Why your sunscreen is finally getting a major upgrade

Until this week, the United States hadn’t approved a new sunscreen ingredient in over 20 years. That changed Tuesday, when the FDA approved a new chemical for U. S. sunscreens. It’s called bemotrizinol, and NPR science correspondent Maria Godoy joins us to tell us all about it — including the soonest it’s expected to hit shelves. Interested in more science news? Email us your question at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave http://plus.npr.org/shortwave. CORRECTION: A previous version of this episode incorrectly referred to Dr. Heather Rogers as a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology. She is a fellow of the academy. See pcm.adswizz.com https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy

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• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:15Regina Barber?

  You're listening to Short Wave from NPR.

• 0:21Regina Barber?

  Until this week, the United States hadn't approved a new sunscreen ingredient in almost 30 years. That changed when the FDA approved a new chemical UV filter for US sunscreens on Tuesday. NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy is here to tell us all about it. Hey, Maria.

• 0:37Speaker 02

  Hi, Gina.

• 0:38Regina Barber?

  So what is this ingredient that just got approved?

• 0:40Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's called bimetresenol, and it's a chemical UV filter that's been used in sunscreens in Europe and Asia for a long time. Often, it's also sold under the name Tenisorb S. Here, you will see it as Parcel Shield. That's the trademark name for it from the company that got it approved for sale in the US. I talked about this with Dr. Heather Rogers. She's a dermatologist in Seattle and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. And she says she is psyched about this new ingredient.

• 1:10Speaker 03

  It hits like really every box for us that we have been waiting for as dermatologists and consumers.

• 1:16Regina Barber?

  I love sunscreen, so I'm really excited about this. We actually did an episode last year on why US sunscreens have lagged behind European and Asian ones. And part of the reason was that there's different regulations for how sunscreen is approved in the US.

• 1:30Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's right. I absolutely love sunscreens, too. Use it every day of the year. And you're right, it's a long process, partially because in the US, there's a higher bar for proving that they're safe and effective. In Europe, they treat sunscreens as cosmetics, and it's also expensive. So companies in the past have looked to get new sunscreen ingredients approved here, but they gave up because it just costs way too much money. And in fact, it took 20 years to get this new ingredient approved here, and millions and millions of dollars.

• 2:05Regina Barber?

  Today on the show, why approve this new sunscreen now after a 20-year wait? Plus, how it works. I'm Regina Barber, and you're listening to Short Wave, the science podcast from NPR.

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• 3:50Regina Barber?

  Follow us to make sure you never miss a new episode. New ones drop every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Okay, Maria, we're talking about the newly FDA-approved sunscreen ingredient, bimetresanol. And to understand it, I think we need a little sunscreen 101. Sunscreen's main purpose is to protect against two types of UV rays, UVA and UVB. These are different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, but that's probably not helpful for people. So Maria, break down what's the difference between both of them?

• 4:20Speaker 02

  Okay, so what I use as heuristic, which is UVA, those are the longer wavelengths and they're responsible for aging. So A for aging, like premature aging. UVB, they're shorter wavelengths. And those are the ones responsible for, you know, burning, basically. B for burning, A for aging.

• 4:40Regina Barber?

  Okay, but they actually both kind of affect both things, right? It's a little bit more complicated than that.

• 4:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, they can both cause skin cancer, basically.

• 4:49Regina Barber?

  Yeah.

• 4:50Speaker 02

  And you know, UVA, one thing about it is that people don't realize that it can come through windows. That's one reason you should be wearing sunscreen if you're driving. So Heather Rogers actually has this photo on her website that was originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and it shows this man who was a professional truck driver for nearly three decades. And the left side of his face that was exposed to UVA rays through his window looked at least 20 years older than the right side of his face. So the damage is real, folks. Wear sunscreen.

• 5:21Regina Barber?

  You know, I've seen this image before. It's terrifying.

• 5:24Speaker 02

  Yeah. If you don't care about cancer, be vain and wear sunscreen for that reason.

• 5:29Regina Barber?

  That's what I do for. But both kinds of radiation, UVA, UVB, are linked to skin cancer, right? So like, you want to wear sunscreen to protect against UVA and UVB rays, which makes a sunscreen broad spectrum, right?

• 5:42Speaker 02

  Right, exactly. Because you know your sunscreens, and you know, and there's a few ways you can get that broad spectrum protection. So mineral or physical sunscreens, or chemical sunscreens, those are the options we have. Heather Rogers, who we heard from earlier, told me they both absorb UV radiation and release it as harmless heat. That's the primary way they work. Mineral or physical sunscreens are bigger particles, and they form a protective layer on your skin. And so another thing they do is they physically reflect and scatter UV rays.

• 6:12Regina Barber?

  So those are the ones with things like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide?

• 6:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, exactly. Those are minerals, you know, in their pure form, they're white powders. And so when you apply it, they often leave what people call it a white cast. You know, it depends on the formulation and the SPF level, but you'll often hear people complain that their mineral sunscreens don't blend super well. So, you know, they might not be as likely to wear them because they don't want to look funny. And Heather Rogers says, that's a problem. You want people to wear sunscreen.

• 6:40Speaker 03

  Particularly if you're a person of color. Zinc is going to make you look pale, white, or ashy, which really makes it hard to use on a regular basis.

• 6:48Regina Barber?

  But benatreesanol is different, right?

• 6:51Speaker 02

  Yeah. So it's a chemical UV filter. It's a chemical sunscreen, what we call chemical sunscreens. And they work a little different.

• 6:58Regina Barber?

  Because they get absorbed into your skin, right, instead of like On top of your skin.

• 7:01Speaker 02

  Yeah, right. So they blend super evenly. And so you end up with something that's transparent on your skin. And the plus side of chemical sunscreens is they don't make people look super ghostly pale, but one downside is for a lot of people, they can be more irritating. I don't know about you, Gina, but I've always actually avoided chemical sunscreens because I sweat a lot in the heat, which is when you're going to be wearing sunscreen the most, although I wear it all the time. And anyway, when I sweat, it gets in my eyes and that burns.

• 7:28Regina Barber?

  Yeah, when well, I've noticed the more I reapply, the more it gets into my eyes.

• 7:32Speaker 02

  Yeah, exactly. So I always use mineral for that reason. Plus, the chemical sunscreen options we've had in the US until now. The UV filters only protect against either UVA or UVB. So in order to get that broad spectrum protection, they have to combine them. And sometimes that can make for a greasier formula because there's soluble liquids and the more you combine, the greasier they get. That's what one cosmetic chemist told me. But Bemetresenol, this new ingredient that just got approved, has UVA and UVB protection all in one. So that's another bonus.

• 8:03Regina Barber?

  Yeah, I remember Heather from earlier saying that it just checked every box. So is that why it makes it better? Or is there even more?

• 8:12Speaker 02

  But wait, there's more, Gina. So another issue with chemical sunscreen ingredients in the US is that, you know, like the UV filters, some of them can start to break down when they're exposed to UV.

• 8:24Regina Barber?

  That's why you have to reapply, right?

• 8:25Speaker 02

  Right. They're not very what's called photo stable, but Bemetresenol breaks down more slowly when exposed to the sun. Heather Rogers says you just get a little more protection that way.

• 8:34Speaker 03

  So if you go a little longer than two hours to reapply your sunscreen, there will be more protection left.

• 8:41Regina Barber?

  But you always still should reapply.

• 8:43Speaker 02

  Oh, my gosh, yeah, definitely reapply. It just gives you a little bit more protection, but you know.

• 8:47Regina Barber?

  So when it comes to chemical sunscreen, there also has been a lot of talk, you know, there's worries that it might disrupt hormonal pathways, you know, sunscreen might not be good for you. Where does that fear come from?

• 9:01Speaker 02

  Yeah, so there have been studies that have shown chemical sunscreens can be absorbed in humans and found in blood and breast milk and urine, though they haven't been shown to be harmful or cause cancer in humans. You know, I should note, when it comes to a chemical UV filter called oxybenzone, there are some concerns that it may act as a hormone disruptor in humans, but more research is needed. That's why the FDA has called for more safety data on sunscreen and chemical filters. And actually, bemetresenol, this newly approved ingredient, is the only chemical UV filter for sunscreens in the US that has been designated by the FDA as generally recognized as safe and effective.

• 9:38Regina Barber?

  Wow.

• 9:39Speaker 02

  Yeah. The other two sunscreen ingredients that have that same designation are the mineral ones, so zinc oxide, titanium dioxide.

• 9:44Regina Barber?

  What about bemetresenol makes it different from the other chemical sunscreens?

• 9:48Speaker 02

  Well, you know, it's bigger molecule size, so it kind of sits more on the surface of the skin. It doesn't absorb very easily into the bloodstream at all, so that's really not a concern.

• 9:58Regina Barber?

  Okay. When am I going to be able to get this new sunscreen? I'm excited.

• 10:04Speaker 02

  I am, too. I asked DMS, which is the company that got bemetresenol through the FDA approval process, and they told me they've been talking with various sunscreen manufacturers in the US. And, you know, they expect the first products with this ingredient to hit US shelves in late August or more likely, early September.

• 10:21Regina Barber?

  This year?

• 10:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, this year.

• 10:22Regina Barber?

  Wow, that's pretty soon.

• 10:24Speaker 02

  Yeah. Come on, sunscreen.

• 10:26Regina Barber?

  Maria Godoy, thank you so much for coming on Short Wave and bringing us the story.

• 10:31Speaker 02

  Oh, it's truly my pleasure, because, you know, I love sunscreen.

• 10:34Regina Barber?

  We both do. This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and edited by showrunner Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Jimmy Keighley was the audio engineer. I'm Regina Barber. Thank you for listening to Short Wave from NPR.

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