Speaker suggests tinted sunscreen for visible light, talks new ingredient for UV rays
Key takeaways:
- Iron oxide, found in tinted sunscreens, can protect against the visible light spectrum.
- Bemotrizinol, a highly effective and cosmetically attractive option, is highly anticipated in the U.S.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — As the U.S. continues to wait for newer sunscreen ingredients, patients should use tinted sunscreens to protect against visible light that causes photodamage, melasma and hyperpigmentation, according to a speaker here.
“It’s really all about physical light now,” Todd Schlesinger, MD, FAAD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, affiliate assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine and director of Clinical Research Center of the Carolinas, said in his presentation at South Beach Symposium. “You want to protect against ultraviolet light, but we also need to protect against visible light. Currently, there are no approved ingredients in sunscreens that are visible light protectors.”
Visible light is light that falls between a 400 nm and 700 nm wavelength and consists of light that comes through windows, light from lamps and even blue lights from electronics. While unlikely to produce skin cancer on its own, visible light cause cutaneous photodamage such as melasma and other hyperpigmentation disorders.
The current sunscreens offered in the U.S., Schlesinger explained, do not protect all the way to the end of the UV spectrum, including visible light, with the exception of tinted sunscreens.
According to Schlesinger, iron oxide used in tinted sunscreens can protect a large portion of the visible light spectrum, all the way up to 700 nm, including blue light. Mineral sunscreens containing zinc oxide or titanium oxide can also scatter visible light, but only protect around the 400 nm range.
As a result, Schlesinger recommends that patients worried about photodamage, melasma and hyperpigmentation stick to tinted sunscreens.
“These ingredients with iron oxide really make a big difference in the reduction of that high energy visible light,” he said. “And tinting also helps you see where you put the sunscreen on your face or on your body.”
Schlesinger discussed the prospect of a new active sunscreen ingredient on the horizon: bemotrizinol (PARSOL Shield, dsm-firmenich).
“This is an exciting new technology with a nice spectrum of blocking that goes a little bit higher on the UVA spectrum,” he said. “But we probably won’t get this for a few years.”
While it does not protect widely against visible light, it is a highly effective ingredient at low concentrations that is currently being used in Europe, Japan and South Korea. It is also highly photostable and soluble in cosmetic oils, making it a potentially attractive option for consumers.
In October 2024, dsm-firmenich submitted an over-the-counter monograph order request tier 1 application for bemotrizinol. According to protocol, the FDA has until early 2026 to review the application and make its decision on whether bemotrizinol will be considered generally recognized as safe and effective.