Watch out for your skin because the reliability of sun protection indices is in doubt. A laboratory test, carried out by the UFC Que Choisir associationon 13 facial sun creams labeled with sun protection factors 50 or 50 +, shows that a third of these products do not provide the level of protection displayed. In a press release published this Tuesday, the consumer association asks manufacturers to bring their products into compliance with the indices displayed and reserves the possibility of legal action. The opportunity for 20 minutes to look into the control of these cosmetics.
What are the regulations regarding endorsements?
Claims are all the information that can appear on a cosmetic product label. A specific European regulationthe latest version of which was published in Official newspaper in November 2009, frames them and defines the criteria that any claim must meet in order to be used.
Obviously, the label is supposed to provide reliable information to the consumer. “For the labeling, making available on the market and advertising of cosmetic products, the text, names, brands, images or other figurative or non-figurative signs cannot be used to attribute to these products characteristics or functions that “they do not own”, specifies the European text. It is the Member States which are responsible for monitoring the good practices of manufacturers.
How are the controls organized?
Compliance with industrial obligations is subject to regular checks organized by the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF). The agents control based on several field reports gathered on the SignalConso platform or on inter-administration information. They can also react to current events, such as a product recall for example. Agents sometimes go to a point of sale to take samples which will be analyzed in a specialized laboratory, shared with the customs service. The repression of fraud highlights to 20 minutes that it “is in permanent contact with consumer associations” which are sources of information.
What recommendations for consumers?
There is no such thing as a total screen. “No sun protection product can filter all UV rays, affirms the French health product safety agency (Afssaps). Sun protection products should therefore not claim or give the impression that they provide total protection against the risks associated with overexposure to UV radiation. »
Learn more about sunscreens
Once that said, you must choose a cream adapted to your skin: the lighter it is, the more sensitive it is to the sun. It is recommended to choose protection against UVB and UVA rays and to follow the application advice (in sufficient quantity, to be renewed, especially in case of bathing or sweating, etc.) And to keep in mind that It is best to avoid exposure to the sun, especially during the hottest hours, between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. With increased vigilance for the youngest since, specifies Afssaps, “childhood is an important factor in the development of skin cancers at a later age”.