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00:00Music
00:08There's a secret inside your sunscreen.
00:11Probably just a sucker to the branding and marketing.
00:14We all need it.
00:15But how do we know we're getting the protection we're paying for?
00:19Should Canadians be concerned about what could be on store shelves?
00:23Absolutely.
00:24Don't take any product that's protecting your health at face value.
00:28How much can you trust what the companies are selling?
00:31You'll never get the protection on the bottle.
00:33Sunscreen is not your only line of defence.
00:43We're diving into sun safety at the beach.
00:47I cut out enough vices that I figure I can have one vice and that is the sun.
00:53I'm from the Caribbean so actually we just enjoy the sun.
00:57We hear from a lot of you that sunscreen is a hot topic.
01:02Everybody have to use it.
01:03It's not about, you know, colours.
01:05It's for everybody.
01:06And when I don't have sunscreen on I can feel myself burning.
01:0830 on the body, 50 on the face.
01:11That little SPF number is a big deal when it comes to staying sun safe.
01:16Higher number, higher protection.
01:18SPF 50, because if you're going to put it on you might as well get the maximum protection.
01:21If that's how they market it, right, what else am I supposed to do?
01:25It's like if I don't work at the sunscreen lab I just have to go by what they say.
01:29Can we trust sunscreen to keep us safe in the sun?
01:33We're going to put that to the test.
01:35But first we're catching up with Dr. Julia Carroll, a dermatologist.
01:39So who should be wearing sunscreen?
01:42Everybody should be wearing sunscreen.
01:44I know that people who feel they have a darker skin tone they feel they have this layer of protection.
01:48There is some protection but you're still getting damage in terms of age spots, wrinkling, fine lines.
01:56So with skin of colour or darker skin tones we often have a delay in diagnosing a skin cancer.
02:02So trying to prevent those cancers is just important in a darker skin tone than it is in a lighter
02:07skin tone.
02:08So we all need it, but what is SPF?
02:15SPF, sun protection factor.
02:18It's not magic, it's math.
02:21It measures how much UVB it takes to burn skin with sunscreen on versus without it.
02:28Two types of rays to look out for in the sunlight.
02:32UVA, deep diving rays.
02:34They get under your skin, cause wrinkles, aging, long-term damage.
02:39Some cancers too.
02:42UVB, the surface scorchers.
02:44They're the ones that burn you.
02:46And yes, they can cause cancer as well.
02:49See broad spectrum on the bottle?
02:51That's your UVA shield.
02:52But SPF?
02:54That only talks about UVB.
02:57Higher SPF means your skin takes longer to burn from UVB, not invincibility.
03:03Just more protection if you actually apply enough.
03:07But how much protection are you actually getting?
03:11To find out, we're in New Jersey.
03:14It may not be sunny, but sunscreen is still top of mind for this lab.
03:19They're inviting us to watch how a product's SPF is measured.
03:24Welcome to the lab.
03:25Michael Trout runs human trials at Consumer Product Testing Company.
03:32So can anyone be a product tester?
03:35For all the major sunscreen methods, they want you to have people that are on the lighter side of skin
03:41tone so that you can readily burn.
03:43So you're going to mildly burn the skin?
03:45Very mildly burn it.
03:46She won't feel it.
03:48So you're always using human testers?
03:50Yes.
03:50It seems a bit, you know, it's the year 2026.
03:53Does it seem a bit archaic to still be doing this on people?
03:57It's very archaic because you're causing a burn, which is an inflammatory response, and that's a very variable thing.
04:05I'm going to apply the first product.
04:06And that's not the only variable.
04:09How a technician applies sunscreen can impact the final SPF number two.
04:15Technicians try their best to standardize how they apply.
04:18That's it for the first application.
04:20So to figure out the SPF, it looks like you're using a very precise amount and the application is precise.
04:26Absolutely.
04:26But does it mimic how people do it in the real world at all?
04:29It provides a reliable way to apply so that every lab, every company is applying the same amount.
04:38But a number of studies have been conducted that show that, on average, people apply far less than half of
04:45what we do on this test.
04:47Would I be getting the SPF that's on the bottle if I applied far less than what I'm seeing here?
04:54You'll be getting protection, but it'll be proportionately less depending on how much you apply.
04:59Each tester will be burned in three areas.
05:02One for the product being tested, one to compare it to a control, and one with no sun protection at
05:09all.
05:10About 24 hours later, a lab technician scores how red the tester's back turned compared to unprotected skin using just
05:20their eyes.
05:21From that, they calculate an SPF number.
05:25Sunscreen makers are only required to do one test at one lab on 10 people.
05:31And unless the formula changes or a regulator steps in, that's it.
05:36So how can we trust we're getting the protection we're paying for?
05:41We're going to find out for ourselves, grabbing one popular sunscreen off store shelves and sending it to five different
05:49labs.
05:50The bottle says SPF 50.
05:53What will the labs say?
05:56While we wait, we're meeting someone who's seen the dark side of the sun.
06:05Annette?
06:06Hi.
06:06Hi, Christine.
06:07Christine.
06:08Nice to meet you.
06:08Nice to meet you.
06:09Come on in.
06:10Annette Sear survived a 12-year battle with skin cancer.
06:16You got into your teen years.
06:18Everybody wanted to tan.
06:19I was out trying to do that.
06:21Not successfully, but, you know, did spend a lot of time outdoors.
06:26And it was intense sun at that time.
06:30At age 39, she shows her dermatologist a small, itchy mole on her ankle.
06:36The dermatologist didn't think it was anything.
06:38She said, I'll take it out if it makes you feel better.
06:40And it came back a week later, positive for melanoma.
06:44Melanoma usually starts on the skin, but can invade the bloodstream or lymphatic system, making it the most aggressive form
06:52of skin cancer.
06:53It's not a simple burn off in the doctor's office and done.
06:58It's pretty significant.
07:00Annette had multiple scans, skin grafts, surgeries, leaving her with lifelong scars.
07:07And then, she's given five years to live.
07:11I think processing that type of information is difficult, but I came to the conclusion I can't control that.
07:18That's when I decided to try to do something positive with that diagnosis.
07:24Annette founded Melanoma Canada in 2009.
07:27A key message, sun safety.
07:30What would you say directly to somebody who feels like they are enjoying the sun?
07:35You know, if I'm unlucky, it's okay, they can treat that.
07:38You can't possibly imagine the stress and the physical harm this does to you over time.
07:48It does change your life.
07:49Annette is cancer free now.
07:51I'm fortunate to be alive.
07:53All I can do is present the information and hope people take it to heart.
07:58She says her story is a warning, especially to those pushing misinformation online.
08:03Some guy goes, here, take some sunscreen.
08:06And I said, you get that cancer water away from me, okay?
08:09The sun does not cause cancer.
08:11You're actually more likely to get burnt or the sun is more likely to damage your skin when you wear
08:15sunscreen.
08:16Dr. Carroll is watching along with us.
08:18It's very frustrating because we work so hard to protect our patients and get the message out.
08:23Do the sunscreens that are on store shelves cause cancer?
08:26Absolutely no way.
08:27Do they contain toxic ingredients?
08:30Not when applied on your skin as directed.
08:33So what a lot of these influencers and sunscreen haters do is that they read through papers and they look
08:40for one little line.
08:42And then that's the thing that they'll jump on and shout from the rooftops.
08:46So experts agree sunscreen is safe, but how effective is it?
08:50Our first lab result is in.
08:53Remember that sunscreen we bought off the shelf?
08:56Well, it said SPF 50.
08:58Okay.
08:58This lab says it's 34.
09:02SPF 30 lets in about 3% of UV rays compared to 2% from SPF 50.
09:08Although that gap seems minimal, experts tell us over a long day with a lot of sun, it can be
09:15a big deal.
09:16So why the difference?
09:22Will the other labs agree on this SPF?
09:26Or is this popular Canadian product giving you less protection than you think?
09:32Making me a little nervous.
09:34That's coming up.
09:45Our investigation into sunscreen is more than skin deep.
09:49If you're going to put it on, you might as well get the maximum protection.
09:52We're sending the same sunscreen lotion to five labs to see if they get the same SPF.
09:58Given how many variables there are in the testing, do you think that such a specific SPF number on the
10:05label makes sense?
10:06You have a point. Absolutely.
10:08So far, one lab says our product isn't giving the protection it advertises.
10:1334.
10:14It's supposed to be 50.
10:16More results are coming, but first.
10:25We're in Toronto.
10:26Still audiophile-ified.
10:27Giving these beachgoers a glimpse into their future.
10:34This special UV camera can reveal sun damage under the skin, invisible to the naked eye.
10:41You're excited?
10:42I am a little nervous.
10:43I want skin cancer.
10:45Along with us is dermatologist Julia Carroll.
10:49We'll see things like sun damage, which will show up as pigmentation.
10:54I don't feel myself burning, but I'm really interested to see if that was a mistake.
10:58So we can look right down into the lens there.
11:01Then look a little bit up for me.
11:03Can we take the sunglasses off?
11:04Oh, we can.
11:05Okay.
11:05So we're seeing little bits of pigmentation, especially around the eyes.
11:12Each dark spot could come back to haunt them.
11:17You know, we always say that it's like a postcard from the sun.
11:21And they're sitting on your face reminding you that at some point you didn't have enough sun protection on.
11:25On my visible eye, I see a lot of sun damage here.
11:29Same in this area here.
11:30And then as expected, they go together.
11:32So you see the pigment damage.
11:34Right.
11:34And then you see the visible sun damage as well.
11:38You're making me a little nervous.
11:40But you're making me think I have to be more religious or careful about putting on my sun cream on
11:49a regular basis.
11:51I think that you're doing a great job protecting your skin.
11:54It's good.
11:55Credit to my mom.
11:56I think overall you still have young, healthy, beautiful skin.
12:00But we want to protect it going forward.
12:02Okay.
12:05So how can we be sure we're protecting properly?
12:10So I wear spray on my body, cream on my face, and then like a stick on my scalp and
12:15my ears.
12:16I do spray then cream on my face.
12:19But do all those methods apply equally?
12:22We're putting that to the test.
12:24I put it first here.
12:26Since sunscreen blocks most UV light, we can easily see where sunscreen has been applied with our special camera.
12:33First up, lotion.
12:34So hopefully we'll see a good coverage.
12:38Ah, so you did a really good job.
12:40Yeah.
12:41You always forget about your ears, don't you?
12:43Yeah.
12:44Well, I think that I wouldn't have been able to do any better with anything else.
12:49I think A++, you did a great job.
12:52Lotion isn't that tough to spread.
12:55But what about even more convenient methods like sunscreen sprays?
12:59Will you cover my eyes?
13:01This is the worst part.
13:02I don't know if I can reach.
13:04How did they do?
13:06Duh.
13:07Not bad, maybe.
13:09I could have put more up here and on my shoulders.
13:12My back.
13:14I can't really see, but I think it's a little patchy.
13:16So you see the spots you missed?
13:18So you missed around your mouth.
13:20See these white areas?
13:21Yeah.
13:22You missed around your mouth, but you did a good job on the back of your neck.
13:25Oh, wow.
13:25Yeah.
13:27The problem with spray sunscreens is that you lose a lot of the spray.
13:32Dr. Carol's tip?
13:33Spray it in your hand and then apply it.
13:36And then you rub it in so you get all the little spots that maybe didn't reach.
13:39Yeah.
13:39And last up, a sunscreen stick.
13:43Any more than that, I'd be cheating.
13:45Oh, my goodness.
13:46See all the spots that were in this?
13:48I think an important area that you missed was around your mouth and around your eyes,
13:52because those are areas that, you know, can get damaged more easily from an aging perspective.
13:59Our UV camera can only show us where sunscreen was applied, not if it was enough.
14:06So we have another test for that.
14:09In the lab, SPF tests are done by weight.
14:12It's two milligrams of product per centimetre squared of skin,
14:17which means to get the same SPF as they got in the lab, we have to apply that much.
14:22To do our sunscreen math, I measure my face with tape.
14:26These are all the places that I would put sunscreen on.
14:31Okay, I think I'm all covered.
14:33I stick that tape on grid paper and count to see how many square centimetres my face is.
14:40So based on our calculation, we need 664 milligrams of sunscreen.
14:47That's 0.66 grams.
14:49Using a scale, I try to apply that much to my face.
14:53Now, personally, I don't normally buy mineral sunscreen because it leaves this white film.
14:58And it isn't easy.
14:59So it took me three goes at it.
15:02Most people wouldn't put sunscreen on three times.
15:05A chemical sunscreen takes even longer.
15:08I think that's how much I would normally put on.
15:11Oh gosh, I'm not even halfway there yet.
15:13It takes five applications to get the right amount of sunscreen on my face.
15:18I don't think I would ever put on this much sunscreen.
15:22Does anyone?
15:23Hi Christine.
15:24Hi Professor Diffie.
15:26We're connecting with Professor Brian Diffie near Exeter, UK.
15:29Thanks for taking the time to chat with us.
15:31He spent his career testing sunscreen and how it should be applied.
15:35We know from studies that if you give a bottle of sunscreen to someone and say,
15:39just put this on, people will typically put it on to about a third to a half of that thickness.
15:45It's really starting to make me question how much protection it's offering me.
15:49You'll never get the protection on the bottle.
15:51You'll never get that protection unless you're extreme
15:54because most of us will not apply it at the thickness that it's tested at.
15:59The important thing with sunscreen is to use it.
16:01Don't worry too much about the SPF and all the rest of it.
16:05Just apply the stuff to your skin and the more generously you feel able to apply it,
16:10the better the protection.
16:12Our test so far shows the SPF label isn't always accurate.
16:17We have three more results in.
16:19Remember the sunscreen we sent in was labelled SPF 50.
16:23The first lab told us this product was SPF 34.
16:27The second lab says SPF 60.
16:32Seems like a big difference.
16:34And the other labs aren't any more consistent.
16:37Now we have SPF 44 and SPF 50.
16:42That's two labs saying the SPF meets or exceeds what's on the label.
16:46Two saying it gives less protection than advertised.
16:50There's one result to come.
16:52But there's something else Canadians should know about the sunscreen on store shelves.
16:57I was there for about nine years.
16:58Brian Ecclefield worked at AMA Labs.
17:01It did testing for some of the largest sunscreen companies in the world.
17:05For a long time they were sort of recognized as faster, cheaper,
17:08and potentially going to provide higher SPF label values than some of the competition.
17:14So like when you really start understanding that those three things are true simultaneously,
17:18you should question it.
17:21In 2017, AMA was caught testing sunscreen on fewer than the 10 people required
17:27and fabricating results.
17:29The owner even went to prison over it.
17:32Did this shake your faith in that little SPF numbers on the label?
17:37Completely.
17:37When I started working at AMA, I wholeheartedly believed in what they were doing.
17:43I mean, I thought at that time I was making the industry a better place in some little way.
17:49So as I was leaving, it utterly crushed me sort of walking away from that
17:55after having, you know, seen everything for what it was once I knew what was going on and I quit.
18:01Once the news hits, Australia tells brands that used AMA data to retest their products.
18:06Health Canada didn't appear to do anything.
18:09But do tell us some sunscreens they approved did use AMA labs.
18:15Their position?
18:16It's on manufacturers to make sure the lab is doing its job.
18:20Since Health Canada doesn't require companies to retest their products unless their formulations change,
18:27they acknowledge products relying on AMA data could still be on store shelves.
18:31So Health Canada told us that there were products that they approved that were tested in AMA labs,
18:37but they didn't say anything to Canadians.
18:39Do you think they should have?
18:41I do.
18:42And I still don't think it's too late.
18:44Making consumers aware that there was a problem that has been very public and people have gotten in trouble for
18:52it.
18:52There's proven fraud.
18:54That would be one way to get started.
18:56Two would be reach out to the brands directly.
19:00Notify them that there was wrongdoing.
19:02That's the, that's going to be the most effective way.
19:05Push it on the brands to pull their products if they know they were tested there.
19:11If Health Canada isn't stepping up, we will.
19:14If the companies don't know how well protected you are,
19:16how do you have a chance of thinking of how well protected you are?
19:20We're demanding answers from Canada's biggest brands after the break.
19:35We're all obsessed with SPF.
19:39The SPF is really a crude indication of how well a product protects you.
19:44Do not read anything at all into the actual number.
19:48It's meaningless when it comes to the protection you're getting on the day that you choose to apply that sunscreen.
19:54And we learn Health Canada approved sunscreens that were tested at a lab shut down after faking results.
20:02It's important that North America comes to understand the risk that's currently ongoing.
20:09We ask sunscreen makers how often they test their products and where.
20:14While some say they didn't rely on AMA for testing, none of the companies would share their lab reports with
20:21us.
20:21They tell us they follow Health Canada's rules.
20:25In our lab test, we've gotten results all over the map.
20:29The bottle we bought said SPF 50.
20:31But labs we sent it to said it's 34, 44, 50 and 60.
20:37And now the last lab says it's SPF 15.
20:42I mean, you'd hope for some consistency.
20:44I mean, that's ridiculous.
20:46If the companies don't know how well protected you are, how do you have a chance of thinking of how
20:51well protected you are, I think.
20:52We bring our results to skin cancer survivor Annette Sear too.
20:56You never want to hear that because we're putting our health in the hands of others.
21:01I want to be reassured as a consumer and as a survivor that what they say on the label is
21:09reasonably close.
21:11There should be a level of confidence in the testing procedures and in the results that are communicated that we're
21:18getting what we think we're getting.
21:20The results are really quite worrying, aren't they?
21:22And so it begs the question which one was right or were any of them right?
21:27We're not revealing which sunscreen brand we tested.
21:30Our focus is on the process, not the product.
21:34So we ask Health Canada for an on-camera interview.
21:37They decline and won't directly comment on our findings.
21:41So we need to keep taking protection into our own hands.
21:45Yeah, I'm going to listen a lot more.
21:47I use my sunscreen every day and really hope that there will be government regulations as to what SPF really
21:56means.
21:56That to me is very, very important.
21:58Sunscreen is important, but it should be your last line of defense.
22:03So you want to use a hat, you want to use sunglasses, you want to use sun protective clothing, and
22:09you want to stay in the shade when it's sunny.
22:11But I think it's going to pay off in the long run.
22:13You know, when you're in your 50s or 60s, you're still going to have the beautiful skin.
22:21That's all.
22:22I'm doing that.
22:23I'm doing a lot of different things.
22:23So I'm doing a little bit I can't see my skin on my skin.
22:24I'm doing a little bit.
22:24I'm getting a lot more, and that's it.
22:24What's all right, that's everything.
22:24I'm doing the same thing.
22:25I mean, you know, that's the same thing.
22:28I don't really need something you can still be in your living room.
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