Major scientific advancements in the field of sun protection

Last month, the final text of the Cosmetics Europe’s Double Plate Method (DPM) (ISO 23675:2024) was published and officially recognised as an International Standard Organisation (ISO) Standard by the ISO Central Secretariat.

The DPM is an in vitro Sun Protection Factor (SPF) test method and an alternative to the currently used in vivo International Standard method (ISO 24444:2019). 

Now that the DPM is a recognised ISO standard method, manufacturers can test the efficacy of sun protection products with the DPM in Europe and other regions of the world.

The DPM has several key attributes.

1. The DPM does not require human volunteers to test SPF, which makes it the only fully in vitro SPF ISO Standard method
2. It provides consequent reliable, repeatable and reproducible results consistent with those obtained using the current in vivo international standard method.
3. With the DPM, the possibility of human error is highly reduced because of the use of state-of-the-art instrumentation, including a robot to spread the sun protection product samples on the plates and a spectrophotometer to measure their UVR absorbance spectrum.
4. The DPM can be used any time of the year. The current international standard method is based on testing the efficacy of a sun protection product on volunteers’ skin, which must not be tanned. This can be difficult to ensure in the summertime. The DMP uses polymer plates to test the sun protection product and therefore can be employed all year round.

As a fully in vitro method, the DPM also fulfils the vision laid out in the European Commission’s 2006 ‘’Recommendation on the efficacy of sunscreen products and the claims made relating thereto”, which highlights that the degree of protection against UVB and UVA should be measured using standardised, reproducible testing methods, with preference given to in vitro testing methods.

The method’s key attributes and its recognition as an international standard represents major scientific progress in sun protection.

Cosmetics Europe will continue to work on developing robust test methods to determine various sun protection measurements and raise awareness on the method’s benefits.