Image via Kelly Sue on Flickr

Last week we talked about how the Cosmetic Safety Database just issued a huge report claiming that in an investigation of 952 name-brand sunscreens, four out of five offer inadequate sun protection. This gross error, they allege, is directly linked to the fact that the FDA seems to have a rather lackadaisical attitude when it comes to product labeling, especially when it comes to beauty products, which I needn't remind you are the most intimate of household goods because we put them directly on our skin. And while we're used to products claiming to topically 86 our hormonal acne (hey, that's where a healthy dose of Product Fiend skepticism comes in handy!), we were rather surprised and dismayed to realize that sunscreen manufacturers can claim their SPF is "waterproof!" and "prevents skin cancer!" willy nilly, when this may not always be the case. And fact is, the government has let us down. (Shocking, I know.)

So here's the latest: According to the Times:

Last year, to much fanfare, the Food and Drug Administration issued new comprehensive regulations for sunscreens, promising consumers more informative labels. Then it opened the proposed rules to public commentary and criticism, thereby kicking the ball into the court of sunscreen manufacturers.

So consumers should not expect to see new sunscreen labels any time soon. The agency recently said that it has not yet set a date to make the updated rules final, let alone implement them, because it has been inundated with several thousand comments.

So basically, there's been so much interest and outrage on this topic that they've decided to take more time with it? Huh? Furthermore, this delay is no doubt giving cosmetic company lobbyists more time to sic their lawyers on regulators in hopes of favorably swaying the new mandates in their clients' direction.

"For far too long, sunscreen manufacturers have exploited the F.D.A.'s abject failure to enact regulations that ensure truthful, accurate claims in sunscreen advertising and labeling," Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general, wrote last Thursday in a letter to the F.D.A. commissioner. "The proposed rule will prevent sunscreen manufacturers from continuing false claims about their products--improperly and falsely representing that they are waterproof or offer all-day protection or shield against the most dangerous rays." (If the rules take effect, terms like "waterproof" and "sunblock" on products below will be prohibited.)

Exactly.

Clearly, this issue is nowhere close to being resolved, and the blatant message here is that it's up to you, the consumer, to protect yourself (and your children) from harmful, cancer-causing rays. That means dressing properly and avoiding sun exposure when possible, using "mechanical" sunscreens such as hats that filter UVA/UVB rays, and my advice would be to consult the Cosmetic Safety Database's sunscreen report to find out which products they recommend. (Here's our handy product cheat sheet for the time-pressed...)

And don't forget to stay outta the sun this weekend! Yay.

Sigh.