UVA protection
- Our 'UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum' claim measures the level of protection against UVA rays. UVA rays don't cause burns, but cause long term skin damage and photoaging, whereas UVB rays cause sunburns. The SPF50 factor applies to UVB protection, and the UVA/UVB claim shows the product provides at least 1/3 of that protection against UVA rays
UVA star & PA+ testing
- UVA Star Rating and PA+ claims seen on other brands' packaging are alternative tests to measure UVA protection.
- UVA Star Rating uses 1-5 stars to indicate UVA protection. The higher the star rating, the closer the UVA protection is to the SPF factor. I.e. 5 stars means UVA protection is the same/similar (at least 90%) to the SPF factor e.g. SPF50.
- For PA+, the UVA protection is measured via a clinical study - the more '+', the higher the UVA protection. This is unrelated to the SPF factor.
- Most brands will choose one of the UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum, UVA Star Rating or PA+, often depending on region. We currently only measure UVA protection using the UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum claim, however we may expand testing in the future.
- UVA/UVB broad spectrum claim are globally recognized claim
- PA+ is a Japanese test system
- UVA star is a UK Boots test system