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Warning
to Skin-Care Cosmetic Users
If
you're one of millions of women who use skin-care treatments and
cosmetics containing the popular anti-aging ingredients known
as alpha hydroxy acids, you may soon find a warning on the product
labels.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) is proposing that manufacturers be required to print the
alert. It would indicate that the very ingredients used to reduce
the signs of skin aging may well be causing your skin to age,
primarily by increasing your risk of sunburn.
The warning may be particularly
important because sunburn increases your risk of skin cancer.
However, some dermatologists are downplaying the threat posed
by alpha hydroxy acids.
According to a "draft guidance"
published in the December 2002 Federal Register, the FDA has proposed
a labeling change that would read as follows: "Sunburn Alert:
This product contains an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that may increase
your skin's sensitivity to sunburn. Use a sunscreen and limit
sun exposure while using this product and for a week afterwards."
Alpha hydroxy acids -- or fruit
acids as they're sometimes called -- help the skin maintain a
more youthful appearance by increasing the rate of cell turnover.
This can be beneficial because, as we age, the rate at which we
shed dead skin cells slows down -- a fact that contributes to
an older, more wrinkled-looking skin.
Currently, there are some 1,500
different products containing AHAs, comprising a $6 billion
market in the United States alone.
However, the other factor that
increases skin aging is sun damage. And the FDA says AHAs contribute
to that damage by increasing the rate at which skin burns.
And sunburns are one of the leading
causes of skin cancer, the most common form of cancer in the United
States, with more than 1 million new cases diagnosed in 2002,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
FDA officials say the proposed
label change was prompted by studies conducted by the Cosmetic,
Toiletry and Fragrance Association on the safety of topically
applied AHAs.
Those studies -- co-sponsored by
the FDA's Office of Women's Health -- confirmed that applying
an AHA to the skin increased ultra violet (UV) sensitivity by
up to 18 percent, following four weeks of use. Similarly, the
study found that skin sensitivity to UV-induced cellular damage
doubled on average.
As worrisome as these results might
seem, not all dermatologists think the findings are that significant
-- or warrant a label warning.
"We in dermatology have been
using AHAs -- in prescription strength -- for decades, with no
increased risk of skin cancer and no dramatically increased risk
of sunburn," says Dr. Ted Daly, an assistant professor of
dermatology at Nassau University Medical Center in New York.
"To put this kind of warning
on a label seems to me to be alarming women for no reason. I don't
really see it as necessary," he says.
Adds Dr. Darrell Rigel, a professor
of dermatology at the New York University School of Medicine and
past president of the American Academy of Dermatology: "I
don't think that AHAs are dangerous, and the new label, while
an important reminder to use sunscreen, could be very misleading."
Rigel says that while an AHA may,
in fact, increase your risk of sunburn, that risk is small.
"Even though an AHA may increase
your risk of sunburn by 18 percent, a sunscreen with a protection
factor as low as 2 decreases your risk by 50 percent," says
Rigel, who says it's important to keep the study findings in the
proper perspective.
Both doctors concur, however, that
any time you can draw attention to the need for using sunscreen,
the outcome is positive. In this respect, the proposed label change
may offer an important public service.
"I think reminding people
to protect their skin from the sun is a good thing, and if a label
is going to remind women to use a sunscreen, then it can be helpful,"
Rigel says.
According to the Cosmetic Ingredient
Review Panel -- the industry's self-regulating body for reviewing
scientific information about cosmetic ingredients -- products
containing AHAs are safe for use by consumers under the following
circumstances:
- The concentration of AHA does
not exceed 10 percent;
- The acid content, or pH, of the
product is listed at 3.5 or greater (the higher the pH the lower
the acid level);
- The product either contains ingredients
that protect the skin from sun damage, or directions recommending
the use of sunscreens following applications of products containing
AHAs.
More information
To read more about the proposed
label changes and the studies that led to those recommendations,
visit the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration. You can also learn more about
how sun ages the skin by visiting The
American Academy of Dermatology.
Reference
Source 101
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