Free Republic

WASHINGTON - A sunscreen that blocks the type of ultraviolet radiation linked to some cancers, and which has been available only outside the United States, received federal approval Monday. Called Anthelios SX, the sunscreen contains ecamsule, an ingredient better at blocking ultraviolet A, or UVA, radiation than other sunscreen ingredients currently sold in the United States. Those ingredients mainly screen out UVB rays. UVB has long been associated with sunburn, while UVA is recognized as a deeper penetrating radiation, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Doctors suspect there is a link between UVA exposure and longer-term effects, including wrinkles,...

MEXORYL is not the most notorious drug on the black market. Only a few insiders, most of them women, even know its worth, let alone where to buy it. But it is one of the most ordinary substances ever to be bootlegged. Mexoryl SX, made by the Paris-based skin-care giant L'Oréal, is an illegal sunscreen in this country, one that is thought to be particularly useful in preventing wrinkles. Called by dermatologists one of the most effective filters of all wavelengths of ultraviolet light, Mexoryl has been used in sunscreen lotions sold in Canada and Europe for more than a...