New Sun Protection Products Stretch the Imagination

The world of sun-protection products has expanded well beyond greasy lotions. Some makers, though, over-promise on sun-shielding and other claims. Among the year's newest entries:

· Pills Products such as the SunPill (available at http://www.thesunpill.com/ ) and Heliocare capsules ( http://www.heliocare.com/ ) tap into people's seemingly insatiable appetite for dietary supplements. Like other supplements, new ones claiming to provide sun protection are only loosely eyeballed by the Food and Drug Administration, so they can make any claims they like, as long as they don't say they can diagnose, prevent, cure or treat a disease. Two dermatologists interviewed for this article scoffed at the notion that such a pill can confer any protection against sun damage, saying there's no science to support the idea. Neither pill is likely to do you harm, though, and at least the SunPill, according to the company, contains vitamin D. As for Heliocare, there's not much convincing data on its main ingredient, polypodium leucotomos extract. Both companies recommend wearing sunscreen, too.

· Sensors SunSignals sensors, which stick to the skin, sure are cute -- particularly the fish-shaped kids' versions. The sensors change color when exposed to enough ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

"They're a nice visual, especially for children," says District dermatologist Sandra Read. "Anything we can do to draw attention to the fact that you're exposed to the sun" is helpful, she adds.

While putting on more lotion can help protect you, experts say many people rely too heavily on sunscreen as an excuse to stay out longer than they should. SunSignals are available in most pharmacies.

An electronic device -- Chaney Instrument's hand-held UV skincare sensor (available at CVS and online at http://www.amazon.com/ ) -- claims to adjust its exposure reading to your skin type and the sunscreen you're using. But don't count on either this device or the stick-on fish for an absolutely accurate assessment of your UV exposure.

· Contact Lenses UV radiation is linked to cataracts and macular degeneration and can be associated with cancerous growths on the eyeball, says Thomas Steinemann, an ophthalmologist in private practice in Cleveland and spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. So protecting your baby blues is a good idea. But contact lenses aren't large enough to protect the entire eyeball, Steinemann says. The folks who make Acuvue lenses agree that you still need sunglasses, preferably those that block 90 to 95 percent of both kinds of ultraviolet radiation. (See "For Sun Safety, Master Basics Before Frills.") Acuvue lenses come in different shades, and you can get an eye care professional to prescribe them even if you don't need vision correction.

· Wipes There are lots of sunscreen wipes on the market; Shady Day's (available locally at Douglas Cosmetics and online at http://www.shadydayinc.com/ ) are particularly soft and clean-smelling. Experts say wipes may appeal to folks who hate the messy feel of standard sunscreen and to men, who apparently aren't as apt as women to use sunscreen at all.

· Skinny-Making Sunscreen If only. Bliss, the company that markets Ray of Hope Double-Action Sunscreen with SPF 20 Solar-Activated Slender Spheres (available at Sephora, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and other department stores and online at http://www.blissworld.com/ ), is careful to say only that its special ingredients, which include caffeine, "improve the appearance of cellulite." But Read isn't buying even that. "I'm not aware of any scientific evidence that topical caffeine has any effect on cellulite," she says. Well, a girl can dream, can't she? ·

Jennifer Huget is a frequent contributor to the Health section. Comments: health@washpost.com.