European recommendations
New European recommendations for the labelling of sun protection products came in on 22nd September 2006. There are now 4 categories of protection:
> Low protection: UVB 6 to 14, SPF* 6 or 10
> Medium protection: UVB 15 to 29, SPF 20 or 25
> High protection: UVB 30 to 59, SPF 30 or 50
> Very high protection: UVB higher than 60, SPF 50+
Minimum protection levels
There is a recommendation concerning minimum sun protection. For UVBs, an SPF of 6 (forget oils and lower factor products). For UVAs, an SPF equivalent to 1/3 of the UVB SPF is recommended.
*SPF = sun protection factor