With a steamy weekend forecast you'll want to slather on plenty of sunscreen. But how much protection are you really getting? The FDA wants manufacturers to change the labeling.
You've heard of the harmful rays of the sun. UVB rays lead to sunburn, while UVA rays lead to a tan, and both can cause skin cancer and pre-mature aging.
Sunscreens let consumers know about the protection they're getting from UVB rays but not UVA rays.
Now the FDA is proposing sunscreen manufacturers change that.
"This is an important development. This is the first time the FDA has proposed sunscreen companies let consumers know about protection of UVB which they've done for 20 years and now with UVA," said dermatologist Dr. Mathew Avram of Massachusetts General Hospital.
The FDA is also proposing labels on sunscreen that rate the UVA protection. One star for low UVA protection and four stars for the highest protection.
And on future sunscreen bottles, the SPF numbers may change. Another recommendation is to cap the SPF at 50 which makes sense to dermatologist Mathew Avram.
"When you get higher numbers between SPF and UVB protection the differences are not very important," Dr. Avram said. "So the difference between SPF 15 and SPF 30 is far greater than the difference between SPF 50 and 70."
If these proposed rules pass it will still take a couple of years before the new guidelines are in place. And when using sunscreen, make sure you use enough of it. Dr. Avram says that's a big mistake most of us make.
You should fill up your entire hand with it and then slather it on and don't forget to reapply often.
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