Sunshine is good for us, but only in very small doses: Today, it is scientifically proved that too much UV radiation of the sun damages the skin and can cause skin cancer. Furthermore, UV radiation from the sun is responsible for roughly 80% of all skin aging symptoms. Therefore, an effective UVB and UVA protection is useful, not only for cosmetic, but also for health reasons.
Unfiltered UVB radiation causes sunburn. It damages the upper skin layers and can trigger cell mutations and skin cancer in the long‐term. UVA radiation penetrates deep into the layers of the skin, destroys the elastic fibers in the connective tissue and thus causes the skin to sag. Therefore, UVA rays are one of the main reasons for premature skin aging.
1970s:
Beiersdorf propagated the idea of introducing a sun protection factor for the purpose of a scientific comparison of the effectiveness of sun protection products.
1975:
The sun protection factor has been specified on NIVEA sun protection products. Later on, this sun protection factor concept became a general criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of sunscreens.
1980s:
Beiersdorf product developers succeeded in producing the first sunscreen based on the knowledge of their research colleagues with a sun protection factor of 12, which was quite high at that time.
1990s:
Beiersdorf researchers discover skin cell changes caused by UVB and UVA radiation. As a result, they also recognize long term negative effects of UVA radiation on the deep layers of the skin with regard to skin aging, and the urgent necessity to develop more effective UVA filters.
2005:
Beiersdorf was the first company to introduce sun protection products to the market with increased UVA protection, which was adapted to UVB protection.
Today:
Research is currently being conducted at Beiersdorf’s primary research labs for the next generation of sun protection products: Amongst other options, attention is being focused on active ingredients derived from plants (e.g. antioxidants), which support the cells’ own protection and repair functions after being damaged by the sun.
