The American Academy of Dermatology restates importance of nanotechnology in sunscreens

The American Academy of Dermatology has stressed again the importance and safety of sunscreens for protection against skin damage, giving due importance to nanotechnology that has effectiveness along with new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that are of great help.

According to the study, the nanoparticles in sunscreens show benefits, as small molecules can provide more protection and more even coverage on the skin’s surface than larger particles, reported cosmeticsdesign-europe.com.

The academy said sunscreen products contain one or more active drug ingredients that absorb, scatter or reflect UV light and are regulated as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs by FDA.

The FDA makes use of several safety and effectiveness regulations to regulate the manufacture and marketing of all sunscreen products, including safety data on its ingredients.

The American Academy of Dermatology president Daniel Siegel said that scientific evidence supports the benefits of sunscreen usage to minimise short- and long-term damage to the skin from UV radiation and outweighs any unproven claims of toxicity or human health hazard.

According to the academy, the health risks of some ingredients having nanotechnology in sunscreens had been questioned with numerous tests.

The academy said sunscreen formulations most commonly contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles as they have the property of vanishing on the skin, do not leave a residue and retain and increase the ability to block UVA and UVB light.

According to the Siegel, the nanotechnology in medicine is currently under evaluation.

The academy also said that considerable research on the use of nanoparticles on healthy, undamaged skin has shown that the skin’s outermost layer -stratum corneum prevents the entry of nanoparticles into the deeper layers of the skin.