What you should know about sunscreens!

The weather here has been absolutely marvellous recently, and it looks set to continue throughout summer! ”Jackpot!” I hear you say, but do you really understand what the sun is doing to your skin, and why a good SPF should be an essential part of your daily skincare regime?

I never fully understood this until I trained with Alumier MD, and now I’m going to share this with you to keep you sun safe, healthy and looking your absolute best!

The sun, is actually shining on your skin even if you can’t see it through all the cloud cover. The sun emits UVA, UVB and UVC rays. UVC rays never reach our atmosphere and therefore do you no harm. UVA and UVB rays on the other hand, are a different story.

UVA and UVB are both responsible for damaging skin cells by way of free radical damage.

UVA rays - are responsible for sun-induced ageing, pigmentation, tanning and DNA mutations that can lead to skin cancers. UVA rays penetrate to the deep dermis of the skin where they exert free radical damage. It is in the deeper layers of skin where most skin cancers arise. UVA rays can pass through clouds and glass (THINK! long distance drivers often have one arm tanned/aged/pigmented more than others because it’s always exposed to UVA rays).

UVB rays - are responsible for burning and DNA mutations that can lead to skin cancers. UVB damage mainly the skin’s superficial layers, hence sunburn. UVB rays reach Earth in larger volumes nowadays due to our thinning o-zone layer.

So how can sunscreen help? Well sunscreen, provides a filter between your skin and the harmful UV rays emitted from the sun. It is the type of filter used that makes your chosen sunscreen good or bad for you. And don’t be fooled, even if its expensive, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it provides you with the right level of protection in the sun.

There are 2 main types of sun filter; physical and chemical filters. Many sunscreens are composed of chemical filters because these are cheaper to manufacture however they are proven in studies which I will examine below to be harmful to both skin, hormonal functions in the human body and the environment. Alumier MD responsibly use only physical filters in their sunscreen products.

The following may shock you!

Chemical filters (oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone, homosalate, meradimate, octisalate, octocrylene, paimate O - read your sunscreen/s ingredients now) are low molecular weight molecules meaning they easily absorb into the skin, and have been found in blood and urine samples of humans (1). Many chemical filters are proven to be hormone disruptors, carcinogens or allergens (2). Hormones are responsible for the control and regulation of many cells and organs in the body that are essential for everyday life and carcinogens are ‘cancer-causing’ substances. Carcinogens are substances proven to increase the risk of certain cancers if ingested/applied to the human body. Allergens are substances that can trigger allergic/sensitive reactions, often with uncomfortable physical side effects such as rashes, inflamed skin, headaches and difficulty breathing or anaphylaxis in extreme cases.

For example, Oxybenzone (chemical filter) is a known hormone disruptor. A study (3) by the National Institute of Health found that men with repeated exposure to sunscreens containing Oxybenzone had a 30% reduction in their fertility. Furthermore, Oxybenzone is emerging as a potent marine contaminant that poses significant risk to coral reef conservation. A significant percentage of the reduction of our coral reefs are attributed to chemical components of sunscreens that get into our seas.

A final example, Octinoxate has been detected in blood, urine and breast milk samples (4). Octinoxate is proven to disrupt thyroid function and mimics the hormone oestrogen. Long term exposure to oestrogen carries a significant health risk for women including increased risk of developing breast cancer (4).

On the other hand we have physical sun filters, larger weight mineral molecules that sit on the surface of the skin, reflecting and bouncing UV rays away from the skin. This process prevents most the rays reaching beneath the superficial layers of skin and reduces the risks of UV induced oxidative stress and free radical damage that leads to ageing, pigmentation, sun spots and development of skin cancers. Physical filters such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide are routinely compacted into Alumier MD sunscreens to bounce UV rays away and so reducing the harmful effects of free radical damage. Check your sunscreens now, if they do not contain physical filters, then investing in a sunscreen that does is a worthy investment indeed.

A final note about chemical sunscreens is this, many of the only protect against some UV rays and therefore, several chemical filters are added to sunscreens to give it the ‘broad spectrum’ marketability. Don’t be fooled, check the labels carefully and research safer sunscreens before Compromising your sun safety, long term health and health of our environment.

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(1) Janjua et al, (2008) ‘Sunscreens in human plasma and urine after repeated whole-body topical application’ [Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology 22(4)]

(2) Environmental Health Perspectives (2016) ‘what happens to your skin when you switch to cosmetics with less chemicals’

(3) Germaine et al (2014) ‘Urinary concentrations of UV filters and couples’ fecundity’ [American Journal of Epidemiology 180(12)]

(4) Darbre, P. (2006) ‘Environmental oestrogens, cosmetics and breast cancer’ [Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 20(1)]