Face it! You really can’t avoid the sun. Summer, winter, cloudy or not, you’re getting exposed. What better way to protect yourself than with a good sunscreen — right??
Well, maybe not.
Dangerous Sunscreens
We all know that the sun is dangerous (after all – it causes the #1 most deadly cancer, and it’s responsible for about 80% of our premature aging), but did you know that most sunscreens are also dangerous? The Environmental Working Group did a study on sunscreens and found most to be either very ineffective or loaded with carcinogens (yes, that means that your actual sunscreen could cause you cancer!) Even titanium dioxide, which was previously thought to be safe, has recently been proven to cause cancer, especially when used in sprays or in nanoparticles. In fact, with nanoparticle technology becoming super common in sunscreens, these carcinogens can easily get into your bloodstream and wreak havoc on your cells. And that doesn’t even take into account all the other nasty chemicals found in these products!
Now that you know, I’m sure you can see why it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re wearing a non-toxic, non-nano sunscreen.
Fortunately, it’s simple to remember what’s safe; the only ingredient that is truly nontoxic and works as a sunscreen is non-nano zinc oxide. It’s a mineral that’s relatively expensive as an ingredient and looks white until you rub it in, which is why many companies don’t use it, or only use it in low quantities mixed with chemical sunscreens that are cheaper or quickly absorb into your skin (and bloodstream!) While chemical sunscreens are cheap to produce and easy to apply, the problem lies in that they aren’t effective against the type of rays that cause aging and cancer, and they are often carcinogenic to boot. Oh yeah, last-but-not-least, they’re also quickly killing the coral reef, which is home to 25% of underwater diversity.
If you want to learn more about all this, I found a great study done by the World Health Organization that’s packed with interesting info. Here’s a poignant quote: “A suntan may be cosmetically desirable, but in fact it is nothing but a sign that your skin has been damaged and has attempted to protect itself.”
Next up — Which sunscreens to buy, my better-than-sunscreen beauty trick, and something it’s crucial to understand:
The Safest Sunscreens
I’m not sure there’s anyone on Earth who enjoys applying or wearing sunscreen. However, rather than avoiding the sun, I found a great sun-protection alternative. Studies have shown that Red Raspberry Seed Oil has a SPF factor of about 30 and is the only oil to protect against both UVB and UVA rays. So I fill my palm with it every morning and rub it all over my face, neck, hands, and any other area that might be getting exposure. It absorbs quickly, doesn’t feel greasy, and leaves a slight healthy glow. It’s quickly become my favorite oil. This awesome oil is filled with antioxidants and essential fatty acids to keep your skin healthy while helping to fade with scars, sunspots, and acne. I don’t leave home without it! Just make sure that you’re buying the real thing, as some sneaky resellers may dilute it with a cheaper oil. Also, as with any oil, make sure to keep the container tightly sealed in a dark place, since oils go oxidize (lose some of their medicinal properties) when exposed to oxygen or light too many times.
When I’m traveling or otherwise spending a lot of time in direct sunlight, I first apply my oil, and then I layer a zinc oxide sunscreen overtop. My favorite safe, zinc-oxide-based sunscreens are Badger’s SPF30 lavender-scented sunscreen, their anti-bug sunscreen, and their rose facial sunscreen (I’m a sucker for anything rose-scented!), which are organic and has 100% healthy, pretty much edible ingredients. It absorbs without a lot of effort and smells great. Also, not only does lavender have a lovely scent, but has been found in studies to inhibit the generation of the type of free radical that causes much of the damage from UVA/UVB radiation. It also helps protect against cancerous changes—in one study, applying lavender oil reduced skin tumor incidence by 33 percent. (I add a few drops of lavender essential oil to my Red Raspberry Seed Oil, too!)
Another great choice is Babo’s zinc oxide sunscreen lotion, portable sunscreen stick, tinted lip balm (which I also use as blush!), and spray sunscreens. We checked all the ingredients one-by-one, and they are all super-safe. When looking for sunscreen, make sure to read the label carefully. You should recognize the majority (or, better yet, all) of the ingredients in your sunscreen.
As with all skin care, if you can’t read it, or you can’t eat it, you shouldn’t wear it. Period.
Here are some more tips:
Important to Understand
And here’s the part that took me a while to completely understand: There are two types of sun rays — UVA and UVB. UVB causes sunburns and cancer, while UVA penetrates deeper into the skin causing aging. Clouds and clothing may block the sunburn-causing UVB rays, but they don’t block UVA — the deep-penetrating kind that cause aging (and cancer). UVA rays create ambient light too — so when you’re sitting at your desk near a window, you’re still getting exposure to aging rays. That’s why it’s important to wear sunscreen under clothing and indoors, too. A pain, I know! I hate wearing the stuff too, but it’s better than looking old fast or getting cancer — right!?
What You’re Risking
The body’s first line of defense against the harmful elements of the environment is the skin. We often downplay the value of skin care as purely aesthetic, but we must understand that the failure to take proper care of our skin will not only make us look old, it can also make us sick. In fact, 1 in 5 people will develop skin cancer at some point in their life and 1 in 55 will be melanoma — the deadliest cancer. Not to mention, studies show that sun rays weaken the immune system and leave us vulnerable for a whole host of health issues.
According to a study by the American Academy of Dermatology, melanoma is the most common cancer for the age bracket of 25 to 29 years old. In fact, melanoma increases faster on 15 to 29 year old women than men. The study also showed that 40 percent, especially those under 30 years old, get their tans mostly from using tanning beds and frequent time in the sun.
“Ultimately, seeking to change the color of your skin is self-defeating because exposure to ultraviolet radiation – either through tanning beds or by seeking the sun – can lead to wrinkles, prematurely aging skin and even a diagnosis of skin cancer,” says board-certified dermatologist Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD.
Next up — One of NYC’s top dermatologists breaks it all down for us:
An Expert Shares Her Tips
Urbanette held a brief interview with Dr Marina Peredo, founder of the Marina Peredo, MD, PC Dermatology and Spatique Medical Spa in Smithtown, New York. Marina, who has an incredibly impressive resume, told us about skin cancer, common skincare problems, and how to protect ourselves.
Urbanette Magazine (Hilary): What are the most common skin problems that often lead to skin cancer? What are the easiest and most basic ways to prevent these problems?
Dr. Marina Peredo: Actinic Keratosis is a rough dry scaly patch or growth that forms on the skin. These usually form when the skin is badly damaged from ultraviolet rays (UV rays). AK’s may turn into a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, or they can run the risk of getting other types of skin cancer. This condition can be prevented by wearing a zinc oxide sunscreen daily and being seen by a board-certified dermatologist on a regular basis.
Urbanette: What increases our risk for this?
Marina: Patients who have multiple moles, (dysplastic nevus syndrome), patients with type-one skin type (never tans, always burns), patients who use tanning salons and patients who had several blistering sunburns before age 18 are all at much higher risk for skin cancer.
“Ways to prevent aging and skin cancer include use zinc oxide sunblock, avoid tanning beds and have your skin checked by a dermatologist.”
Urbanette: Yikes! That sounds like me! The sun turns my skin from white to red (usually with blisters) then back to white. How do you know you already have early stages of skin cancer; how do you detect it?
Marina: Recognition of changes in the skin is the best way to detect early melanoma. Follow the ABCDE rule (Asymmetry of a mole, Border irregularity of a mole, Color is not uniform, Diameter or change in size, Evolving of a mole that looks different from the rest). If patient sees any of the above, have it checked right away.
Urbanette: How often do I have to apply sunblock? What SPF should I use?
Marina: Make sure to use the right amount of sunblock — a shot glass full for each application. Apply sunscreen to dry skin 15 minutes before going outdoors every day. When outdoors, reapply every 30 minutes. I recommend SPF 15 or 30. Always reapply after swimming or sweating. The sun emits harmful UV rays year round, plus you have to look out for secondary sun exposure, so sunscreen needs to be applied even when it snows or when it’s cloudy. Wearing protective clothing (like Coolibar) helps and always avoid the sun between the hours of 11am to 3pm.
Urbanette: What is secondary sun exposure, and can it really hurt me?
Marina: Secondary sun exposure is the UV rays your skin is exposed to when sitting near a window on the sunny day, in a car, from a reflection on water, and even on a cloudy day. And yes, while you may not get burned, it’s still rays hitting your skin, so you still need to wear sunscreen even when you’re not directly exposed.
Urbanette: How do you teach your patients about sun protection and what advice do you give them?
Marina: Pictures tell a thousand words and are a useful tool when trying to show my patients what can happen if they do not take precautions when out in the sun. I always encourage all of my patients, teens included, to wear a zinc oxide sunscreen every day, wear sun protective clothing, avoid tanning beds, and get a spray tan or use self-tanner if you really want color.
Really, the best and simplest advice I could give you is simply to avoid the sun between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Are all types of vitamin A toxic, even if they’re not in sunscreens and states that it’s made from a organic matter? There are many skin care products out there for anti aging, acne and hyper pigmentation with vitamin A as it’s main active ingredients. I alway’s believe it was safe as long as it was to be used at night only.
This is a good article.
However, it does not go into the fact that titanium and zinc, when used in nanoparticle form, can enter the bloodstream directly and be very toxic.
Better to use no sunscreen at all but to protect yourself through clothing and limiting exposure.
I use pure organic lotions for my face (not sunscreens) and they include beta carotenes or natural forms of vitamin a.. so are you saying natural vitamin a is also toxic to the skin especially when exposed to sun, or are you saying only the synthetic version of vitamin a is toxic to the skin especially when exposed to sun? Thanks!
When I was 14-15 years old, I used sunscreen just about every day and did not believe that vitamin D is extremely important. There is no way to know if I could have grown taller. At the least, I should have received unfiltered sunlight for 20 minutes a day few times a week. We should be informed that there are better alternatives to chemical sunscreens and nanoparticles such as mineral sunscreens and UPF clothing. Most stores do not even carry the sunscreens that we are looking for except for health food stores.
I never use official sunscreen lotions, but a mix of vitamin C crystals and water will soak in to the skin and shield it from sun damage somewhat. I just sprinkle some in my hand, along with a dash of water and then rub it all over exposed skin. I’m somewhat on the fair side, but have found this does the trick for me to go out in the sun for moderate amounts of time without coming back burned. Also, unlike sunscreens, it doesn’t wash off if you go in the water. Hope it helps for when you can’t help being in the sun! It’s not bullet proof, but every little bit of safe protection helps. 🙂
I checked the two moisturizers I use on a regular basis and one has the ingredient Oxybenzone which I intend to throw away and the other moisturizer contains two sunscreen ingredients. One is Zinc Oxide (good) and the other is Octinoxate which I don’t see on the list of bad sunscreens. Is this a bad or a good sunscreen?
I’m beginning to believe that Vitamin D3 and astaxanthin are essential in my diet regimen. I’m at risk for ARMD and also have diabetes that is finally getting under control. I was starting to see a rather large black spot in front of my left eye and a smaller one in front of my right eye upon waking in the morning about 6 months ago. Since taking astaxanthin, the spots have mostly gone away–only returning if I forget to take it. Vitamin D3 seems to be helping with the diabetes.
SYNTHETIC vitamin A is dangerous. Natural vitamin A (from foods) is not. I don’t want people to think that all vitamin A is dangerous. In fact, consuming it from natural foods is absolutely necessary to health.
Aloe vera also nourishes skin, if you can buy it pure (just check the label, commercial mainstream products often are not pure).
Diet plays a huge role. Consuming coconut oil and other health fats protects against the sun.
My kids have never worn sunscreen, nor will they (though I’ll admit I have a zinc-oxide-only one on hand, just in case we ever were unable to control exposure). They are very fair-skinned and go outside for hours in the middle of the day and they don’t burn. They’ve never burned. They eat so well and are so healthy that they just don’t. I am very fair too, and *used* to burn as a kid (badly), but since switching to real food, I don’t either.
I remember my childhood days when my family and me went to the beach or other sunny places… and the only “sun rays blocker” was coconut cream or more specifically oil coconut. I knew several persons that were dedicated to work at the beach, at the “quebrada” in Acapulco, and those divers NEVER used more than coconut oil in order to keep the skin healthy, staying at the sun ALL day, since they were working. All of them are now old, really old and as I know they never (not only one) developed some skin problem… no cancer no melanoma, nothing, those divers are the most healthy people in the world that never used a sun blocker from a laboratory, just coconut oil from mother nature.
I am now a doctor, and recommend too to my patients the use of only coconut oil, and they report no sun burns… coconut oil alone is the best conditioner of the skin in order to avoid sun burns.
My dad had a buddy who just loved to sit in the sun. We would go to San Felipe twice a year, and spend most of our time on the beach in the hot sun. While we all were sitting in the shade of the canopy he would be in the direct sun applying generous amounts of sunscreen. He would turn red and then a kind of purple/black. We would tell him to get out of the sun, but he ignored our concerns. At the age of 70 he started getting cancer melanomas on his back. His doctor had to cut huge chunks of skin off. He then got leukemia, shingles; and died at the age of 76. He was a pale New Yorker as we are. My dad used very little sunscreen and still have no cancers at the age of 72. We’ve spent and still do spend a lot of time in the southern California sun. I also have not used any sunscreens for years, but I get out of the sun when I feel “the burn”.