The regular use of sunscreen lotion might provide some protection from sunburn, but it may also have quite serious health risks - for ourselves and the environment.
A link was made between skin cancer and overexposure to the sun in the late 60’s/early 1970’s. Yet the incidence of skin cancer continues to rise even though sun screen products are widely used.
It is also very disturbing what is in sunscreen.
This is a partial list of ingredients that can be found in many sunscreen lotions:
☢ Aminobenzoic acid - possible carcinogen may be implicated in cardiovascular disease.
☢ Avobenzone - possible carcinogen
☢ Cinoxate - some evidence of skin toxicity
☢ Dioxybenzone - strong evidence of skin toxicity and possible carcinogen; hormone disruptor and has been found in waterways, soil and air. Has been shown to have a “gender bender” effect in animals
☢ Diazolidinyl urea - possible carcinogen, endocrine, central nervous system and brain effects, skin toxicity an compromises the immune system
☢ Ecamsule - may be carcinogenic
☢ Homosalate - endocrine disruption
☢ Methylparaben - interferes with genes
☢ Octocrylene - found to be persistent and bioaccumulative in wildlife, liver issues and possible carcinogen
☢ Octyl methoxycinnamate - accumulates in the body, may disrupt liver and is a possible carcinogen
☢ Octyl salicylate - broad systemic effects in animals at moderate doses
☢ Oxybenzone - possible carcinogen and contributor to vascular disease, may affect the brain and nervous system in animals
☢ Padimate O - suspected carcinogen
☢ Phenylbenzimidazole - possible carcinogen
☢ Phenoxyethanol - irritant, possible carcinogen, endocrine disruption
☢ Sulisobenzone - strong evidence of skin toxicity, affects sense organs in animals
☢ Titanium dioxide - suspected carcinogen when in nanomaterial form
☢ Zinc Oxide - bioaccumulative in wildlife, evidence of reproductive toxicity
☢ Fragrances, colors and preservatives
So something doesn’t make sense. To prevent skin cancer, we need to put on potentially carcinogenic compounds and chemicals that interfere with our immune and reproductive systems and also pose a risk to the environment?
Millions of gallons of sunscreen is consumed each year. After application, it doesn’t mysteriously vanish - it winds up either soaking into our bodies and accumulating there or is excreted (into the environment) or washed off; again - into the environment.
Now I am a little cynical about the benefits of sunscreen. It might stop us from getting burnt, but isn’t that nature’s way of telling us to get out of the sun? And aside from all the chemicals, does it actually stop melanomas, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, from forming?
One of the other problems with sunscreen is in order to be effective against less serious forms of skin cancer, you need to use a lot of it, and often - every two hours regardless of what the SPF rating is.