Why is a skin care brand using a Times Square billboard to challenge the FDA over sunscreen? It's complicated.

Primally Pure placed a Times Square billboard criticizing the FDA for failing to provide safety information and for keeping sunscreen ingredient standards outdated. The billboard asks why standards are stuck in the last century and promotes Primally Pure’s sunscreen, which uses zinc oxide along with beef tallow, beeswax, and coconut oil. The FDA has deemed only two ingredients safe and effective for sun protection, which has fueled debate. Some consumers and companies worry chemical sunscreens are harmful, despite dermatologists and studies supporting safety. Others are frustrated that ingredients viewed as superior in markets like Korea and France are not available in the U.S. Experts describe the approval process as complex and bureaucratic, with proposed rule updates beginning in 2019.

"Dear FDA, Why are sunscreen ingredient standards stuck in the last century? the billboard reads. Of course, the skin care brand is advertising its own sunscreen, which is made with zinc oxide - one of only two ingredients approved as safe and effective by the FDA for sun protection - as well beef tallow, beeswax and coconut oil."

"It's true that the FDA's list of approved sunscreens is very short: There are only two ingredients the agency has deemed safe and effective. That's helped to fuel debate and frustration on two fronts. Some companies, including Primally Pure, and consumers worry that commonly used chemical sunscreens are harmful, despite dermatologists' assertions to the contrary and studies showing it's safe."

"Meanwhile, doctors and skin care enthusiasts alike are frustrated that sunscreen ingredients many view as superior, such as those sold in Korea and France, aren't available in the U.S. But why is sunscreen so complicated in the United States - and does it mean we don't have as many safe options as we could? Here's what experts say."

"Dr. Nicholas Brownstone, a dermatologist and assistant professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai in New York, says that the issue with sunscreen ingredients is actually a "very complex, bureaucratic issue." Until recently, sunscreens were regulated under an older system based on rules written in the 1990s. But in 2019, the FDA proposed updating the rules to align with more modern safety standards."

Read at Yahoo Health