Purito and the Korean Sunscreen Scandal

So I've been advocating Korean skincare worship way before I even started to blog. You only have to see Koreans in their 40s to be convinced of their local products' effectiveness. I mean, you don't even have to pick actresses - even their male artists in their 40s have amazing skin. You don't even have to pick people on TV - Koreans anywhere in the world generally have much much nicer skin than the average human.

Sure, genetics have a lot to do with it. And their climate. Although, I'm pretty sure the Koreans, half-Koreans, quarter-blood Koreans I've seen here in this hot and humid country, the Philippines, are just as flawless. So maybe more than genes and gentle winds, that flawlessness comes from perfectly formulated skin care products.

Koreans, like the Japanese, also take pride in honest corporate values. In comparison to their Chinese neighbors, Koreans tend to value brand image and customer loyalty and so they are not as likely as the Chinese to sell for the heck of selling or cut corners (lessen product quality) for higher profit. 

So this whole Purito Scandal comes as a shock. Like. How is this even happening?

Short version: Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF50+ (which claims to have SPF84.5) was tested to have SPF levels 4x less than advertised (turns out to be SPF19!)

To make matters worse, instead of owning up to their misleading product labels, Purito blamed its manufacturer. Basically saying that Purito actually wanted a good sunscreen product that does what it says it does, and they apparently made it clear during the product design stage, but their manufacturer lied to them during the actual manufacturing process. 

They did promise to make things better next time. Which is, to make sure their products get tested multiple times before releasing them to the market, instead of just taking their manufacturer's word.

This doesn't end here. In fact, this only revealed a more sinister practice in the skin care product industry. SPF testing turns out to be ridiculously inconsistent. So maybe Purito, in Korean standards, actually has SPF 84. The scary question is, what other Korean sunscreen products believes and markets their products as SPF 100 in Korean standards, which when translated to non-Korean standard, could be what? SPF 25?

Imagine braving the sun at the beach, confident you have SPF 80 PA+++ on your face when it's really an SPF 20 with no PA?! How distraught will you be when you get all burnt and wrinkly in an hour.

Other Korean brands have been tested since. What I'm curious to know is if Korean brands are at all better than Chinese brands. And if Japanese brands, which have more popular and expensive sunscreens, are worth the price. And if US supermarket brands (Neutrogena, Ponds, etc.) are in fact the real deal. (Doubt it.)

Bottomline: Stay indoors, away from windows and sources of light. Move to Korea. Marry a Korean and produce non-sunscreen dependent offsprings. Trust no one.

Update: Amazon and other retailers have announced that they are *dun dun dun dun* refunding all recent Purito Sunscreen sales.