https://www.sunblockspf.com/ A UK publication on sun protection claim language, labelling and standards. What SPF measures, which claims are permitted, and who decides. No brands named. en-GB Sun, 09 Aug 2026 15:31:52 +0000 Northbank Media 2026 Northbank Media editorial@sunblockspf.com (Northbank Media) https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/the-symbols-on-a-sun-protection-pack https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/the-symbols-on-a-sun-protection-pack Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The open jar, the hourglass, the hand and book, the circled letters and the packaging marks. Some are regulatory, some are metrological, some are commercial Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/spf-in-make-up-and-moisturiser https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/spf-in-make-up-and-moisturiser Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Foundation, tinted cream and lip products carry figures obtained at the same fixed quantity as any sunscreen, and are used in quantities their own design kee Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/period-after-opening-and-expiry-dates https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/period-after-opening-and-expiry-dates Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 One is a date, one a duration starting when the pack is opened. Which appears depends on minimum durability, and neither accounts for the drawer it has sat i Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/how-to-read-a-sun-protection-label-in-order https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/how-to-read-a-sun-protection-label-in-order Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 A sun protection pack can be read as a sequence rather than as a picture. The order matters, because the most prominent element is not the most informative o Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/heat-storage-and-what-degrades-a-sunscreen https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/heat-storage-and-what-degrades-a-sunscreen Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The instruction to keep a product out of direct sunlight and away from heat is not decorative. It relates directly to the assumptions behind the durability m Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/a-sunscreen-versus-a-product-with-an-spf-in-it https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack/a-sunscreen-versus-a-product-with-an-spf-in-it Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 One is formulated and packaged to be applied in the quantity the test assumes. The other carries a tested figure obtained the same way and is used in a compl Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-pack Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Reading a label in sequence, period after opening and expiry, heat and storage, sunscreens against products with an SPF in them, and what the symbols mean. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/what-spf-is-a-measure-of https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/what-spf-is-a-measure-of Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 SPF is a ratio produced by a defined laboratory test against one specific effect of ultraviolet radiation. It is not a percentage, not a duration and not a m Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/the-uva-circle-and-the-star-rating https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/the-uva-circle-and-the-star-rating Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 One is a pass mark tied to the labelled factor, the other is a ratio expressed in bands. They look like alternatives on a shelf and they are not comparable m Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/the-application-quantity-the-number-assumes https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/the-application-quantity-the-number-assumes Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Every printed factor was measured at two milligrams of product per square centimetre of skin. Applying less does not reduce protection in proportion. It redu Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/spf-and-protection-are-not-proportional https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/spf-and-protection-are-not-proportional Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Doubling the number does not double the protection. The relationship is a reciprocal, the difference between high figures is small, and the way that is prese Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/protection-categories-and-why-labels-stop-at-50 https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/protection-categories-and-why-labels-stop-at-50 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Behind the numerals sits a set of four category words and a recommended list of permitted figures. The scale stops at 50 plus, and the reasoning for the cap Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/broad-spectrum-and-what-it-requires https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers/broad-spectrum-and-what-it-requires Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 In the United States broad spectrum is a defined term with a test behind it. In the United Kingdom it is not defined in the same way, which changes what the Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-numbers Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 SPF, the UVA circle, the star rating and the protection categories. What each measure is a measure of, what it is not, and the conditions each one assumes. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap/when-a-labelling-question-becomes-a-medical-one https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap/when-a-labelling-question-becomes-a-medical-one Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 A publication about claim language has a boundary, and it is worth setting out precisely where it is and what sits on the other side of it. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap/what-the-label-says-and-what-people-hear https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap/what-the-label-says-and-what-people-hear Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Every element of a sun protection label has a precise meaning and a popular one, and the two are systematically different in the same direction. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap/the-vocabulary-of-uk-sun-safety-guidance https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap/the-vocabulary-of-uk-sun-safety-guidance Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The words the NHS, NICE, Cancer Research UK and the British Association of Dermatologists use are chosen deliberately, and they differ from the words a pack Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap https://www.sunblockspf.com/the-gap Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 What the label states, what people hear, the vocabulary UK guidance uses, and the point at which a labelling question stops being a labelling question. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/what-an-in-vivo-spf-test-involves https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/what-an-in-vivo-spf-test-involves Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 A panel of human volunteers, a weighed quantity of product, a solar simulator and a graded visual endpoint. The single integer on a pack is the compressed re Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/the-iso-standards-behind-the-numbers https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/the-iso-standards-behind-the-numbers Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 A test standard is a written method, agreed internationally, that makes results comparable. It is not law, it is not a licence, and referencing one is not th Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/measurement-uncertainty-and-a-tested-figure https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/measurement-uncertainty-and-a-tested-figure Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 A protection factor is a panel mean with a confidence interval. The pack prints a rounded down integer, and everything about the precision of the measurement Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/in-vitro-uva-testing-and-what-it-measures https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/in-vitro-uva-testing-and-what-it-measures Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The ultraviolet A determination is made on a roughened plate rather than on skin, with a pre-irradiation step that has no equivalent in the SPF test. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/claim-substantiation-and-the-evidence-file https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing/claim-substantiation-and-the-evidence-file Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Every claim on a sun protection product has to be supported by evidence held before the claim is made. The file sits with the responsible person and is avail Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing https://www.sunblockspf.com/testing Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 What an in vivo SPF test actually involves, how UVA protection is measured in vitro, the ISO standards behind the figures, and what a claim substantiation fi Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/who-enforces-a-sun-protection-label https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/who-enforces-a-sun-protection-label Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The same pack can be examined by the market surveillance authority, by local Trading Standards, by the advertising regulator and by the competition authority Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/the-responsible-person-and-the-product-information-file https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/the-responsible-person-and-the-product-information-file Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Every cosmetic product sold has a named party carrying its legal obligations, and a document set behind it that nobody outside the business ever sees. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/the-european-recommendation-behind-the-label https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/the-european-recommendation-behind-the-label Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The protection categories, the printed figures, the cap at 50 plus and the circled UVA mark all come from a document that creates no binding obligation. Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/sunscreen-is-a-cosmetic-in-the-uk https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/sunscreen-is-a-cosmetic-in-the-uk Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Classification determines everything downstream: who assesses the product, what has to be on the pack, what evidence is required and which claims take it int Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/how-other-jurisdictions-classify-sunscreen https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation/how-other-jurisdictions-classify-sunscreen Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The same formulation is a cosmetic in one country, an over the counter drug in another and a therapeutic good in a third, and the wording on the pack changes Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation https://www.sunblockspf.com/regulation Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 How sunscreen is regulated in the UK, who enforces the label, the European recommendation that shaped it, the responsible person, and how other jurisdictions Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/why-sunblock-is-a-word-you-are-told-not-to-use https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/why-sunblock-is-a-word-you-are-told-not-to-use Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 No product blocks all ultraviolet radiation. European guidance lists wording of that kind among the claims that should not be made, and the UK advertising co Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/waterproof-and-sweatproof-on-a-sunscreen https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/waterproof-and-sweatproof-on-a-sunscreen Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Both words promise that water or sweat has no effect. Guidance treats them as claims that should not be made, and the permitted vocabulary is resistance, whi Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/sun-protection-claims-in-advertising https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/sun-protection-claims-in-advertising Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The advertising codes assess the impression an advertisement creates as a whole, including imagery and omission. That is a broader test than the one applied Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/reef-safe-and-environmental-claims https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/reef-safe-and-environmental-claims Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 None of these phrases has a legal definition in the United Kingdom. They are governed by consumer protection law and the CMA Green Claims Code, and absolute Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/dermatologically-tested-and-other-pack-claims https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/dermatologically-tested-and-other-pack-claims Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 A group of familiar phrases share one feature: none of them corresponds to a defined threshold. They describe that something was done, without stating what r Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/childrens-and-sensitive-sunscreen-wording https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/childrens-and-sensitive-sunscreen-wording Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Neither phrase corresponds to a defined formulation standard. Both are governed by the general claims criteria and by a safety assessment that must take the Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/all-day-protection-and-once-a-day-claims https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language/all-day-protection-and-once-a-day-claims Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The protection factor describes a single undisturbed film at a fixed moment. Wording that converts it into a duration asserts something no part of the measur Sunblock SPF https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language https://www.sunblockspf.com/claim-language Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Sunblock, waterproof, all day protection, reef safe, gentle, for children. Which phrases are permitted, which carry conditions, which are ruled out, and what Sunblock SPF