New Sunscreen Blocks UV Rays, Boosts Vitamin D

A new sunscreen may do more than block ultraviolet radiation, it may also allow the body to produce vitamin D.

The sunscreen, Solar D, is currently available in Australia and will be available in the U.S. in summer 2016.The findings appear in the journal PLOS ONE.

There are several chemical compounds that are typically used in a sunscreen that efficiently absorbed varying wavelengths of UVB radiation. After removing certain ingredients, researchers compared Solar D, which has an SPF of 30, to a popular commercial sunscreen with the same SPF, and found Solar D allowed for up to 50 percent more production of vitamin D in-vitro.

"Solar D was designed with compounds with differing filter compositions to maximize vitamin D production while maintaining its sun protection for reducing erythema or burning of the skin," says study author Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine and an endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center, in a news release.

Funding for this study was provided by Exposure Scientific, LLC/Nexidus, Ltd, Pty.