Sunscreen is bad?

“Even if you've been fishing for 3 hours and haven't gotten anything except poison ivy and sunburn, you're still better off than the worm”

Is there nothing safe in this world? A recent story on aolnews.com reports on the dangers of Sunscreen. Personally I use a lot of high SPF sunscreen because I burn quickly. But while sunscreen is protecting us from sunburn it may increase the risk for skin cancer.

Claim #1 - very few sunscreens (39 out of 500) block UV-A rays which penetrate the epidermis and damages living skin cells. Sunscreen does stop the UV-B rays which causes sunburn so we think all is well and stay out in the sun all day; not burning but damaging the lower skin layers. See my posting on Sunburn for more details.

Claim #2 - many sunscreens contain vitamin A for skin rejuvenation. However vitamin A may also stimulate tumor and cancer growth.

Claim #3 - Sunscreens may contain the hormone-disrupting chemical oxybenzone, which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream.

Claim #4 - you can protect yourself from claim #3 by switching away from chemical sunscreens that enter the skin, to mineral based ones that sit atop the skin and reflect light. However there is a possible health risk here too. The new trend in titanium dioxide sunscreen is nano-sizing the particles but this raises the risk the metal will be absorbed through the skin.

Claim #5 - The SPF values listed are exaggerated. It's like a bidding war - the lotion with the highest SPF wins. The FDA has asked for a cap at SPF 50 because beyond that the numbers are meaningless. But there are products with SPF 80, 90 and 100 being sold.

Claim #6 - most people apply only 1/4 of the "recommended" amount of sunscreen and so get at best 1/4 of the rated protection (which is itself exaggerated).

Bottom Line

The ideal sunscreen should completely block the UV rays that cause sunburn, immune suppression and damaging free radicals. It should remain effective on the skin for several hours and not form harmful ingredients when degraded by UV light. Unfortunately no sunscreen in America satisfies all these criteria.

So is sunscreen all bad? No says the annual report of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which raised the concerns above. EWG believes the benefits of sunscreen out way the harm. But they want you to be aware of the side effects, choose your sunscreen wisely, and don't rely on it 100%. The best protection is still a hat, light clothing, and shade.