PURITO | DAILY GO-TO SUNSCREEN SPF 50+ PA++++

Be sure to catch my extensive article on Purito, my favorite natural K-beauty skincare brand titled, Brands I Love: Purito the Best Clean Skincare from the World Of K-Beauty. You can catch the piece h e re.

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Like so many, I was a superfan of Purito’s super popular Centell a Green Level Safe Sun 50+ — discovered to have nothing close to the SPF level that was claimed right on the packaging.

As it turned out, Centell a Green Level Safe Sun 50+ actually delivered something around an SPF 19 protection — far below what I consider adequate sun protection on even a cloudy day. At just under an SPF 20, it was only protecting against 95% of the sun’s UVB rays. While that’s still effective, it’s not the 98% of rays that a level of SPF 50 would protect from.

How Much UV Is Blocked by Sunscreen and What Percent of UV Rays Are Blocked by Sunscreen?

SPF 15 blocks 93% of UVB rays

SPF 20 blocks 95% of UVB rays

SPF 30 blocks 97% of UVB rays

SPF 50 blocks 98% of UVB rays.

So, the difference between SPF 30 and SPF 50 is about 1 percent.

I’ve read a lot of disgruntled comments from some very upset people over the year or so since it was revealed that the popular sunscreen was nothing short of a suncare fraud.

If you haven’t delved into the circumstances surrounding the Purito sunscreen controversy that forced people across the globe to ask What’s wrong with Purito sunscreen?, you can read up on it here in an article on the NY Magazine website titled, What Went Wrong With Purito’s Centella Green?

The implications of such a breech of trust were wide-reaching as indicated in an article on the Vogue website titled, After the Purito Sunscreen Scandal, Can We Still Trust SPF Ratings? — which you can catch here.

An excerpt from the Vogue piece:

A cult beauty favorite of skincare aficionados and beauty editors everywhere, Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF50+ has topped best sun-care lists since its launch. A Korean product, it was praised for its high sun protection, just-right hydration, and its lightweight feel that didn’t leave a white cast. Fans were also impressed that such a high broad spectrum SPF could be achieved with only two organic filters – three percent Uvinul A and two percent Uvinul T – a formula that seemed unlikely to the cosmetic chemists and ingredients specialists who started questioning Purito’s label claims.
For their part, Purito released a statement on Instagram, citing the third party manufacturer’s as the gatekeeper for rating testing. “We have put our trust on the manufacturing company, and accept the issue that has resulted. We will take this situation as a lesson, and check the details with more parties during the process of product development.”
Now that the dust has settled, several brands have removed a selection of their SPF products from retail, including Purito. Science educator, Michelle Wong, who covers beauty science on her Labmuffin media channels explains what these developments mean for K-beauty moving forward, and if SPF ratings are still able to be trusted, regardless of market.

Hey, Centell a Green Level Safe Sun was a personal fave and I was bummed out, too — so I get the global frustration and dent in consumer trust of sunscreen claims.

Purito, of course, is solely responsible for the product they put out into the market. As you may know, I worked for Kiehl’s for eight years and I know the rigorous testing that goes into the development and validation testing of a sunscreen, which is performed by independent third party laboratories. So while the brand is responsible, they were burned by the company, the manufacturer they trusted to get it right.

I don’t know how Purito ultimately addressed the people, the customers who felt wronged; I was busy surviving Covid. But I do know Purito pulled Centell a Green Level Safe Sun from the market, apologized profusely for their negligence— and got to work on a new one.

What Does PA Mean in Sunscreen and What Is the Difference between SPF and PA?

There’s an excellent piece from the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, What Does the PA+ Sunscreen Symbol Mean? on the brand’s website here.

The SPF rating on a sunscreen bottle stands for Sun Protection Factor, a measurement of how long you can stay outside during the day and be protected from the sun’s burn-causing UVB rays (assuming you’re applying sunscreen the right way). UVA rays are present, too; this is where the PA+ rating system comes into play.
Some sunscreens include PA+ rating on their products. The letters “PA” followed by plus signs (PA+, PA++, PA+++, and PA++++) on a label are a rating system developed in Japan to represent how much UVA protection the product offers.
The sun’s UVA rays do not cause sunburn; rather, they cause skin to turn brown. UVA rays are known as the sun’s silent killers because you don’t feel them affecting skin. Despite the lack of pain associated with UVA rays, they penetrate deeply into skin, causing a somewhat different type of damage than UVB rays.
This is what each PA rating means:
PA+ = Some UVA protection.
PA++ = Moderate UVA protection.
PA+++ = High UVA protection.
PA++++ = Extremely High UVA protection.

Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++

More than a year has passed since the Purito sunscreen controversy burst out into the open. And, with the controversy behind it, Purito has introduced Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++. The new Daily Go-To Sunscreen formula is a blend of chemical and mineral filters with an SPF 50+.

That plus sign means the level of protection from UVB rays is somewhere above an SPF 50, which I believe is mandated by the US FDA. That said, I’ve seen brands like Neutrogena, itself the subject of sunscreen controversies and product recalls, quote sun protection on products as high as SPF 100.

I personally reviewed Purito’s third-party lab reports, which you can read on their site here. Screenshots of the conclusions from three of the independent tests from government agencies in the US and Korea accompany this article below.

As you’ll see, the Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++ tested at an average of SPF 71, 57 and 62 — all above the product’s SPF 50 claim.

Governmental Agency Tests of the New Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen

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Made with advanced chemical sun filters combined with mineral Titanium Dioxide, the Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++ has a light, creamy, blendable texture not unlike the original formula.

I find it blends into my skin perfectly and, perhaps most important, feels comfortable on my skin throughout the day. With the confidence of an SPF 50+ level of protection, I’m a new fan and am excited to see what the Purito has in store in the months ahead.

For me, I’ll be taking the Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++ with me on an upcoming trip to Cancún, Mexico. Arriba!

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