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The Food and Drug Administration has revised the deadline for sunscreen makers to comply with label rules from this June to December.

Last year, The Food and Drug Administration had asked all sunscreen makers to make clear the extent to which their product offers protection from the sun. This was done in order to distinguish which brands protect the skin against both sunburn-causing ultraviolet B rays and the deeper-penetrating ultraviolet A, linked to skin cancer and premature aging. Also, these makers needed to confirm if their product was actually waterproof or sweat proof or just water and sweat resistant.

However, manufactures are finding it hard to meet the set deadline which was June, 2012. Hence, they have requested the government to extend this deadline by 6 months. The government has agreed to their petition and manufacturers now have till December, 2012 to comply with these rules. Small manufacturers, however, have till December 2013.

"The FDA took a major step backwards today and as a result, more consumers will likely get burned this summer," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who had long urged the FDA to tighten its regulation of sunscreens. The regulations had been in limbo for years.

However, FDA officials feel that extending this deadline will do consumers a whole lot of good as it will avoid any kind of temporary shortage of sunscreen products that may arise due to this new rule. The FDA also stated that companies need not wait for the deadline and can introduce their re-labeled products in the market as soon as they are ready.

"There is a mix already in stores, as some companies have found it easier to re-label certain brands and bottles than others," said Farah Ahmed of the industry's Personal Care Products Council.

Here are a few things consumers should look out for (according to Dr. Joshua Zeichner, a dermatologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York):

-  Decide if you want protection against both UVA and UVB rays. Once the new rules are in place, any sunscreen labeled "broad spectrum" will offer both, but until then, there's no guarantee behind that wording.

-  Check for UVA protection now, look on the ingredient list for any of these names: zinc, titanium, avobenzone or ecamsule.

-  Once the new rules are in place, sunscreens with less than an SPF of 15 or that aren't "broad spectrum" will have to carry a warning label: "This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging."

-  Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.

-  If it still says "waterproof," it was bottled under the old rules. Once the new rules are in place, the sunscreens will have to say how long they're water-resistant.

-  Apply about a shot-glass full of sunscreen and to reapply often.