ABSTRACT
Sunscreen products are primarily designed to protect the skin from the harmful effects of
solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation upon topical application. They contain molecules or
molecular complexes that can absorb, reflect, or scatter UV photons. These are shielding
sunscreens and are among the most efficient methods of protecting from solar erythema and
sunburn caused by high-energy UV photons, but their potential efficacy in preventing
photoaging depends on their ability to block low-energy UV light. In this regard, sunscreens
that prevent local and systemic immunosupression are particularly useful to inhibit
epidermal gene modifications like mutations on p53 gene, thymine dimers formation, and
induction of apoptosis, or to restore the levels of collagen production (1-5). In addition, new
substances with photoprotective capabilities, some of them after oral administration, have
been recently developed that prevent, ameliorate, or even repair solar-induced skin damage.
