Sunlight is an essential prerequisite for life; however too much sun may be extremely dangerous to the human health. The harmful effects of an excessive exposure to the sun consists of both acute and chronic reactions affecting primarily the skin and the eyes. That is why when we speak about sun exposure, we need to speak at the same time about photoprotection.
Photoprotection aims to reduce the deleterious effects of an excessive sun exposure and its critical for a correct exposure to the sunlight. But what does photoprotection mean in real world? The answer to this question is not trivial and depends on the public awareness on sun exposure deleterious effects and on the efficacy of public health campaign. Sunscreens for sure are the most known form of topic photoprotection and represent the first line in protecting the skin by absorbing or reflecting the UV radiation. The performance of these products is provided by sunscreen testing of both their effective in protecting the skin from UVB (Sun Protection Factor testing) and UVA (UVA Protection Factor testing) radiations according to standard methods that can vary based on the product marketplace and the regulatory status of the product in that marketplace. But photoprotection is not the only protection and is not only topic.
In recent years products fighting the deleterious effects of sun exposure and improving the response of the skin to the sun are available on the marketplace. This is how the oral photoprotection was born. Conversely to topic photoprotectors, oral photoprotectors do not directly protect the skin against the damage induced by UV radiation. These oral photoprotective products usually contain one or more ingredients that activate(s) biological mechanisms of photoprotection, especially the ones related to antioxidants.
Based on a consolidated experience in the topic photoprotection testing field, in the last years we have focused our attention in developing study protocols to evaluate the performance of oral photoprotective products. These study protocols include the assessment of both systemic and skin benefits of using oral photoprotectors. A standardized skin stripping procedure combined to biochemical assays was developed to assess the performance of products in decreasing the oxidative stress, in decreasing the oxidative effects of UV on skin lipids, and in replenishing the skin with antioxidants. Bioengineering and image analysis techniques were also implemented to specifically target the mechanism related to oral photoprotections as well as in vitro testing was developed to demonstrate the mechanism of actions.
Read the complete article: FOCUS#2 Solar Testing – Skinobs
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