Sun Screen You Can Drink? Harmonized H2O Claims To Have Solved Sun Cream Woes

It's a pain to apply, rubs off on everything, gets all sticky and sandy and, oh yeah, protects you from skin cancer.

So when we were told that there could be a drink that offers the same sun protection as sun cream without the faff of applying it to every scrap of skin, our ears pricked up. It sounds too good to be true. Is it?

In these days of rising skin cancer cases and ubiquitous foreign holidays, sun screen is essential, but who hasn't accidentally got burnt on a hot day in the UK spring? Or underestimated the need for reapplication and ended up lobster-like?

A US cosmetics company reckons it has the answer - offering a drink called Harmonized H2O UV Protection that it claims gives sun protection of up to SPF 30.

[Skin safety: Sun cream, star rating and SPF explained]
[Why does your skin tan?]

It's the latest in a growing trend of beauty drinks, from collagen to anti-hangover, that claim to mend and protect your skin from the inside out. The UV protection works, according to Osmosis Skincare owner Dr Ben Johnson, because once ingested chemicals in the product vibrate in the skin cells, cancelling out 'up to 97 per cent' of damaging UVA and UVB rays.

The website recommends taking 2ml of the liquid every four hours (starting an hour before sun exposure) and unsurprisingly, has posted several positive testimonials.

One post on Facebook read: "I tested the UV Protection Harmonized Water..(my skin burns in 15 minutes w/o sunscreen so i was nervous) SUCCESS!! I was outside for 2 hours with NO sunscreen during peak hours and wasn't even pink!"

Another user, Laurie, posted: "My husband and I used Osmosis UV Protection last summer as our only form of sun protection. We took it one hour before exposure and did not experience any sunburn whatsoever. It enhanced a beautiful even suntan that usually takes weeks to achieve using a SPF lotion."

But don't get too excited.

Experts are not convinced.

The British Skin Foundation has advised extreme caution, while others have called the drink a 'gimmick' and told sun worshippers to 'take it with a pinch of salt' (and presumably a big dollop of good old-fashioned sun cream).

The idea sounds great, and we'll be keeping everything crossed that it really is the future of sun protection, but until there's some scientific research to back this up, we'll be sticking to sticky traditional methods for now. (And definitely avoiding the sun creams given the big thumbs down by Which?.)