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Daily use of broad spectrum sunscreen may reverse signs of photodamage

Women who applied broad-spectrum photostable sunscreen to their face daily for a year showed improvement in the signs of existing photodamaged skin, according to study results recently published in Dermatologic Surgery.

Researchers studied 33 women aged 40 to 55 years with Fitzpatrick skin types 1 to 3, mild-to-moderate photodamage and in general good health. Thirty-two women who completed the study applied a broad-spectrum, photostable sunscreen with SPF-30 each morning to the entire face for 52 weeks.

Active ingredients included avobenzone (3%), homosalate (12%), octisalate (5%), octocrylene (1.7%) and oxybenzone (3%).

Dermatology evaluations and patient self-assessments were conducted at baseline, and weeks 12, 24, 36 and 52. Digital photography was used to record skin images.

There was a significant improvement in photodamage parameters beginning at week 12 and continuing through week 52 (P ≤ .05). Skin surface and pigmentation attributes, including texture, clarity, mottled and discrete pigmentation, improved by 40% to 52% between baseline and the end of the study period, with most patients experiencing at least a 2-grade improvement.

All women had improvement in texture and clarity by the end of the study.

“An important result in our study was the significant amelioration in tone and pigmentation parameters; this is remarkable given that the final evaluations were conducted at the end of the summer, a period when skin tends to have uneven tone and pronounced mottled pigmentation,” the researchers wrote.

“Overall, our results suggest that the daily use of a photostable, broad-spectrum sunscreen not only prevents additional photoaging, but may improve some of the signs of accumulated photodamage.” – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosure: The research was supported and funded by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies. Randhawa reports being an employee of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies. Please see the full study for the other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.