What you need to know about Physical and Chemical Sunscreen . Its a lot to read but very important info UV light causes skin cancer and prematurely ages the skin, and so it’s very important to protect our skin with sunscreen. We don’t want to block sunshine completely – about 20 minutes each day is good for us – it boosts our vitamin D and improves our mood. Beyond 20 minutes, however, and our immune system suffers. We either need to spend the rest of the day inside or protect our skin with sunscreen. There are 17 individual sunscreen ingredients that are FDA approved: 15 of these are clear chemicals that absorb UV light and two are made of minerals that reflect UV light. Of these 15, nine are known endocrine disruptors. To be effective, chemical sunscreens need to be rubbed into their skin 20 minutes before sun exposure. They do a pretty good job at blocking UV light, but they actually get used up as the sun shines on them. In fact, some sunscreens lose as much as 90% of their effectiveness in just an hour, so they need to be reapplied often. This is not the case with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, the two mineral, or physical, sunscreens. These two work very differently – they sit on the surface of the skin and physically block UV light. Chemical Sunscreens don’t sit on the surface of the skin – they soak into it and quickly find their way into the bloodstream. They scatter all over the body without being detoxified by the liver and can be detected in blood, urine, and breast milk for up to two days after a single application. That would be just fine if they were uniformly safe – but they’re not. As mentioned, nine of the 15 chemical sunscreens are considered endocrine disruptors. Those are chemicals that interfere with the normal function of hormones. The hormones most commonly disturbed are estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid. Endocrine disruptors, like some ingredients in chemical sunscreens, can cause abnormal development of fetuses and growing children. They cause early puberty and premature breast development in girls, and small and undescended testicles in boys. They cause low sperm counts and infertility. Endocrine disruptors that act like estrogen can contribute to the development of breast and ovarian cancers in women, and other endocrine disruptors may increase the chance of prostate cancer in men. If there were no good alternatives, we’d have to make some hard decisions whether or not to use sunscreen. But, fortunately, we have great alternatives. Physical Sun Screen Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are rocks that are ground down to a fine consistency. They do a great job at blocking both UVA and UVB light. Zinc is less whitening on the skin and blocks nearly all dangerous UV light. Inexpensive versions of these sunscreens are gooey and while you might put them on your kid’s skin, most people don’t like them. But newer zinc oxide sunscreens contain particles so small that they are transparent. These sunscreens are called micronized and do a great job at protecting against UV radiation. Bottom line? Use a (PHYSICAL) micronized zinc oxide containing SPF 15 broad-spectrum sunscreen every day of the year and an SPF 30 when you’re on the beach or working in the garden. How much should you use? An ounce spread over your whole body should do it. And reapply it every 2 hours or so.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:41:51 +0000
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