Abstract

Today almost all sunscreen manufacturers areseeking for high protection values (SPF) combined with aUVA protection claim. UV filters are designed to absorbthe solar energy and therefore are exposed to thatenergy in the first place. With the absorption of UV lightUV filters reach so called excited stages from which theyneed ideally to dissipate the energy again withoutdestruction. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Inparticular the UVA workhorse of the sunscreen industryButyl Methoxydibenzoyl Methane (BMDBM) shows acertain irreversible destruction of the molecule under UVlight. In order to achieve a high performance UVA ratingand a long lasting good protection for the consumer it isof course important to stabilize BMDBM againstdestruction. This is also of importance for the SPF rating,because about 10 percent of the erythemal energyoriginates from the UVA region.