There was some bad news for sun worshipers last month, as researchers from the University of Manchester found that conventional sun care products might not actually protect against malignant melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.
The new research, published in the journal Nature, brought to light some truly troubling information on the effects of UV not on our skin, but on our DNA.
It turns out UV radiation targets the tp53 gene, or tumor protein p53. This gene is a tumor suppressor, which keeps cells from dividing in an uncontrolled way—in other words, it is a cancer fighter.
The bad news is that tp53—the gene that is meant to protect us— is actually quite susceptible to damage from UV rays.
The implication here is that while sunscreen is still useful for protecting against sunburn and other immediate effects of UV, sunscreen cannot protect against genetic damage from sun exposure.
Sun Cream is Simply Not Enough
In order to test how effective sun cream is without additional skin protection, the researchers exposed mice to enough UV radiation to mimic a mild sunburn. Half the mice had additional protection, and half were left unprotected.
According to an article from Medical Daily, within 24 hours the exposed mice had sunburns, and researchers we able to observe changes to their tp53 genes. The article states:
“After seven days, the skin became rough to the touch, and thickened. This and other UVR-induced changes occurred while the exposed skin darkened. All of the BRAF-induced mice who were exposed to UVR, developed tumors, as 98 percent were formed in the area exposed to UV light.”
These revelations might throw the Global Sun Care Product Market through a loop.
Where it was once thought that slathering on factor 50 sun cream would provide ample sun protection, this new discovery could have serious implications on how we think about sun protection.
As it stands, the market is only seeing moderate projections, with a CAGR of 6.12 percent from 2013-2018. Growing awareness of the negative effects of sun exposure is driving some market growth, but it will come down to major technological advances in skin products to promote more aggressive growth.
New Product Innovations
Technology has yielded some pretty state-of-the-art sun care products recently. Vendors are adding extra benefits such as anti-aging elements, hypoallergenic properties, and intense repair to sun care products. For instance, Shiseido recently launched its new UV Protection Cream SPF 50 PA+++ containing thyme and turmeric extracts to prevent DNA damage to cells.
New developments in nanotechnology are also starting to creep into some sun care products. Nanoparticles like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are being used to optimize products and provide greater sun protection. However, there is still a lot of confusion regarding the safety of nanoparticles so thus far, these advanced products have had relatively low uptake amongst consumers.
And when it comes down to it, sun care products can only get you so far in terms of full sun protection. While some interesting steps are being made to develop products whose protection is more than just skin deep, it will certainly be worth it to see how the Global Sun Care Product Market responds to this new information on how deeply UV really affects us.
