The days of asking a friend to rub suncream on your back or waiting for your lotion to "sink in" to avoid a sandy situation could be numbered, as a US skincare company claim to have created a drinkable suncream.

Osmosis Skincare claim their product, named Harmonised H20 UV protection, can provide sun protection up to factor 30. Those who make the product, which is available to buy, claim that once the elixir is ingested, molecules of the product vibrate on the skin to cancel out 97 per cent of UVA and UVB rays.

The website of the company, which was founded by Ben Johnson, advises people to take 2ml of the liquid every four hours while in the sun, preferably with water, to achieve the full protection. The website unsurprisingly lists many testimonials but the product is yet to be endorsed by official dermatologist bodies.

The product retails at $30 (£17) for a 100ml bottle and it comes in two forms - "tanning" and "non tanning", the former, the website claims, allowing users to achieve a tan while being protected from harmful sun rays.

Further examination of the claims however reveals that there is no science to back them up, which is worrying, as the product encourages people to stop using sunscreen and instead put their trust in an unproven alternative.

Professor Antony Young, of the St John’s Institute of Dermatology, at Kings College said it was unlikely that anything that could be ingested which would give an SPF protection of Factor 30, as claimed by the manufacturers.

“It’s just a gimmick, “ said Dr Rang Singh, “We know that ingestible sun products aren’t that good. To say they have changed the frequency of water molecules, well I just don’t understand how they could have done that.

“Everything in our body vibrates at it’s own frequency anyway and, as far as I know, nobody has found a way to change that.

“I wouldn’t just take these claims with a pinch of salt, I would take them with a fistful.”

The British Skin Foundation has also urged extreme caution.

Drinkable cosmestics are a new frontier for the beauty industry, following a surge in edible products in recent years. Recently developed products include skin enhancing gummy bears. Skincare supplement company Imedeen already offer a Tan Optimizer Capsule, promising to enhance tan, although without SPF protection. Sue Devitt, a make up artist to stars including Sarah Jessica Parker, was one of the first to develop a drinkable beauty elixir.

The development of drinkable SPF comes at a time when standard suncreams are being questioned about the level of protection they provide by consumer watchdogs.

Drinkable sunscreen? Don't get your fingers burned

Osmosis Skincare claims to have invented a sunscreen you can drink. But science, health and skincare experts are urging caution

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This article was updated on Monday, May 19