Saving Face
The Sun Herald
Saturday October 22, 1994
THERE you are at the beach with the sun beaming down. And it's hot. You reach into your bag to grab your sunscreen and find all you have is a moisturiser with an added sun protection factor (SPF).
Do you dare smear the cream over your body and hope for the best? Will it really protect your skin against the sun's damaging rays?
Ask any of the dozens of beauty companies which have released a cosmetic product with added SPF 15+ and the answer is yes.
With the boom in foundations, moisturisers, lipsticks, body lotions and face powders with added sunscreen, it seems everywhere you turn "SPF 15+" pops up on the package.
Companies such as Raycare, Sunguard and Shene offer entire beauty product ranges with added sunscreens.
Even the Cancer Council is set to launch its own brand of cosmetics, all with SPF 15+ sunscreen, on November 1. The range will consist of four foundations, eight lipsticks, a moisturiser and a body lotion, costing from$7.95 to $14.95.
And the good news is that a moisturiser or makeup with a sunscreen provides the same protection as an ordinary sunscreen.
Ann Bridge from Raycare, which includes SPF 15+ in all products, said: "If you use the Raycare moisturiser as a sunscreen you won't get burnt and you will also receive the added moisturising benefits as well."
Mrs Bridge said the company recently stopped making a straight sunscreen in favour of the moisturiser because the products were too similar and offered the same protection.
Sunguard's owner and managing director, Toby Brown, said the company offered a sun-care range with all the skin-care benefits.
"Sun care is not just protecting yourself from the sun, it's also about protecting yourself from the other elements as well," Mr Brown said.
"Not only do (women) who use cosmetics with sunscreen moisturise their skin during the day but they are also putting a sunscreen on."
Mr Brown feels many more women are opting for beauty products with sunscreen.
"The days of greasy suntan lotions are over. They always leave a film on the skin whereas moisturisers blend in with the skin," he said.
"Most people think if you are putting a sunscreen on, you are going to the beach, but slowly this thinking is changing now. Women want something they can put their makeup over."
He said Sunguard's SPF 15+ matte foundation was popular and the company was even putting SPF together with liposomes for eye creams.
HOWEVER, Mr Brown said the biggest problem with this new trend was that most people didn't understand what SPF meant.
"People don't realise they have to keep applying the moisturiser in the sun," he said. "Most Australians burn after 10 minutes' exposure to the sun. The SPF means you can only go out for the length of time your skin can stand(multiplied by the factor).
"If you burn after 10 minutes and you have an SPF 15+ sunscreen you multiply 15 by 10 which means you can stay in the sun for 150 minutes. After this you have to re-apply the lotion."
In addition to specialised suncare companies, beauty companies such as Ella Bache, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Clinique, Aveda and Elizabeth Arden have all released products with added SPFs.
Maybelline recently launched the Revitalising range specially targeted at women over 35. It contains a liquid makeup (SPF 10) and a loose powder (SPF 2), both with non-irritant sunscreen.Neutrogena now incorporates sunscreens in its four moisturisers and Ella Bache offers an extensive range, including Great Sun Bloc with lanolin for moisturising and makeup ranges Sunbloc and Sunbase with sunscreens.
Dermatologist Dr Tony White, a spokesman for the Cancer Council, confirmed that the only difference between beauty products with an SPF 15+ sunscreen and normal sunscreens was the name - both had the same effect.
However, he warned that products with an added sunscreen really needed SPF 15+.
"SOME products offer a token amount sunscreen," he said.
"If you are going to protect why protect by half? The SPF 6 and others are slowly disappearing, chemists are selling less of these and they will recommend an SPF 15+ anyway.
Dr White said the main problem treated by dermatologists was sun-damaged skin, but added that most Australians were learning the lessons of skin care.
"Parents and children are certainly conscious and they try hard but the big message is don't rely on sunscreens - you should be out of the sun as much as possible."
COMPANY FOUNDATION MOISTURISER BODY LOTION LIPSTICK
Cancer Council $9.95 $9.95 $14.95 $7.95
Sunguard $7.95 $7.95
(lotion) $9.95 $5.95 $9.95
(cream)
Raycare $14.95 $11.95 - $9.95
Shene $8.95 $9.95 - $7.95
Ella Bache $21 - $27.50 -
Aveda - $29.95 - $22.50
(moderate)
Maybelline $12.50 (SPF 10) - - $6.35
Elizabeth $39.50 (SPF 4) $62.50 $40 $20
(Lipcare)
Arden (SPF 4) $48.50 $29.50 (Lip spa)
23 (Daily (SPF 4/
Protector) Visible Difference)
Neutrogena - $14.95 $12.50 -
(Intensified Day)
$14.50 (tinted)
$13.50 (untinted)
* ALL PRODUCTS SPF 15+ UNLESS SPECIFIED, RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICES ONLY.
© 1994 The Sun Herald