While my husband and I were spending a weekend at the lake with a very close friend of over 25 years, he shared his recent diagnosis of cancer on one of his eyelids. His dermatologist told him to limit direct sunlight, wear a broad-brim hat, and apply sunscreen to help minimize further occurrences. So as we were getting ready to go out on the boat, I was a bit stunned when I saw him applying "traditional" name brand sunscreen filled with what many scientists have determined as cancer-causing ingredients.
"Well, he's a dermatologist, and said as long as I put sunscreen on, that'd be good, so that's what I'm doing". After picking up my jaw from the floor, I shared with him research findings I had discovered from many reputable sources and offered our non-toxic sunscreen, which he applied.
Upon returning home from the lake, I put together an email with links and highlights to a variety of renowned and respected studies from Harvard Health, Yale Medicine, National Institute of Health, etc. so he could research it for himself. Here's what I shared:
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Dear Friend of 25+ years:
As always, we enjoyed spending another great weekend with you at the lake! Since you were a bit skeptical about the information I shared, I thought it would be beneficial for you to have some information at hand to do some research on your own regarding the use of sunscreen.
I wish your dermatologist would have given you better advice than telling you “any sunscreen is fine" especially since so many people trust their chosen experts in the field. Hopefully, the below will help you choose more prudently for your own health and safety going forward.
Unfortunately, doctors in our Western medical system most often don't take the time to educate their patients. Instead, they sit back and wait for a problem to arise, and then respond to the condition with a focus on which pill to prescribe or which procedure to perform.
Due to medical liability, most doctors are hesitant to provide patients with information outside of anything that’s been FDA supported. There are many options which are considered either "safe", "unsafe", or "questionable due to insufficient data", which confuse the everyday consumer.
We are all responsible to educate ourselves and make daily lifestyle choices that prevent us from becoming sick. Any dermatologist should be letting patients know that NOT ALL SUNSCREENS ARE SAFE…not all cosmetic lotions are safe…not all cosmetics are safe.
My dermatologist recommends, and only sells, products containing GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) mineral-based ingredients. Many sunscreens have a variety of undesirable ingredients that are easily avoidable. The active ingredients in chemical sunscreens (avobenzone, octinoxate and oxybenzone) are up for much debate regarding their efficacy and safety, so whether or not a doctor chooses to educate a patient, why choose a product that has questionable ingredients when there are ones considered safe in the marketplace?
Mineral-based sunscreens can also be found at reasonable prices. I’m hoping you’ll invest your money on your health, as well as reducing the risk of both cancer and endocrine hormone disorders. There are many benefits to sunscreens, and it’s important to choose a brand that has "good" ingredients. We don’t know the long-term effects of chemicals that cross the blood-brain barrier, so why risk it when we choose something that's no considered safe? We need to remember that the sun is very healthy for us, and one of the best ways for us to get Vitamin D.
Like you, at least 70% of Americans tend to listen to whoever they’ve selected as the “expert on the topic” (could be primary doctor, social media influencer, friend/relative, etc.) and don’t do their own research. Unfortunately, we all need to do our own research to determine what is safe…not blindly putting all of our trust in the “so-called expert”. After all, there is so much research nowadays that's easily accessible. In general, my philosophy is pretty basic… “when there’s conflicting data, trust what is natural over any synthetic, man-made chemical.”
HERE ARE SOME RESOURCES (including a few bullets from the article):
HARVARD HEALTH
"Sunscreen Makers Withdraw Products Found to Contain Cancer Causing Substance"
presence of the carcinogen benzene
ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP
"The Trouble With Sunscreen Chemicals"
In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which governs sunscreen safety, proposed its most recent updates to sunscreen regulations, found that only two ingredients, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, could be classified as safe and effective, based on the currently available information.
Twelve other ingredients were proposed as not generally recognized as safe and effective due to insufficient data: avobenzone, cinoxate, dioxybenzone, ensulizole, homosalate, meradimate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, oxybenzone, padimate O, and sulisobenzone.
Mineral sunscreens, which often contain zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide, sit on the skin’s surface to deflect the sun’s rays. Chemical sunscreens, on the other hand, penetrate the skin and absorb the sun’s rays.
In 2021 the European Commission published preliminary opinions on the safety of three organic ultraviolet, or UV, filters, oxybenzone, homosalate and octocrylene. It found that two of them are not safe in the amounts at which they’re currently used. It proposed limiting concentration to 2.2 percent for oxybenzone and 1.4 percent for homosalate.
The FDA gave the sunscreen manufacturers a new deadline of November 2019 to provide more data about the potential threats posed by the active ingredients in their products. But that deadline also somehow slipped away. And when the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act became law in March 2020, language was somehow included that left sunscreen regulations back where they were in 1999. That’s equivalent to no regulation at all.
YALE MEDICINE
"Is Sunscreen Safe"
Here is what all dermatologists should be recommending, especially to a patient who has already experienced skin cancer:
“If you are concerned, my advice is to use mineral-based sunscreens, hats, and sun-protective clothing, and wait for the FDA to do their research.”
LIVE SCIENCE
"Cancer-Causing Chemical Found in 78 Sunscreens"
An independent testing lab has detected the chemical benzene, a known human carcinogen, in 78 sunscreen products and is now calling on the FDA to recall the products.
NATURE
"A Common Sunscreen Ingredient Turns Toxic in the Sea - Anemones Suggest Why"
We are not the only potential victims of harmful ingredients in sunscreen
Steps are being taken to save the coral. In 2018, Hawaii banned sunscreens containing oxybenzone and/or octinoxate. The legislation took effect on January 1, 2021.
HARVARD HEALTH
"The Science of Sunscreen"
While all the research is there suggesting clear evidence, many times you can find information that says it’s not a problem, it’s fine. I would encourage you to trace the funding when you see this in areas that conflict exists.
ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP
"Sunscreen Search Filter"
When selecting a brand or products, this is an excellent site to help vet your choices
This website is a phenomenal resource.
YOU CAN SHARE ALL OF THE ABOVE OR JUST THE LINK BELOW WITH YOUR DERMATOLOGIST:
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH
"Neurotoxic Effect of Active Ingredients in Sunscreen Products, a Contemporary Review"
However, like many researchers suggest, toxic effects of chronic, low-dose exposures cannot be ruled out and require further investigations [32]. Moreover, with increased usage and lack of efficient removal, environmental contamination will probably increase in the future. Recent report on coral bleaching showed that environmental contamination with BP-3 already poses a hazard to coral reef.
Available data imply, that sunscreen compounds might block vitamin D synthesis or act as endocrine disruptor and lead to developmental toxicity. The effects of sunscreen on cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D induced by sunlight have been a subject of debate for recent years, however the newest analysis suggests, that normal usage of sunscreen by adults do not decrease cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D [35]. The endocrine disruptive and developmental toxicity of many organic UV filters in experimental models is well established, these filters seem to be associated with altered estrogen, androgen and progesterone activity, reproductive and developmental toxicity and impaired functioning of the thyroid, liver or kidneys, reviewed elsewhere [36], [37], [1], [38], [29]. Since many of UV filters were shown to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the risk for neurotoxicity also occurs.
Thus, they also are emergent as an environmental pollutant [40]. Chemical UV filters are easily absorbed by the skin and reach the systemic circulation, and accumulate in various tissues, as adipose tissue, liver and the brain [41], [42], [43], [44]. Their lipophilicity permits them to readily cross the BBB, nonetheless, the effect of organic UV filters in the central nervous system (CNS) has been yet to fully addressed.
We love you and want you to live a long and healthy life, which is why I'm hopeful you'll take time to review these resources so you can make a more informed decision moving forward (and maybe even share some of this with your family and friends to help keep them safe as well!).
Love,
Sheree
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