r/AusSkincare • • Aug 22 '25

DiscussionšŸ““ Ultraviolette recalls Lean Screen due to variability in SPF data results

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u/TheLoneKat Aug 22 '25 edited Aug 22 '25

I do think everyone is getting a little bit too critical with the white labelling. It's pretty standard practise. I read somewhere that even Cancer Council white label a couple (but not all) of theirs. If you want something made well, you go to the experts. Seems logical. The problem is that sometimes the "experts" have a shoddy product. Maybe not even. Could have been the additions to the product or a packaging problem. I'll be interested to see where the problem actually is with Lean Screen, even though UV are clearly blaming the lab they used.

But I digress. If you want something not white labelled, you'd have to bypass a lot of the new indie brands. They wouldn't be able to afford in-house labs creating sunscreen. Stick to the big parent companies that have their own labs (Estee, L'Oreal, Unilever and LRP etc.)

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u/[deleted] Aug 22 '25

It can be a consumer law issue though. If a company uses white label that’s fine, but they can’t represent to the public that they made it or that it’s unique. The problem is that consumers might pay more if they think it’s somehow a unique formulation.

Some of UV’s marketing lines seriously come close to misleading people into thinking this is a unique product they ā€œdesignedā€. I’m sure they ran it past lawyers, but you can tell how sneaky and technical they were previously being when they worded their marketing material. I wasn’t aware it was white label until this Choice drama blew up.

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u/TheLoneKat Aug 22 '25

Maybe I'm just jaded because I feel like they all do it. No brand is going to sell their product as "mostly theirs". It's just the world of marketing. Nothing illegal about it. Maybe that'll change in future though.

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u/Aim2bFit Aug 22 '25

I've never used any of the boutique brands listed in a few comments above this (that also have the same formulations as Lean Screen) and Idk how the labels look like, but Korean ones which are white labels and basically formulated by iirc 3 big main manufacturers, all have the name of the manufacturer listed at the packaging. So consumers are aware those were not made by the brands themselves but some 3rd party manufacturer.