It's an alarming fact that over 2 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer every year. While the active messaging to the public to wear sunscreen for protection has risen in awareness, the incidences of skin cancer continues to climb worldwide.
It’s that time of year where we start enjoying the weather outside, but did you know that 4 different studies conducted in the 1990’s indicated a higher risk of malignant melanoma among individuals who used the most sunscreen! This was in a time when the awareness of non-toxic sunscreens were not yet available.
Conventional Sunscreens Revisited
According to research from the EWG: Our review…shows that some sunscreen ingredients absorb into the blood, and some have toxic effects. Some release skin-damaging free radicals in sunlight, some act like estrogen and disrupt hormones, and several can cause allergic reactions and skin irritation. The FDA has not established rigorous safety standards for sunscreen ingredients. Sunscreens haven’t been regulated since 1978 in the USA, and the SPF factor only tells you how effective a sunscreen is against UVB rays which cause sunburn.
Conventional high SPF ingredients may:
Absorb into the blood
Release free radicals in sunlight
Act like estrogen
Disrupt hormones
Cause allergic reaction
Cause skin irritation
Have no rigorous safety standards
A recent study published in Environmental Science Technology has also shown the common sunscreen ingredients oxybenzone, methoxycinnamate, and PABA are estrogenic chemicals linked to cancer.
