The Cancer Council and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency have together urged Australians to choose lotion over aerosol sunscreen as much of the spray is lost in the wind, rendering it less effective.
Their research into the impact of wind on the application of sunscreen has found the proportion of aerosol sunscreen lost due to typical wind conditions ranged between 32% and 93%.
The study found that four of the five sunscreen products tested would require more than one bottle to provide adequate full-body coverage in 20km/h wind conditions.
A person would need to spray an aerosol sunscreen in some cases for “up to 250 seconds per limb” to achieve the SPF protection as labelled on the product, the council said.
Chair of Cancer Council Australia’s national skin cancer committee, Heather Walker, said the council welcomed the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s recent announcement of a review into the efficacy of aerosol sunscreens.
“With aerosol sunscreens, it is very difficult to obtain the amount of sunscreen to the body that is necessary to get good UV protection, potentially leaving Australians’ skin inadequately protected from harmful UV radiation and increasing their skin cancer risk,” Walker said.