SPF 100: Sun protection or high-cost hype?

Beth Gray figures you “can’t ever be too safe” when it comes to using sunscreen.

“We would buy the SPF 100 if it were available,” said Ms. Gray, spending time with her child in Coolidge Park on a recent sunny day.

She’s in luck. This month, skin care giant Neutrogena became the first company to offer a sunscreen with triple-digit sun protection factors. The new Ultra Dry-Touch 100+ Sunblock is “the only sunscreen that protects against 99 percent of UVB rays,” according to press materials from the company.

Local health professionals, however, believe the benefits of higher SPFs might be overhyped.

“Anything over 30 is a marketing tool,” said Dr. James Shire of Facial Plastic Surgery in Chattanooga.

People are getting “ripped off” by sunscreen makers who advertise high SPF because the added benefits between an SPF 50 and SPF 100 are less that 1 percent, he said.