Performance of six sunscreen formulations on human skin: a comparison

Abstract

Indoor and outdoor tests were performed on human volunteers to determine the protection offered by 6 commercially available products containing single sunscreen ingredients and combinations of ingredients. Indoor solar simulator studies were performed to determine the inherent efficacy of each product, including use of a whirlpool treatment to evaluate the resistance of each product to wash off. The outdoor study included a 10 min swimming period followed by sunlight exposure. In all tests, the combination of 7% octyl-dimethyl p-aminobenzoic acid ester and 3% oxybenzone was substantially more effective in protecting against sunburn than any other formula tested, including 5% p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA).