Naked Sundays SPF50+ collagen glow mineral sunscreen pulled from Australian market over claims it does not meet SPF

A second cult beauty product has been pulled from the Australian market in a matter of days over claims it does not meet its advertised sun protection factor (SPF). Naked Sundays SPF50+ collagen glow mineral sunscreen was available from the company’s website and Mecca stores nationally but has been “paused” from sale as a precaution. Naked Sundays said in a statement it was waiting for new independent SPF results and guidance from a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) investigation into SPF testing. A TGA spokesman said they were investigating a selection of sunscreens and whether their sponsors held sufficient evidence to support their SPF claims. “The TGA is also currently reviewing existing SPF testing requirements, such as exploring alternative test methods that may be more reliable, including in vitro test methods,” the spokesman said. “The TGA does not conduct human or animal testing, so does not conduct SPF testing. “Given Australia’s high incidence of skin cancer, the TGA reiterates that using sunscreen is an important measure to prevent harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation, in addition to seeking shade, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, wearing protective clothing and using sunglasses.” A Mecca spokesman said the company made a decision with Naked Sundays to remove the SPF50+ collagen glow 100 per cent mineral perfecting priming lotion from sale, effective immediately. “The product has been removed from our website, and our team is in the process of removing it from all Mecca stores while the brand awaits independent retesting of one of its manufacturing facilities to determine whether the product performs as advertised,” a spokesman said. “Although there is currently no requirement to officially recall the product, we believe removing it from sale is the right thing to do until the retesting is complete. “This decision is one that Mecca and Naked Sundays have made together in the interest of delivering the very best quality to our community.” The spokesman said no other Naked Sundays products were impacted and they were working closely with Mecca as they waited for further results. “We will keep our community updated as we learn more,” the spokesman said. Last week, beauty label Ultra Violette pulled its lean screen SPF 50+ from stores over inconsistent SPF levels in the product. The TGA advised consumers on its website that testing found the product had SPF levels ranging from 4 to 64. “Ultra Violette continues to undertake further independent testing to identify a potential cause of these inconsistent SPF levels,” a TGA statement said. “People using this product may be at an increased risk of sunburn during use and reduced prevention of skin cancer in the longer term. “To date, no serious adverse events have been reported to the TGA.” Research by consumer group Choice caused controversy when it found the Ultra Violette product had the most significant failure of 20 sunscreen products tested earlier this year. A Choice spokesman said despite rigorous testing of the lean screen sunscreen the first time, the consumer group was so perturbed by the results that it delayed publishing and tested a different batch of the Ultra Violette sunscreen at a different lab in Germany to confirm the results. “Those results came back with a reported SPF of 5, almost identical to our initial test,” a Choice spokesperson said. Ultra Violette said it was “deeply sorry” for the failure, which relates only to its lean screen product. “We had multiple, independent labs conduct new tests of lean screen,” Ultra Violette founders Bec Jefferd and Ava Matthews said in an Instagram post on Friday. “We received results from those tests that demonstrated significant and, candidly, atypical variability. “Across eight different tests, Lean Screen has now returned SPF data of 4, 10, 21, 26, 33, 60, 61 and 64. “That wasn’t good enough for us and it isn’t good enough for you. “Given this pattern of inconsistency in testing, we have decided to withdraw lean/velvet Screen from the market, effective immediately.” Naked Sundays has been contacted for comment.