BASF , alongside the Regional Dermatology Training Centre, has been helping people with albinism in Tanzania through a support programme that includes sunscreen production.
Since 2013, BASF has provided ingredients and the expertise for the further expansion of production. In the meantime, an even better way to protect the affected from the sun is being sought: “First, we only delivered free ingredients for sunscreen,” said Uli Osterwalder, an expert at BASF for the segment sun protection. “Now we are working together on a suitable sunscreen that protects the skin of affected local people under extreme conditions even better from the rays of the sun.”
In addition to a higher sun protection factor (SPF 50), the new sunscreen should have above all a high absorption of UVA rays and a long lasting protection. Because the existing sunscreen, ‘KiliSun’ as it is called by Tanzanians, has one decisive disadvantage; it does not currently provide enough UVA protection.
In Tanzania, the intense UV rays combined with a lack of suitable clothing and sun protection leads to so-called actinic keratosis – a precancerous stage of skin cancer – in people with albinism below the age of 20.
“More than 90 per cent of all sunscreens available in Europe are oil-in-water emulsions. They are easy to apply, are easily absorbed and assure a comfortable feeling on the skin; however, they cannot withstand the hot African sun,” explains Osterwalder. Therefore, a BASF team of sunscreen experts wants to develop a water-in-oil emulsion together with representatives of RDTC. Until that time, KiliSun sunscreen is enriched with the BASF UV filter Uvinul A Plus. It supplements the important UVA protection while further improving the skin feel of the sunscreen.
