The Sun is finally back - full force into the season. ☀️ And like every year, with the strong sun, takes off the trend of using sunscreen for protection against sunburns and long-term consequences (premature skin aging or cancer). Sunscreens are a very potent solution in dealing with solar radiation, which offer protection against a tricky part of the solar spectrum – the infamous ultraviolet (UV) light.
Recently, however, social media has been swamped with “activists” who point out that "All sunscreens cause more harm than they do good because they contain nasty unnatural chemicals”. Their solution is to give up on all sunscreens, but if you decide to drop all sunscreens forever, you might as well opt for a one-way trip to a skin cancer clinic [1]. This is especially true for those with fair skin and freckles, but nobody, regardless of their skin tone, is immune to sunburns with a good dose of discomfort along the way.
But if you dig deeper into their bold exclusionary ideas, you realize that sunscreens "with nasty chemicals” do exist widely on the market. And this means we are in for a different set of problems. Emerging evidence shows that some components of sunscreens interfere with hormones, which is why these compounds are called endocrine disruptors (EDs) [2,3,4]. So, EDs impair the normal functioning of your hormones. I am not a medical expert, so I would naturally leave this one to specialists. All I have is a growing body of evidence that says EDs are real and everywhere. It gets worse, before it gets better, I promise.
Ingredients of sunscreens end up in water where you swim!
Components of sunscreens don’t only disrupt our endocrine system; they cause real disruption in places where you bathe. Many conventional sunscreens affect underwater life. When you go into the water with sun lotion all over your body, perfect conditions for sunscreen to dissolve in water are created. I mean, if they tell you to always reapply sunscreens when you get out of the water, where do you think your sun protection went to? Into the lake, river, sea, naturally! Multiply those trace substances that wash off you with all the people on the beach every day of the season – this is quite a legacy we leave. Here are some examples of what happens when such chemicals hit the marine environment: they impair photosynthesis and growth of algae; accumulate in corals and causes bleaching; can decrease fertility or reproduction in fish; cause female characteristics in male fish; deform offspring of urchins and mussels etc. [5]. And then when the food chain kicks in where do you think chemicals in fish and mussels end up? Just like in my previous post on pesticides, trying to solve one problem (sunburning) turns out to create a myriad of other problems for yourself and those without a voice. An idea that I don’t particularly like.
So, what are these endocrine and marine life disruptors? Ok, let’s rewind for a second. Sunscreens are basically giant filters; but unlike some filters, they don’t over beautify, they actually serve a purpose. Just like virtually all cosmetics, sunscreen is a mix of carriers and active ingredients – in this case, chemical and physical filters. Physical filters scatter the UV rays before these go into your skin and typically give the cream milky white color. Chemical filters are substances that absorb UV light before these rays can damage your skin [6]. And it turns out that many, predominantly, chemical filters are now suspected endocrine disruptors (either at the state or EU level) or are an issue for the underwater environment. You can take a look at these long lists on the reference links [7, 8]. As to endocrine disrupters (EDs), EU has a strategy in place; it currently lists 432 compounds used in cosmetics (yes, four hundred thirty two, I did not make a mistake) as being “suspected endocrine disrupters” and divides them into three categories to establish priorities. I am really happy to see this roll out. Nevertheless, this will take time.
All this leads me to believe that there are, in fact, 3 types of sunscreen users (See the Table below). Chances are you are currently a tourist - you get a standard sun lotion for a local cosmetics shop and you apply it regularly. You are aware of its importance and you cringe when you see little peppers passing by. Seeing this, you would probably like to move to the reader cohort. So what is the catch?
Which type of sunscreen user are you?
The difference between tourist’s and reader’s choices is the cream. The choice of sunscreen matters!🧴A popular reflex to deal with this issue would be to buy a cream from an established brand and/or pay more for it. But the truth is - whether a cream contains controversial substances has nothing to do with the price range nor with the brand. It is an issue across brands and price ranges.
In effect, the risks are hidden in plain sight and that is called the ingredients list, which our reader type cares about. Neither you nor I are medical experts to do an in-depth assessment of sunscreen chemicals on human health nor can we substitute an eco-toxicologist in naming the full list of harmful chemicals for the environment. I really cannot keep track of these lists, but there is a smart way around learning Category 1 of the aforementioned EU’s list.
Remember I told you that things get better? Well, somebody already thought of this issue and they came up with third-party apps that rate the safety of everyday cosmetics and products. This is a convenient, fast, and free way to look up a risk profile of the product based on its ingredients list. All you do is scan its barcode and get a score (like a grade) with a list of “problematic” compounds if any. I combine Inci Beauty and Yuka (I am not sponsored) and I can only recommend you do the same. This way you can go about buying the SPF cream that suits your skin type, and does not harm you or others in the process. I managed to get SPF 30 and SPF 50 for about 20 CHF (18 EUR) each, so please don’t try the money argument. There is none.
Finally, let me restate the entry claim correctly: Good sunscreens that do not have “nasty chemicals” remain your best chance of not getting burned or seriously ill. It goes without saying that this is true in combination with other preventative measure like clothes, hats and 🕶, minimizing direct sun exposure in the peak hours, opening that ⛱, reapplying your cream regularly etc.
Go download the apps, search for product groups, look up the best options for yourself (SPF for your skin type, price range) and order them with your local supplier (if possible)!
Enjoy the start of summer! 🍀
Honestly, consciously and informedly,
P.S. I would like to thank my friend and colleague Clara who made me discover these apps.
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Picture from personal collection.
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