Almost a year after Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen recall put the brand at the centre of Australia’s sunscreen testing controversy, the company has detailed a new SPF testing and review process for its products.
The sunscreen brand announced the updated approach to customers last Friday, days before Velvet Screen SPF 40 Blurring Mineral SKINSCREEN launched on Monday. The zinc-only, fragrance-free product is Ultra Violette’s new mineral offering, following the withdrawal of its Lean Screen SPF 50+ product in 2025.
Last year, consumer group CHOICE tested 20 popular sunscreen brands in Australia. They recorded Lean Screen to have an SPF result of four, while further tests commissioned by Ultra Violette returned results ranging from SPF 4 to 64. The product was voluntarily recalled in August 2025. Other sunscreen brands like Naked Sundays and Bondi Sands also recalled their products following the CHOICE report, although the latter brand denied that the decision was linked.
In a customer update last Friday, Ultra Violette said each new formula would now "undergoes at least two, and in many cases three to five, rounds of independent SPF and UVA testing across different laboratories, before it launches". The sunscreen company also said it had retested its existing range under the new protocols and planned to retest products bought off shelves every 18 months.
"We now work with many labs who utilise BIPEA accreditation — an organisation that conducts proficiency testing for in vivo testing labs — plus we independently vet every lab that we use and have conducted audits on a number of these in the last 12 months," the company added in their statement.
CHOICE’s review found that Ultra Violette’s former testing laboratory, Princeton Consumer Research, certified at least eight sunscreens as SPF50 despite tests indicating they did not meet that stated protection level.
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Ultra Violette also told customers it had compiled a “Testing Dossier” for every product. When PEDESTRIAN.TV asked what those dossiers actually contain and whether they would be made public, co-founders Ava Matthews and Bec Jefferd said it contains “multiple SPF and UVA reports per formula”, an “internal check” by Ultra Violette’s regulatory and quality assurance team, and “external verification and sign off”.
The founders did not say whether Ultra Violette intends to publish the dossiers or their underlying laboratory reports.
“SPF testing data requires a level of scientific literacy that isn’t accessible to most readers and results taken out of that context can easily be misread or misrepresented,” Matthews and Jefferd told P.TV.
“That’s why we’ve put additional measures in place to have our results reviewed by qualified industry sources.”
P.TV also asked how Velvet Screen was tested ahead of its launch. Matthews and Jefferd said Ultra Violette worked with “several international testing labs” and used the methods required by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for primary sunscreens in Australia: ISO 24444 for SPF and ISO 24443 for UVA protection.
"Ultra Violette also undertook testing for North America (the FDA SPF method) and the UK, completing several rounds of in vitro testing while the product was in development," the founders said.
Ultra Violette said Velvet Screen went through “over 8 rounds of UVA/UVB testing on the finished product and an additional 5 during the development process”. The testing was reviewed by Suncert, an external SPF testing expert engaged by the company to check that reports followed approved methods and identify potential anomalies.
“Once this review is complete, they validate if the product claim is likely given all the data they have reviewed,” the founders told P.TV.
The TGA is currently consulting on proposed reforms to sunscreen regulation in Australia, including potential changes to testing requirements. "Ultra Violette has actively participated in that consultation, including a recommendation that the TGA appoint a dedicated SPF testing expert to provide independent validation for all Australian sponsors, rather than brands individually presenting raw data," the founders explained.
"We believe this is the right long-term solution for the industry and for consumers."
“Ultra Violette fully appreciates that the events of 2025 have shaken consumer’s trust in sunscreens,” Matthews and Jefferd said.
“We hope that by publicly outlining our improved testing protocols, we can set an example for the industry and demonstrate more robust standards when it comes to sun protection efficacy.
"Ultimately, we want consumers to trust that sunscreen products do their job in protecting them from the sun, particularly in a climate like Australia where daily sun protection is crucial."
Lead image: Ultra Violette / Instagram
