Sunscreens may hurt skin more than they protect it

Leslie Blanco/Contributing Writer

Summer is officially here and with the weather gradually heating up, massive sun exposure is inevitable.

The sun is predominately known as being the number one cause of accelerated skin aging and skin cancer.

As a precaution, the use of sunscreen regularly would be a necessity. When most people think of sunscreen or sunblock, the first things that come to mind are sunburn prevention and sun aging defense.

Contrary to popular belief, what allegedly protects your skin from the most damaging effects of the sun and other environmental factors can actually increase potential harm done to your skin.

In an interview with Student Media, Kevin O’shea, professor of the Chemistry Department who specializes in photochemistry said, “Sunlight has a wide range spectrum. Ideally, sunscreens are supposed to protect from the higher end of the spectrum of UV rays. Sunscreens contain chemicals that absorb or reflect light. The chemicals that absorb the UV rays are the ones that generate reactive components that can cause free radicals and skin cancer.”

Consider a scenario where you are at the beach either tanning or swimming.

It is luminous and radiant outside, so nothing can possibly ruin your day— not even getting a sunburn because you think you’re getting an adequate amount of sun protection.

You are stocked up on loads of sunscreen, without the loathsome knowledge that the chemicals in your sunscreen cause free radicals, organic molecules that are responsible for cell aging and tissue damage, to be released back into your skin.

Sure, it does protect your skin from sunburn, but it comes at a price.

Some researchers believe that free radicals could be the cause of certain types of diseases.

When sunscreen that contains hazardous chemicals is applied to skin and is then exposed to UV radiation, sunlight can actually cause some of the sunscreen chemicals to release the free radicals that damage skin, heightening the chances of causing skin cancer.

According to Professor O’Shea, “[In regard to] those particular chemicals in your sunscreen that absorb UV rays, one would think that all that energy [the chemicals] take in has to definitely go somewhere. All that energy stored in one place would have to, for example, explode and that is when the reactions take place.”

What most people aren’t aware of is that most of the sunscreens sold on the market contain chemicals that penetrate the skin and may disrupt the body’s hormone systems.

To name a few, these chemicals, or culprits, are: the notorious oxybenzone (present in almost every sunscreen sold on the market and also the most harmful chemical), avobenzone, octocrylene, octisalate and homosalate.

Nonetheless, there is hope. Not all sunscreens are hazardous to your health.

Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the safer alternatives.

Zinc oxide is a chemical that the body naturally produces in order to shield itself against some of the damaging effects of the sun’s rays.

Therefore, if used in a synthetic version, such as in a cream or a mineral powder, zinc oxide reflects the UV rays and prevents them from being absorbed into the skin.

Both zinc and titanium dioxide are mineral-based sunscreens as opposed to chemically-based sunscreens; they are stable in sunlight and very little of these minerals penetrate into the skin, if any at all.

They provide an excellent source of UVA (skin aging) radiation defense, a quality that most sunscreens sold on the market lack.

None of the students interviewed by Student Media were aware that some sunscreens contain harmful ingredients and some even admitted to not reading the labels when buying sunscreen.

Senior Emmanuel Genao, journalism major, said, “I don’t really wear sunscreen unless I go to the beach. I do, however, wear facial moisturizer by Olay that has SPF 15.  I don’t really read what ingredients I put on but I do make sure they are alcohol and oil-free. On the rare occasions that I wear sunscreen, I don’t ever recall reading the labels. I usually just pick the one with the highest SPF.”

Senior Alyssa De Sanctis, art major, said, “I always use products that have sunscreen in them, such as my lotion and foundation. I rarely read the ingredients in them, though. My main concern is whether their SPF is 30 or above.”

What most people don’t realize is that higher SPF doesn’t mean higher sun protection.

According to the Environmental Working Group website, ewg.org, “Studies have found that users of high SPF sunscreens have similar or even higher exposures to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays than people relying on lower SPF products.

The reason: people trust the product too much, go too long before reapplying it and stay out in the sun too long.”

Sophomore Natalie Baez, economics major, said, “I had no idea that sunscreens contained chemicals that are harmful. Most people wouldn’t know those types of things, but it is very interesting. I’ll keep that in mind next time I go to the beach.”