Drinkable sunscreen – it sounds great and has had quite a bit of publicity, but when we took a closer look at its ingredients we found a big surprise. Have you seen a product you think will struggle to live up to its claims?
I grew up in New Zealand where the importance of sun safety is really drilled in from childhood. In fact, an animated prawn comes on the television to remind kids to ‘slip, slop, slap and wrap’. Yes, the prawn does get thrown on a barbeque, but it doesn’t mind, honest!
So when I heard about the ‘world’s first drinkable sunscreen’, it piqued my interest. When you’re out and about, it can be a bit of a hassle having to carry sun cream around and regularly reapply it, but we know that the benefits outweigh the bother. But if you could just drink your sun protection… well, that would eliminate the hassle!
Does drinkable sunscreen work?
The product, Harmonized H2O UV Neutralizer, costs £25 for a 100ml bottle and is said to offer protection equivalent to a SPF30 sunscreen. However, we looked into this ‘drinkable sunscreen’ and the list of ingredients was a bit surprising. There was only one entry… water. This ‘drinkable sunscreen’ is 100% water.
The makers of Harmonized H2O said that the product works courtesy of ‘vibrational frequencies’ in the water which ‘neutralise’ UVA and UVB, the types of UV radiation that have been associated with skin cancer. Not convinced? Neither is the British Association of Dermatologists, which says ‘it’s complete nonsense to suggest that drinking water will give you a SPF of 30’. The Association adds that it’s best to avoid ‘unproven methods’ and to stick to sun creams, clothing and shade.
Harmonized H2O has told us that it has results of a clinical trial, but we have yet to be shown these results.
So I’ll be sticking with traditional sun creams, like the ones that passed our recent SPF and UVA tests. And I recommend you do too.
Have you come across any products with interesting claims? Have you looked at any and thought ‘there’s no way it can do that’? Or have you ever taken a closer look at a product and been surprised by its ingredients (or the fine print)?
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