j. Cosmet. Sci., 52, 407-426 (November/December 2001) Papers presented at the Annual Scientific Seminar of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (Friday's Prooram) May 10-11, 2001 Sheraton New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana 407

408 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE SUNSCREEN COMBINATION PRODUCTS - SENSE OR NONSENSE? Ken Klein Cosmetech Laboratories Inc., Fairfield, NJ The publication of each of the sunscreen monographs (Proposed in 1978, Tentative Final in 1993 and Final (sort off) in 1999) initiated an SPF race/marketing frenzy by almost every seller of sunscreen-finished goods. Generally they ignored the SPF maximums set by the agency and produced products with SPFs as high as 100! (If a person's MED is 20 minutes an SPF of 100 corresponds to approximately 33 hours of noonday sun.) Eventually marketers realized that just having another very high SPF wasn't really enough to entice/excite consumers. What we have now begun to see is the advent of combination sunscreen products. This paper will examine the claims, science, regulations and meaning of several combination sunscreen products including: Sunscreen/insect repellent Sunscreen/hydroquinone Sunscreen/AHA Sunscreen/Skin Protectant Sunscreen/moisturizer Sunscreen/DHA S unscreen/antiacne Sunscreen/anti-oxidant While some of these combinations are reasonable and provide a real consumer benefit, others are no more than marketing hype, designed to take advantage of consumer ignorance. In some cases the combination products crosses the paths of two FDA drug monographs while in others it involves two completely separate government agencies. The sunscreen/insect repe!lant combination is perhaps the most logical one that comes to mind and has been thought of, worked on and more recently marketed for more than 30 years. There are two major factors to be considered when developing this combination product: Regulatory considerations: two separate Governmental agencies (FDA and EPA) have rules that must be considered Technical considerations: will the sunscreen efficacy be inhibited by the presence by high concentrations of an outstanding solvent (Deet)? Will the performance of the Deet be affected by the sunscreen? Sunscreen/hydroquinone: This is a reasonable combination and has been used by companies for many years. Sunscreen/AHA: It is well known that the use of AHA products can increase a person's sensitivity to UV radiation. The FDA has conducted several studies that clearly show this correlation.