to DTB’s  findings, a sunscreen with an SPF of 50, will only be giving an SPF protection of between 19 and 3.

Problems lie with the amount of the sunscreen people are actually using and the NICE test conditions.

NICE perform a standard test in which manufacturers apply the recommended 2mg/cm2 of product to skin.

But evidence showed that most people only apply between 1.5mg – 0.5 mg/cm2.

To apply the correct amount for an adult recommend by NICE – 35 ml every two hours- a 200 ml bottle would be used up every two – three days.

DTB is urging NICE to re-test sunscreen under conditions used by typical adults.

They also say consumers should also be cautious when selecting products with a star rating.

Whilst more stars mean more UVA protection, a 5-star products at a lower SPF will provide less UVA protection than a 3-star product with a higher SPF.

DTB editor, Dr Ike Iheanacho says: “In DTB’s view, NICE’s recommendation to use sunscreens with an SPF as low as 15 is a blunder that overlooks the key evidence and is not in the best interests of public health. This advice needs urgent review and correction.”