An international panel has reached consensus on how visible light damages skin — and which populations need protection most urgently. People with albinism are among those identified.
Most conversations about sun protection stop at ultraviolet radiation. A new consensus statement in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology moves the line forward.
An international panel of photobiology experts, convened through a modified Delphi process, has agreed on a formal set of findings about visible light and its effects on skin. The statement covers what visible light does to the body, who needs protection, and how that protection should be measured — three questions that until now had no agreed-upon answers.
What visible light actually does
Ultraviolet radiation has decades of research behind it. Visible light — the portion of the solar spectrum the human eye can detect — has been slower to earn scientific attention. The panel found that exposure to visible light contributes to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, plays a role in melasma, and is implicated in certain photodermatoses, the statement reported.
For people with albinism, this matters in a specific way. Reduced melanin offers less of the natural filtering that shields deeper skin structures from both ultraviolet and visible wavelengths. The panel identified populations with low or absent melanin as among those most in need of visible light photoprotection, according to the statement.
The measurement gap
Unlike SPF — the standardised measure most consumers recognise — no equivalent metric currently exists for visible light protection. The panel's central recommendation was a call for a standardised methodological approach to assessing visible light's effects on skin, the journal reported. Without that standard, it remains difficult for clinicians to compare products, advise patients consistently, or conduct reproducible research.
The consensus process drew on current best evidence rather than new clinical data. Its value lies in alignment: bringing a dispersed international field to a shared vocabulary and a shared direction.
Why this matters for the community
Sunscreen guidance for people with albinism has long focused on UVB and UVA protection. This statement suggests that guidance may need to widen. If visible light contributes meaningfully to skin responses — and the panel concluded it does — then photoprotection strategies that ignore the visible spectrum may be leaving a gap.
The practical implications depend on what standardised testing eventually shows. For now, the consensus identifies the problem clearly and calls for the tools to measure it.
The full statement is published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
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