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News

Be Smart to your Skin

What’s SPF? How long does sun screen last? If I cover up I’ll be fine, won’t I? It’s a sun shelter so obviously it shelters you from the sun, doesn’t it? Well not necessarily! 

Borough of Poole’s Trading Standards team have teamed up with their colleagues across the South West to test all sorts of sun protection products to make sure consumers have a sun safe summer. They found that while the vast majority of products available were absolutely fine, they had to be used correctly to be truly effective. 

As part of the Child Accident Prevention Trust’s Child Safety Week 2005, advice leaflets have been produced by trading standards officers for parents and carers. 

Cllr Don Collier, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Borough of Poole, said:“We were concerned about how confusing the messages about sun protection have become. It is clear from the tests that some clothing and cover-ups that people could reasonably expect to protect them from the sun’s harmful rays are actually providing very little protection at all.” 

For example: 

• Some of the t-shirts tested had a sun protection factor (SPF) as low as seven, which fell to SPF 4 when the t-shirt was wet. \n
• A sarong had an SPF of 4. \n
• A beach shelter purchased in Poole, labelled as ‘sun protection’ ‘UPF40+’ was found to offer protection as low as 8. \n
• Another beach shelter offered less protection than factor 20 sun creams. 

Two easy-to-understand leaflets have been produced by SWERCOTS, the Trading Standards Partnership for the South West. One is aimed at professionals and the other at parents and children. They contain two key messages of SMART and SKIN:

Stay in the shade between 11am and 3pm
Make sure you never burn
Always cover up
Remember to take extra care with children
Then use factor 15+ sunscreen 

Sunscreen use factor 15+
Keep covered up
Infants and toddlers need extra protection
Never allow yourself or your child to burn 

Andrew Crossen-White, Principal Officer, from Poole’s Environmental & Consumer Protection Unit, said:   “Remember to be SUN SMART. Only Sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15 is recommended and relying on only covering up or sitting in a shelter may not be enough. 

I would urge parents in particular to follow the SMART SKIN advice and protect their children’s more delicate skin from burning. Why take unnecessary risks with your child’s future health when you can easily avoid it. “ 

-ends- 

Contact: Andrew Crossen-White, Principal Officer, Environmental and Consumer Protection, Borough of Poole, tel no. 01202 261732

Andrew Crossen-White