Sunscreens

Why I don't use sunscreen

We need regular sunshine

Cover up to avoid strong sunshine

Summary

References

Why I don't use sunscreen

I personally do not use sunscreens, for several reasons. Remember, your body can absorb substances from your skin. Want to test that? Crush a clove of garlic and rub it on the soles of your feet. Put some socks on and leave it there for an hour. Then ask someone to smell your breath or under your arms. Garlic! I do not trust the chemicals sunscreens contain, so choose not to put them on my skin.

I also have a saying that you should be willing to eat anything you rub onto your skin. Would you be willing to put your sunscreen in your mouth? Sure, I would not exactly eat soap and so on, but it is a good basis on which to question our unthinking use of most soaps, shampoos, cosmetics, shaving creams and other personal care products.

We need regular sunshine

Many scientists argue that the sun-avoiding health messages we constantly hear actually increase some forms of skin cancer. (9)

Our skin needs exposure to the sun, preferably daily. Of course, everything in moderation. Half an hour of sunshine at the time of day and season that will pleasantly warm your skin without the slightest burning or red skin. Red, burning, painful or itching skin is your body telling you that it has been overdone and dangerous. There is no question that excess sunshine damages and ages your skin. But too little sunshine also has many harmful effects.

Few people get enough sun, especially in the winter and in high latitudes. Most people are deficient in vitamin D. A lack of vitamin D is associated with autoimmune diseases, poor bones, skin and teeth, cancer, heart disease and low energy. People who get insufficient sun also suffer frequent 'flu, autism, strokes, depression and heart disease.

Ultraviolet-B radiation is the short wavelength light that that causes sunburn and does not penetrate the skin deeply. It is also the light that helps your skin make vitamin D. Having sufficient vitamin D (2,000 international units per day for an adult is sufficient for good health, but 5,000 IU per day is optimal) ensures that your immune system is effective. It will also give you strong bones and teeth, and a high level of energy and athletic performance.

UV-B does not penetrate glass. If you get your sunlight behind a window, while driving etc, you will not get vitamin D. UV-B is blocked by heavy cloud cover, but may pass through light cloud. There is little research to confirm this, but some scientists speculate that UV-B may be dissipated by light cloud cover or even heavily polluted air.

There are three main kinds of skin cancer: basal cell, squamous cell, and malignant melanoma. Basal cell and squamous cell cancers are common, usually less serious, and not counted in cancer statistics. Most sunscreens block the UV-B rays and help prevent sunburn and these minor cancers. They also block out your ability to make vitamin D, of which we are so chronically short.

By reducing the exposure of the skin to UVB radiation, sunscreen suppresses the skin's production of the natural photoprotectant, melanin, (13) and the lack of melanin leads to an increased risk of melanoma. (2)

Cover up to avoid strong sunshine

Ultraviolet-A radiation has a longer wavelength, and penetrates through the outer skin down to the melanocytes, the cells that become cancerous in melanoma cases. Most sunscreens do not block UV-A. Zinc oxide blocks UV-A, and is one of the only sunscreens that I trust (because I am also willing to eat small quantities of zinc oxide). However, it is a different story with nano-particle sunscreens, a new class of chemical that is not available in nature.

UV-A passes through glass, cloud and polluted air. Do not sunbathe behind a glass window - the damaging radiation gets through, the beneficial radiation is blocked.

Melanomas are deadly, and used to be rare. In the developed world, their incidence increased dramatically in the 40 years up to 1990, though they have leveled out since then. Malignant melanoma has been found more frequently in sunscreen users compared to non-users in some studies. (1) People spend more time in the sun without being burned when they use sunscreens. Unfortunately, the ultraviolet-A radiation is still penetrating their skin in a large dose, and their natural early warning system (sunburn) has been blocked by the sunscreen (2,8,10,11,12). Other studies found fair skinned people used more suncreen and had more skin cancer, but did not address cause and effect. (2,3,4,5,6,7)

The most effective way to prevent sunburn (and the risk of a melanoma) is to cover your skin and stay in the shade during the brightest part of a summer, close-to-equator day. Our early ancestors stayed in the shade during the mid-day in the days before sunscreens, and it obviously worked because melanomas was so rare in previous centuries. The leveling out in the rate of skin cancers in the last 15-20 years is because people (particularly those with fair skins living close to the equator) are getting that message.

In summary, most sunscreens:

contain complex chemicals that have an negative affect on your body
block out the UV-B radiation, preventing your body from making its own vitamin D
stop you getting red and burned, hiding the signal your body gives you to tell you when you've had too much sun
let the dangerous UV-A radiation penetrate your skin, without blocking it
suppress the skin's production of the natural photoprotectant melanin by reducing the exposure of the skin to UVB radiation

Research references

1. Westerdahl J., Ingvar C., Masback A., Olsson H. Sunscreen use and malignant melanoma". Int. J. Cancer (July 2000) 87 (1): 145-50.

2. Autier P., Dore J. F., Schifflers E., et al. Melanoma and use of sunscreens: An EORTC case control study in Germany, Belgium and France. Int. J. Cancer (1995) 61 (6): 749-755.

3. Weinstock, M. A. Do sunscreens increase or decrease melanoma risk: An epidemiologic evaluation (1999). Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings 4: 97-100.

4. Vainio H., Bianchini F. Cancer-preventive effects of sunscreens are uncertain (2000). Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health 26: 529-31.

5. Wolf P., Quehenberger F., Mullegger R., Stranz B., Kerl H. Phenotypic markers, sunlight-related factors and sunscreen use in patients with cutaneous melanoma: an Austrian case-control study (1998) Melanoma Res. 8 (4): 370-378.

6. Graham S., Marshall J., Haughey B., et al. An inquiry into the epidemiology of melanoma (October 1985) Am. J. Epidemiol. 122 (4): 606-19.

7. Beitner H., Norell S.E., Ringborg U., Wennersten G., Mattson B. Malignant melanoma: aetiological importance of individual pigmentation and sun exposure (1990) Br J Dermatol. 122 (1): 43-51.

8. Garland C., Garland F., Gorham E. Could sunscreens increase melanoma risk? (1992) Am J Public Health 82 (4): 614-5.

9. Ainsleigh H.G. Beneficial effects of sun exposure on cancer mortality (1993). Prev Med. 22 (1): 132-40.

10. Autier P., Boniol M., Dore J.F. Sunscreen use and increased duration of intentional sun exposure: still a burning issue (July 2007). Int. J. Cancer 121 (1): 1-5.

11. Gorham E.D., Mohr S.B., Garland C.F., Chaplin G., Garland F.C. Do sunscreens increase risk of melanoma in populations residing at higher latitudes? (December 2007) Ann Epidemiol 17 (12): 956-63.

12. Diffey B.L. Sunscreens and melanoma: the future looks bright (August 2005) Br. J. Dermatol. 153 (2): 378-81.

13. Meredith Paul, Riesz Jennifer. Radiative Relaxation Quantum Yields for Synthetic Eumelanin (2004) Photochemistry and photobiology 79 (2): 211-6.