Application habits and practices of regular sunscreen users in the United States: Results of an online survey.

A nationwide online survey assessed claimed usage of sunscreen products in 2283 self-identified regular sun protection factor (SPF) consumers (RSPFC) in the United States. Subjects applied sunscreen most frequently when spending more than 3 h in the sun. Sunscreen usage peaks during the summer, with sunny weather prompting 99% usage of beach/recreational SPF products but drops to approximately 50% and 30% on partly cloudy and cloudy days, respectively, regardless of SPF product category. About half of RSPFC augment sunscreen product usage by limiting time in the sun and wearing a hat. SPF products are not reapplied by approximately 20-60% of RSPFC, depending upon product category, and reapplication was less than 33% on cloudy and partly cloudy days. Primary reasons for reapplication were water exposure, number of hours in the sun, and being active/sweating, most notably for beach/recreational SPF products. Importantly, in children, 45% of parents reported "redness" as a signal for reapplying sunscreen product. Only 10% of respondents correctly identified sunscreen products as drugs. Based on these results, while sunscreens may share common ingredients and efficacy measures, their usage by consumers varies widely depending on product type, season, weather, gender, age, and geographical location.

Lack of effect of butylparaben and methylparaben on the reproductive system in male rats.

BACKGROUND: Parabens are widely used preservatives in cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, and approved as food additives. Parabens have been considered safe for these uses for many years. Recently, adverse effects on male reproductive parameters in rats have been reported when parabens were given orally for 8 weeks starting at three weeks of age. Our studies used two representative parabens, methyl- and butylparaben, to try to replicate these studies and thereby evaluate potential reproductive effects in male Wistar rats. METHODS: Diets containing 0, 100, 1000 or 10,000 ppm of either butyl- or methylparaben were fed to male rats for eight weeks. Rats were 22 days of age at the start of exposure. Parameters evaluated included organ weights, histopathology of reproductive tissues, sperm production, motility, morphology and reproductive hormone levels (butylparaben only). RESULTS: None of the parameters evaluated for either paraben showed compound- or dosage-dependent adverse effects. Metabolism experiments of butylparaben indicate that it is rapidly metabolized by non-specific esterases to p-hydroxybenzoic acid and butanol, neither of which is estrogenic. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to methyl- or butylparaben in the diet for eight weeks did not affect any male reproductive organs or parameters at exposures as high as 10,000 ppm, corresponding to a mean daily dose of 1,141.1+/-58.9 or 1,087.6+/-67.8 mg/kg/day for methyl- and butylparaben, respectively. The rapid metabolism of parabens by esterases probably explains why these weakly estrogenic substances elicit no in vivo effects when administered by relevant exposure routes (i.e., topical and oral).

Exposure data for personal care products: hairspray, spray perfume, liquid foundation, shampoo, body wash, and solid antiperspirant.

Reliable exposure information for cosmetic and other personal care products and ingredients is needed in order to conduct safety assessments. Essential information includes both the amount of product applied, and the frequency of use. To obtain current data, studies to assess consumer use practices were undertaken. Six widely used personal care product types were included in the studies. Five of the products were cosmetics (spray perfume, hairspray, liquid foundation, shampoo, body wash) and one product was a cosmetic/over-the-counter drug product (solid antiperspirant). Three hundred and sixty women, ages 19-65 years, who regularly use the products of interest, were recruited at 10 different geographical locations within the US. The number of recruits was chosen to ensure a minimum of three hundred completed responses per product type. Subjects were provided with a new container of the brand of product they normally use and kept diaries and recorded detailed daily usage information over a two week period. Products were weighed at the start and completion of the study in order to determine the total amount of product used. Statistical analyses of the data were conducted to derive summary distributions of use patterns. The geometric mean and median usage per application, respectively, for the six product types were: spray perfume, 0.33 g and 0.23 g; hairspray, 2.58 g and 1.83 g (aerosol); 3.64 g and 2.66 g (pump); liquid foundation, 0.54 g and 0.36 g; shampoo, 11.76 g and 9.56 g; body wash, 11.3g and 9.5 g; and solid antiperspirant, 0.61 g and 0.45 g. The mean and median usage per day for the six product types were: spray perfume, 0.53 g and 0.34 g; hairspray, 3.57 g and 2.71 g (aerosol); 5.18 g and 3.74 g (pump); liquid foundation, 0.67 g and 0.45 g; shampoo, 12.80 g and 10.75 g; body wash, 14.5 g and 12.9 g; and solid antiperspirant, 0.79 g and 0.59 g. The mean number of applications per day for spray perfume, hairspray, liquid foundation, shampoo, body wash, and solid antiperspirant was 1.67, 1.49 (aerosol) and 1.51 (pump), 1.24, 1.11, 1.37, and 1.3, respectively. This study provides current exposure information for commonly used products which will be useful for risk assessment purposes.