01The waterproof claimWaterproof, sunblock and all day protection are absolute claims that cannot be substantiated, which is why UK and EU sunscreen labelling does not permit them.Open →02Water resistance testingThe immersion procedure behind a water resistant claim, period by period, and the six things about real water that it deliberately does not reproduce.Open →03How SPF is testedThe in vivo sun protection factor method, what the number is a ratio of, and why the quantity applied in testing changes how you should read it.Open →04The UVA circleWhat the UVA in a circle symbol certifies, how it relates to the SPF number, and why the star rating alongside it is a different scheme entirely.Open →05The US positionWhy American sunscreen is an over the counter drug rather than a cosmetic, what the Drug Facts panel tells you, and how US water resistance labelling differs.Open →06The Australian standardHow Australia regulates sunscreen through the TGA and AS/NZS 2604, why the maximum labelled factor is 50+, and what an Australian pack tells a British reader.Open →07Buying abroadA practical guide to reading a sunscreen pack bought outside the UK: which claims travel, which do not, and the four checks that work in any market.Open →08Who regulates itThe UK map: cosmetics law, the Office for Product Safety and Standards, trading standards, the ASA and the CAP codes, and where the MHRA does and does not sit.Open →09Water, sweat and rubOnly one of the three has a published immersion procedure behind it. Why that matters for anyone who sweats heavily or wears kit that rubs.Open →
New files, when they land
We publish when a standard changes or when a condition is worth documenting properly, not on a schedule.
A short note when a standard changes, a regulator publishes something relevant, or a new conditions file goes up. No product recommendations, because we do not make any.