Sunscreen innovators received an exciting “gift” this holiday season: two new SPF test methods were approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in December 2024. Both are more ethical than current approaches, as they are less invasive to test subjects. One, in fact, omits human subjects altogether and can reportedly reduce analysis from weeks to just days. Both methods also aim to obtain the most reliable and repeatable SPF values yet. Per ISO, they correlate closely with in vivo SPF and in vitro UVA-PF tests, which is critical to the advancement of sun protection — a market anticipated to see a 4.3% CAGR from 2024 and 2031, per Metastat Insight. Here, we provide a brief overview of each method and expert insights about why their approval is so exciting; along with one view that the industry may hesitate before adopting them.