In vivo assessment of Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of sunscreens

Application of sunscreens is one of the most important ways for skin protection against sunburn, early skin aging and skin cancer.
Due to variety of sunscreen products, it is necessary to assure their protection ability against the sun’s damages. Performance assessment of sunscreens against UVB expressed by sun protection factor. Due to great cost of determination methods of this factor in foreign countries, developing a comprehensive protocol for in vivo SPF determination in Iran would have distinct benefits.
In this study four international standards have been reviewed and compared for Sun Protection Factor (SPF) determination including ISO24444, FDA2011, AS/NZS 2604:2012 and CEN 2006. The general process of in vivo SPF determination is similar in these protocols but there are some obvious differences in details that leading to advantages and disadvantages for each of them.
In this study a complete document were collected, then regarding to available facilities and with cooperation of Iran food and drug organization a comprehensive in vivo SPF determination protocol will be developed.