<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's sunscreen scandal is deepening with twenty-one products under scrutiny, all linked to a Perth lab, accused of supplying a faulty base formula.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It comes as a skin cancer patient sounds the alarm after she says she used a recalled product.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ultra Violette's Lean Screen, a cult sunscreen with a huge following that goes for $52, claimed to be SPF50, about as safe as sunscreen gets, but independent testing found an SPF of four.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-cricket-player-in-critical-condition-after-incident-during-warm-up-ferntree-gully/c1dcd6ec-69cb-4810-a69c-d8fa5c427e08"><strong><span>Boy fighting for his life after cricket nets horror</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Young mother Rachel Gleeson, 34, said she used the product daily, confident she was covered until she was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma skin cancer this year. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was using the UV Lean Screen for about two years before my diagnosis," she told 9News.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was really shocked that it happened to me because I couldn't imagine doing much more to prevent it."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/sunscreen-scandal-australia-mum-claims-she-used-recalled-ultra-violette-lean-screen-for-two-years-before-skin-cancer-diagnosis/ed42b06f-2e1c-451f-9b7a-e90d27bd818e" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gleeson had surgery to remove the cancer and is now recovering.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was really down at the time and all I wanted was a cuddle from my baby and he wasn't sure about me because he couldn't quite recognise me," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That was really hard."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sunscreens-recalled-australia-full-list-what-to-do-explained/7c00cef4-6d98-425b-9e0b-47f0d6915d60" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Got one of the sunscreens recalled in Australia? Here's what you need to do</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Heading into summer in the skin cancer capital of the world, CHOICE tested 20 Australian brands and 16 failed, scoring below their advertised Sun Protection Factor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ultra Violette's Lean Screen scored bottom marks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lean Screen used a base formula produced in Perth, at independent Wild Child Laboratories.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was awarded SPF50 status after testing overseas by Princeton Consumer Research or PCR.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/singapore-airlines-flight-melbourne-airport-plane/4764efe1-d735-4192-929e-c413330b3643" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Plane dumps fuel as it circles Melbourne, forced to return to airport</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the lab's testing process is now at the centre of the scandal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>SPF is tested on human volunteers, with cream applied to skin then exposed to UV light. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After 24 hours, the skin is assessed for any redness to determine the SPF coverage.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the case of Ultra Violette, a former PCR employee claims those tests weren't done until 72 hours later, giving the skin a further two days to heal and distorting the result.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"During my time working at PCR I would have seen a number of different elements of what I would consider data that's too good to be true," former employee Brian Ecclefield said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When CHOICE revealed its findings, Ultra Violette defended its failed product.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I also put Lean Screen on my children. And I still would tomorrow," co-founder Ava Chandler-Matthews said in an Instagram video at the time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ultra Violette then recalled the product and offered customers refunds, telling 9News "we have ceased working with Wild Child and with PCR".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chandler-Matthews and co-founder Rebecca Jefferd Matthews issued a </span><a href="https://ultraviolette.com.au/pages/lean-screen-update" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><span>statement</span></a><span> apologising that the product had "fallen short of the standards we pride ourselves on".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As a sunscreen brand, our responsibility has always been to prioritise your safety, protection and skin health above all else," they said, after pulling the product off the shelves.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It remains the basis for every decision we make, which is why when you heard from us last, we made a commitment to you that we would continue to investigate a concerning discrepancy in SPF testing results of our Lean Screen."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Melbourne-based company says it's re-tested its entire range and has "complete confidence" in the safety of its other products.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Independent facility PCR says that its testing "reflects the specific sample and batch submitted at the time" and suggests the Therapeutic Goods Administration regulatory process might not be strict enough.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Perth, Wild Child Laboratories has abandoned the overseas tester, telling 9News the TGA found "no manufacturing issues at our facility" during a subsequent inspection.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The TGA has recalled or paused the production of 21 other sunscreen brands that also used Wild Child's base formula.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The advice from experts is still to slip, slop and slap.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We know sunscreen is highly effective at reducing sunburn which we know can be a predictor of skin cancer later in life," Cancer Council Victoria prevention division head Craig Sinclair said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><em><strong><span>Apple App Store</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU"><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>.</span></strong></em></div></div>