Aussie sunscreen brand Ultra Violette RECALLS popular product after explosive report found it failed its SPF50+ claim
The founders of Australian sunscreen brand Ultra Violette have announced they will sensationally pull one of their products off the market, effective immediately, after it failed to meet its SPF50+ claim.
The brand was thrust into the spotlight in June after CHOICE’s explosive investigation revealed that the cult-favourite Lean Screen SPF50+ Mattifying Zinc Sunscreen – priced at $52 – delivered an alarmingly low SPF rating of just four.
CHOICE experts said they were ‘so perturbed’ by the results of its extraordinary first experiment that it conducted a second test at an independent lab in Germany where the results came back with a reported SPF of five.
Ultra Violette co-founders Ava Chandler-Matthews and Bec Jefferd took matters into their own hands, commissioning further testing at multiple independent labs to investigate a ‘concerning discrepancy’ in the SPF results of Lean Screen.
‘As a sunscreen brand, our responsibility has always been to prioritise your safety, protection and skin health above all else,’ the co-founders said on Friday.
‘Before we go further, we want to make it clear that this only concerns the performance of Lean Screen. Additional testing on all Ultra Violette products has reinforced our confidence in the rest of our line.
‘This week, we received results from those tests that demonstrated significant and, candidly, atypical variability. Across eight different tests, Lean Screen has now returned SPF data of 4, 10, 21, 26, 33, 60, 61, and 64.
‘That wasn’t good enough for us, and it isn’t good enough for you. Given this pattern of inconsistency in testing, we have decided to withdraw Lean/Velvet Screen from the market, effective immediately. We are deeply sorry that one of our products has fallen short of the standards we pride ourselves on and that you have come to expect of us.’
Ultra Violette co-founders Ava Chandler-Matthews and Bec Jefferd have announced they will sensationally pull one of their products off the market, effective immediately, after it failed to meet its SPF50+ claim
The brand confirmed any purchases of Lean Screen will be eligible for a refund and a product voucher, regardless of where it was purchased.
The co-founders explained that Lean Screen was created by a third-party manufacturer, and was the only sunscreen they made for Ultra Violette.
‘We will no longer be making any SKINSCREENS with that manufacturer,’ they said.
‘We are working with a new and wider network of testing facilities that have been BIPEA-audited and independently vetted, and we are no longer working with the original testing laboratory of Lean Screen.’
The brand reassured its shoppers that every new Ultra Violette product will be SPF tested at a minimum of two different independent labs prior to launch.
Australian consumer group CHOICE claimed in a bombshell report that Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen SPF50+ Mattifying Zinc Skinscreen, which retails for $52, returned an SPF of just 4 during its first round of rigorous testing
‘We’ve increased the frequency of retesting to 18 months, using off-the-shelf market samples, and will continue to take immediate action if we see any discrepancies,’ they said.
‘Trust is built and rebuilt over time, and we know we have work to do.’
‘Thank you to those who have so generously contributed their knowledge, expertise and support throughout this process.
‘And to our customers and community, thank you for your patience, care and support – we’ve never taken it for granted, and we will continue to earn it.’
MORE TO COME…
