Potential allergenicity of commonly sold high SPF broad spectrum sunscreens in the United States; from the perspective of patients with autoimmune skin disease.

BACKGROUND

Lack of established criteria for sunscreen product recommendations and potentially allergenic ingredients in sunscreens pose an issue for physicians and patients with autoimmune skin conditions.

OBJECTIVE

We reviewed popular sunscreens for effectiveness and potential allergenicity for recommendation and use in the autoimmune skin condition population.

METHODS

In this cohort study, we selected sunscreens from the bestseller lists of Amazon, Target, and CVS. Of those, sunscreens with sun protection factor of 50 to 99 and 100 that met our effectiveness criteria (52 sunscreens) were analyzed for allergenic ingredients. An allergen list was developed from the North American Contact Dermatitis Group core data and stratified into low-prevalence and high-prevalence allergens.

RESULTS

The allergenicity of popular sunscreens that met our effectiveness criteria are organized in a table by number of tiered potential allergens. Although no sunscreen was allergen-free, several products contained a minimal number of low-prevalence allergens. The most common low-prevalence allergens were chemical sunscreen ingredients avobenzone, octocrylene, and oxybenzone, and the most common high-prevalence allergen was fragrance. A limitation is that not all U.S. sunscreens were analyzed.

CONCLUSION

With the wide range of sunscreens available, physicians and patients should be aware of the effectiveness and potential allergenicity of sunscreens and make recommendations and consumption choices accordingly.