Sunscreen breaks down in sunlight, but a South African tea may slow down that process

A tea extract raised a basic sunscreen's SPF in lab tests and helped two common chemical filters hold up longer in sunlight.

A South African herbal tea could help sunscreen protect skin for longer. Researchers in Spain stirred rooibos extract into a basic sunscreen cream and measured how much ultraviolet (UV) light it stopped.

The red, fermented form of the extract raised the cream’s sun protection factor (SPF) from about 15 to about 27. It also slowed the breakdown of two chemical filters found in sunscreens worldwide.

The plant is Aspalathus linearis , a shrub native to South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region. Most people know it as rooibos, a caffeine-free tea with a reddish color.