It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, light streams quietly in through the window as the birds call to one another. Today, you are going for a run, or maybe just a brisk walk. You rinse your face, brush your teeth, pull on your shorts, wriggle into your shirt, put on your hat and are ready to go right? Wrong. Very wrong. You have forgotten one of the most important aspects of the morning routine. Sun protection!
Sure, the hat is on your head, covering the majority of your face and some of the frontal area on your neck, but what about the rest of you? That t-shirt you slipped on has an SPF rating of only 151. And we all know what sun can do to our skin: make us look leathery, cause wrinkles and, worst of all, skin cancer. But with all the products on the market, what is the best choice?
Always look for a sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum protection from both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays sink in to the lower levels of your skin cells, damaging cells, ageing them prematurely and causing cancer. UVB rays cause surface burns and contribute to cancer as well. But beware the chemical components in your choice product. Some chemicals have the potential to increase the damage caused to your skin and its cells. To ensure that the product is best for your body and your comfort level, know the two types of sunscreen: chemical sunscreens and mineral sunscreens2. Chemical sunscreens are absorbed into the skin and actually take in and disperse the sun’s rays. Mineral sunscreens lay on top of the outer layer of skin, deflecting the rays.
Research on chemical sunscreens suggest that several of the ingredients, oxybenzone in particular, can cause allergies, hormone disruption and cell damage3. Mineral sunscreens, however carry their own risk with nanoparticles. There is still debate as to whether nanoparticles really are harmful, and you can read for yourself the potential effects of oxybenzone and nanoparticles.
Finding a sunscreen that has the protection you need with the possible side effects you don’t can be daunting. However, the FDA recently came out with new regulations on how sunscreen must be labeled, helping consumers determine whether or not their choice sunscreen blocked both UVA and UVB rays. This system should go into effect by summer of 2012.
Another great resource to help you find the sunscreen that will work best for you and your family is the Environmental Working Group. Each year they rate the top mineral and non-mineral options. All of their top rated sunscreens have none of the potentially harmful chemical oxybenzone, and provide broad-spectrum protection.
The most important factor to remember is to educate yourself. You have the opportunity and ability to choose what you feel is best for you, so learn all that you can, on all sides of the issue, before making a choice. And for goodness sake, take a break in the shade every once in a while and give your tired skin a rest.
Have a question, a suggestion, an idea about sunscreen? Let us know!
The statements, information and/or products listed and discussed in this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any statements, information, and/or products listed and discussed in this blog are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Resources:
1Center for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov, 2011
2Kirschner, Chanie, What’s in Sunscreen?, Mother Nature Network, www.mnn.com, June 3, 2011
3Sutton, Rebecca, CDC: Americans Carry Burden of Toxic Sunscreen Chemical, March 2008
