Some suncreens actually ACCELERATE cancer – make sure yours is safe

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Last year I wrote about my distaste for tanning. Of course, Shannon, of course. You are ghastly pale, of course you are going to advocate that being pale rocks.

This may be true, my friends, but I’m also kind of scared of…oh, I dunno…CANCER. Sure, being tan makes us feel sexy, but some unsightly melanoma would quickly change that. Anyway, I digress. We all know cancer sucks. We all know sun causes damage to our skin. So we do the right thing and lather up with sunblock, right?

WRONG.

Yesterday the Mister sent me an article announcing a new study that claiming that Many Sunscreens May Be Accelerating Cancer

Um, what?

You mean that white stuff I’ve been slathering on my body to protect myself is actually harming me? You’ve got to be kidding me.

According to the article, almost half of the 500 most popular sunscreen products may actually increase the speed at which malignant cells develop and spread skin cancer. This is because they contain vitamin A or its derivatives.

The story behind Vitamin A in sunscreen:

According to the article, “The industry includes vitamin A in its sunscreen formulations because it is an anti-oxidant that slows skin aging.”

But the Environmental Working Group (EWG) researchers found the initial findings of an FDA study of vitamin A’s photocarcinogenic properties, meaning the possibility that it results in cancerous tumors when used on skin exposed to sunlight.

“In that yearlong study, tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent faster in lab animals coated in a vitamin A-laced cream than animals treated with a vitamin-free cream,” the report said.

Based on the strength of the findings by FDA’s own scientists, many in the public health community say they can’t believe nor understand why the agency hasn’t already notified the public of the possible danger.

So what does this mean? What should we do? Are we all screwed? Are we all getting cancer? Are we all going to die? STOP THE INSANITY!

Good, we’re done freaking out. Now we can talk about what this means and what we should do.

The article explains that “the ideal sunscreen would completely block the UV rays that cause sunburn, immune suppression and damaging free radicals. It would remain effective on the skin for several hours and not form harmful ingredients when degraded by UV light, the report said.”

Unfortunately there aren’t any products in the U.S. that meet ALL of the criteria.

Fortunately, EWG has put a list together of the best sunscreens out there (and the worst!) to make sure we’re buying products that will protect us.

EWG does warn consumers not to depend on any sunscreen for primary protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Hats, clothing and shade are still the most reliable sun protection available, they say.

Want to see if your sunscreen made EWG’s best-of list?  I personally bought a few of their recommendations for the Mister and I yesterday.

PLEASE make sure the products you’re using are safe and STAY out of the sun! That tan may look sexy now, but cancer doesn’t look good on anyone. Plus, I hear Edward Cullen goes for the pale girls ;)

18 Responses to “Some suncreens actually ACCELERATE cancer – make sure yours is safe”

  1. Susan said:

    Oh crap, what? I am as pale as they come. Paler than pale. Those EWG guys are good. Thanks for the reminder to check in regularly with their research and website. Their cosmetics database in really great.

    Posted on | Reply
  2. rachel said:

    good thing I never wear sunscreen! probably better off after hearing this.

    Posted on | Reply
  3. Jenn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) said:

    I heard this on the news and I’m like, OMG are you seriousssssss?? Every time science has a breakthrough, 20 years later we find out the treatment is worse than the risk or disease. UGH

    Jenn

    Posted on | Reply
  4. Lindsay @ The Ketchup Diaries said:

    OMG – thank you SO MUCH for posting this. The sunblock I have is definitely in the “caution” category! Time for a NEW ONE!

    Posted on | Reply
  5. Evelyn @ cheers2healthy said:

    Eep – thanks for the heads-up! I will be sure to avoid Banana Boat & other “baby” sunblocks.

    Posted on | Reply
  6. Shelly said:

    Arg! Sunscreen and I have issues. I am blessed with incredibly sensitive skin- and sunscreen (and various other skin products, but *particularly* sunscreen) will break me out into hives if I use the wrong brand. (I refer to Coppertone as “battery acid”) There have been a couple of times when I’ve forgotten to bring sunscreen to a festival, and have chosen to get burned rather than use a brand I know I can’t handle. The burn is significantly less miserable. And of course, this summer I’ve started reacting to a couple of brands that I used to be able to use (Neutrogena and Banana Boat).
    So great, hives and cancer. That’s just awesome. :P
    I just bought the Jason sunscreen (that I saw listed as good one on your link- yay!) because I think a mineral based one might be less irritating. (I did a little research in cosmetic chemistry in college and I’m pretty sure that I am reacting to the surfactants in non-mineral based sunscreen.) Hopefully this new stuff will work for me!

    Posted on | Reply
  7. Ann @ Appalachian Appetites said:

    Oh man. I just checked my face sunscreen from Clinique…don’t see Vitamin A in the ingredients, but maybe it’s under a different name?! Oh why oh why!

    Posted on | Reply
  8. Shelley said:

    whoa thanks fofr this info- good to know

    Posted on | Reply
  9. Sarah for Real said:

    To complicate matters even more, consider the importance that Vitamin D plays.

    Scientists are discovering how deficient Americans are in Vitamin D and how critical it is in the prevention of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis… The list goes on.

    I’m a pale girl myself but for most daily sun exposure I just let it go without sunscreen so I get my vitamin D. If I’m going to be out in the sun all day I try to cover up and I use a little sunscreen. I’ll be checking those lists you provided and pick a good one this year!

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  10. Shannon said:

    Thanks for the tips! I am very pale skinned, but I don’t want to tan. Too much risk! I’ll stick to the self tanning creams and lather on the sun screen.

    Posted on | Reply
  11. Wendy Irene said:

    Thank you so much for sharing this Shannon! It is difficult to sort everything out, but I’m thinking cloths might make a lot of sense. Whenever I travel to warmer climates I do notice a lot of the locals are simply wearing clothing to cover their skin and hats. I try to do this with my kids and there are a lot of great UV protection cloths on the market now. Have a good day! :)

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  12. Mary (A Merry Life) said:

    Woah, this is kind of frightening. Good information to know though so thanks for sharing it.

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  13. Tina said:

    Yeah, people look at me like I’m insane when I don’t slather my children in sunscreen. For summer camp they have to bring it, so I pack them Burt’s Bees sunscreen since its pretty affordable and they each need their own. They only put it on their noses and shoulders. That’s it. I also used the Kiss My Face sunscreen stick this weekend for myself. We’re blessed to be part Indian & Italian, so I count on that to protect me. But given a choice, I’ll take my chances with the sun rather than made made chemicals.
    I’m writing a post now about skin care & makeup products I use. The cosmetics database is my bible!

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  14. Katherine said:

    throw away any sunscreen after 12 months!
    thank you for posting all this! I had no idea some screens could be harmful

    Posted on | Reply
  15. Lisa @ bakebikeblog said:

    oh my – I had no idea!!!

    Posted on | Reply
  16. Fitness News: Great-grandma runs a marathon while exercise and yoga prove to be the key to a good night’s sleep | The Daily Balance said:

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  17. T said:

    Wow, very interesting article about sunscreens. Thank you so much for not subscribing to the “tanner is better” attitude! I’m a skin cancer survivor and reformed sun worshipper. I was always teased about my dark features (eyes/hair) and very pale skin so I went to a tanning salon for years. In my early 30′s I got skin cancer and now when I see overly bronzed people I’m so tempted to go up to them and show them my scar and tell them their tanning habit is not worth being cut open to have multiple layers of skin removed. Now I embrace my pale skin and dark features because I look “different” and most importantly I’m healthy.

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