New Formulations: Sun Safety
All Hawaiian Tropic products that include SunSure Technology feature the SunSure Technology logo on their packaging. This includes the brand’s new Kids Sunblock SPF 60+ Convenience Pack. For more information on this new package, see the Inside Design column on page 22.
Photostability inspired the creation of Hawaiian Tropic’s new SunSure Technology.
Hawaiian Tropic has announced the launch of its new SunSure Technology, a patent-pending sunscreen system. SunSure Technology incorporates these three sunscreens: Octocrylene, Oxybenzone, and Avobenzone (Parsol 1789). This formulation is now being used for the first time in all of Hawaiian Tropic’s products with an SPF of 15 or higher. The new formulation has been tested for photostability.
“Our new formulation is photostable, which means it has been tested in natural sunlight. We have found that in many other sunscreens, the UVA protection degrades in natural sunlight,” says a spokesperson for Hawaiian Tropic. Avobenzone is the most effective UVA absorber available in the United States. However, broad-spectrum sunscreen products combine UVA and UVB protection, and ingredients react differently when combined. Octinoxate is a UVB absorber sometimes used in combination with Avobenzone in some sunscreens. “This common combination is particularly susceptible to photodegradation in natural sunlight,” says the Hawaiian Tropic spokesperson.
The team at Hawaiian Tropic is able to measure the photostability of its products by using natural sunlight for testing. “To ensure a product’s accuracy, tests need to be done both in the lab and in natural light,” says the spokesperson.
Solar simulators, rather than natural light, are commonly used by most major companies to measure the effectiveness of a sun protection product. The research team at Hawaiian Tropic recently determined that the narrow spectrum of polarized light produced by a solar simulator does not accurately indicate how certain sunscreens, particularly Avobenzone, perform in natural light. Hawaiian Tropic performs both solar simulator tests and outdoor studies, which is the reason it can now claim photostability as a product benefit.
Hawaiian Tropic’s packaging conveys the benefits of the new formulation to the consumer. A SunSure Technology symbol has been added to all the bottles whose contents feature the new technology.