SUNSCREENS
Which is the best sunscreen?
The safest sunscreen at a reasonable price that I was able to find is Coppertone Mineral Pure and Simple Sunscreen.
Sunlight
The sun produces ultraviolet radiation which reaches Earth. There are two kinds of UV radiation that affect the skin.
UVA
UVA does not cause sunburn because it penetrates deeper. However, it can cause damage there and this is where melanocytes reside. These cells produce melanin pigment that seeps higher in the skin in response to UVA rays causing a tan and acting as a natural sunscreen. However damage to melanocytes from excess rays can possibly lead to melanoma, the feared cancer of melanocyte cells.
UVB
UVB rays penetrates less deeply, causes burning and likely contributes to other skin cancers. The SPF of a sunscreen measures only UVB protection. The manufacturers do not have to address the matter of UVA protection. In Europe they do and have more effective ingredients available to them to do that.
Sunscreen types
There are two types of skin-protecting sunscreens: those that absorb UV rays and those that reflect them away. The former, called chemical filters, are more commonly used and make for a more agreeable sunscreen. However, the active ingredients can be absorbed into the skin and systemic circulation to variable degrees. These sunscreens typically include a combination of two to six of the following active ingredients: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate. Oxybenzone is a particular worry to the EWG because it interacts with thyroid and sex hormones.
Two chemical filter sunscreen ingredients are considered unsafe by the FDA: aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and trolamine salicylate. They are less used now.
The reflecting sunscreen active ingredients are called mineral filters and there are only two: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. They are minimally absorbed and therefore safer. The FDA has very recently stated that these are the only two really safe sunscreens ingredients. Zinc oxide is good at protecting against UVA as well as UVB.
Use mineral sunscreens but not in spray form
Mineral-type sunscreens can be difficult to spread. To improve spreadability, they are produced in the format of nanoparticles. These are miniscule individual particles. They are not absorbed to any degree but inhaling them can be bad. The lungs can't deal well with particles of this small size and maybe they are absorbed into the pulmonary capillaries. Thus they should not be used in spray form. EWG discusses nanoparticles: https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/nanoparticles-in-sunscreen/
The smaller particles are, the better the SPF protection and the worse the UVA protection. Manufacturers must strike a balance: Small particles provide greater transparency, but larger particles offer greater UVA protection. The form of zinc oxide most often used in sunscreens is larger and provides greater UVA protection than do the titanium dioxide products that appear clear on skin.
Effect of sunscreen on the environment including coral
EWG says: “When zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles wash off skin, they enter the environment, with unknown effects. The implications of nanoparticle pollution for the environment have not been sufficiently assessed (Börm 2006). The potential negative environmental effects of nanoscale and conventional zinc and titanium should be carefully studied and weighed against the environmental impact of other UV blockers.”
The US Ocean Service says: Chemicals in sunscreens that can harm marine life include: Oxybenzone, Benzophenone-1, Benzophenone-8, OD-PABA, 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor, 3-Benzylidene camphor, nano-Titanium dioxide, nano-Zinc oxide
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html
The "inert" ingredients in sunscreens
There are 15-20 other "inert" ingredients even in these sunscreens. Are they safe? EWG addresses these, giving a rating for each, with references. They draw attention to methylisothiazolinone which is quite allergenic. EWG says not enough is known about these ingredients which make up 50-70% of sunscreen and encourages the FDA to address this.
EWG asks these questions when assessing sunscreens:
Will the chemical penetrate skin and reach living tissues?
Will it disrupt the hormone system?
Can it affect the reproductive and thyroid systems and, in the case of fetal or childhood exposure, permanently alter reproductive development or behavior?
Can it cause a skin allergy?
What if it is inhaled?
Are there other toxicity concerns?
Sun Protection Factor (SPF)
An SPF of 30 means that you can stay in the sun 30 times longer to burn the same amount as with no sunscreen. There are several problems with this:
- that is under ideal conditions with sunscreen evenly and thickly-enough spread and re-done every 2 hours according to the FDA, more if in water or sweating.
- the higher the SPF, the more chemical is on the skin and the higher the potential toxicity
- protection against UVA is poor in most sunscreens; SPF says nothing about UVA protection
- the false sense of security with a high SPF means more time may be spent in the sun and the sunscreen is not as effective as being out of the sun
- the less burning afforded vs UVB means more exposure to sun and therefore UVA
- testing shows little difference in protection above SPF 30. That is the legal limit for labelling in Australia, 50 in Canada.
Which sunscreen is best to use?
Based on all this, EWG rates individual sunscreens. The least expensive mineral filter one that is in their top category that I find is Coppertone mineral sunscreen Pure and Simple. There is an infant, child and adult product, same price, same ingredients as far as I can see. Zinc oxide is the active ingredient. One article I read states that there is a difference in the size of nanoparticles used. In my view, any formulation is acceptable.
Do people like this sunscreen? Reviews on Amazon give it 4/5 but there are three particular complaints: Some people find it difficult to spread. Some people complain of a white cast on their skin after use which is hard to wash off. These two problems price we are paying for using zinc oxide which appears to be the safest and best sunscreen active ingredient. The third occasional complaint is that it doesn't smell good.
http://labeling.bayercare.com/omr/online/coppertone_pure_simple_spf50.pdf
Important measures to take
People should avoid the direct sun from 10 am to 2 pm as far as possible. They should wear broad-brimmed hats. More attention with sunscreen application should be given to body parts that burn more quickly. A problem with using sunscreens is that people stay out in the sun longer and yet protection from sun is far from complete, especially against UVA which doesn't cause burning. On the beach, having a big protective umbrella or canopy to go under is valuable.
Clothing
Clothing limits the amount of UV radiation reaching the skin but varies with the material. A tight weave is better than a loose one; dark and bright colours are better than light colours; synthetic fabrics are generally better than natural ones. However, a significant disadvantage is the heat retention caused by heavier-weight and darker-colored fabrics. UV-blocking clothing is available and should have a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) of 30 or more.
Should sunscreen be used?
To my mind, there are two answers. When travelling south in the winter, Yes. During the summer in Canada, as little as possible.
Why? A one-week trip to Mexico in January exposes very untanned Canadian skin to unusually strong sun rays. It takes about a week for a tan to develop, and a tan protects against sunburn. The vacation will be over by then and without sunscreen most travellers will burn. Thus it makes sense to use a sunscreen for this relatively brief period.
In Canada the sun is not strong in the spring and early summer. Burns are less likely. Tans will develop if no sunscreen is used, protecting against the stronger summer sun to come. It makes sense then to use as little sunscreen as possible. Doing so avoids daily exposure to sunscreen’s potential harms through the whole summer.
Feedback
If the reader does not agree with the information provided here or opinions expressed, we would be happy to hear from you. Write the author at travelclinic@rogers.com.
Sources
1, Environment Working Group - at https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/executive-summary/
2. National Toxicology Program, USA - https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/data/index.html but best google-searched as "retinyl palmitate NTP" for example
3. US Ocean Service - see text below
4. Food and Drug Administration - https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/sunscreen-how-help-protect-your-skin-sunThe
5. Wikipedia
Environment Working Group, EWG, is my main source of information. How reliable is it? There are criticisms that it is too draconian from what I see on the web. But some of the critics seem to be industry promoters. EWG does give sources, particularly US and other government toxicology reports including Canada, Europe, Australia. Further, it promoted the idea that only the mineral sunscreens zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are really safe because they are minimally absorbed and encouraged the FDA to look at. The FDA finally did recently and issued precisely that recommendation. EWG also looks at all excipients in sunscreens and rates them.
I checked one of their references to the National Toxicology Program, NTP, a US government agency for retinyl palmitate. Experiments in mice did find that it increased skin tumors vs a control carrier cream.
EWG seems to think the FDA is too sensitive to industry pressure. It says European recommendations are stronger. FDA listed a number of sunscreen active ingredients as acceptable but for which insufficient information is available to ensure safety. Conversely, EWG lists ingredients which have not been approved for use but which are in Europe and are said to protect against UVA. See EWG's list of active ingredients and how they rate their safety at https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/executive-summary/
SUNSCREENS
Which is the best sunscreen?
The safest sunscreen at a reasonable price that I was able to find is Coppertone Mineral Pure and Simple Sunscreen.
Sunlight
The sun produces ultraviolet radiation which reaches Earth. There are two kinds of UV radiation that affect the skin.
UVA
UVA does not cause sunburn because it penetrates deeper. However, it can cause damage there and this is where melanocytes reside. These cells produce melanin pigment that seeps higher in the skin in response to UVA rays causing a tan and acting as a natural sunscreen. However damage to melanocytes from excess rays can possibly lead to melanoma, the feared cancer of melanocyte cells.
UVB
UVB rays penetrates less deeply, causes burning and likely contributes to other skin cancers. The SPF of a sunscreen measures only UVB protection. The manufacturers do not have to address the matter of UVA protection. In Europe they do and have more effective ingredients available to them to do that.
Sunscreen types
There are two types of skin-protecting sunscreens: those that absorb UV rays and those that reflect them away. The former, called chemical filters, are more commonly used and make for a more agreeable sunscreen. However, the active ingredients can be absorbed into the skin and systemic circulation to variable degrees. These sunscreens typically include a combination of two to six of the following active ingredients: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate. Oxybenzone is a particular worry to the EWG because it interacts with thyroid and sex hormones.
Two chemical filter sunscreen ingredients are considered unsafe by the FDA: aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and trolamine salicylate. They are less used now.
The reflecting sunscreen active ingredients are called mineral filters and there are only two: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. They are minimally absorbed and therefore safer. The FDA has very recently stated that these are the only two really safe sunscreens ingredients. Zinc oxide is good at protecting against UVA as well as UVB.
Use mineral sunscreens but not in spray form
Mineral-type sunscreens can be difficult to spread. To improve spreadability, they are produced in the format of nanoparticles. These are miniscule individual particles. They are not absorbed to any degree but inhaling them can be bad. The lungs can't deal well with particles of this small size and maybe they are absorbed into the pulmonary capillaries. Thus they should not be used in spray form. EWG discusses nanoparticles: https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/nanoparticles-in-sunscreen/
The smaller particles are, the better the SPF protection and the worse the UVA protection. Manufacturers must strike a balance: Small particles provide greater transparency, but larger particles offer greater UVA protection. The form of zinc oxide most often used in sunscreens is larger and provides greater UVA protection than do the titanium dioxide products that appear clear on skin.
Effect of sunscreen on the environment including coral
EWG says: “When zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles wash off skin, they enter the environment, with unknown effects. The implications of nanoparticle pollution for the environment have not been sufficiently assessed (Börm 2006). The potential negative environmental effects of nanoscale and conventional zinc and titanium should be carefully studied and weighed against the environmental impact of other UV blockers.”
The US Ocean Service says: Chemicals in sunscreens that can harm marine life include: Oxybenzone, Benzophenone-1, Benzophenone-8, OD-PABA, 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor, 3-Benzylidene camphor, nano-Titanium dioxide, nano-Zinc oxide
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html
The "inert" ingredients in sunscreens
There are 15-20 other "inert" ingredients even in these sunscreens. Are they safe? EWG addresses these, giving a rating for each, with references. They draw attention to methylisothiazolinone which is quite allergenic. EWG says not enough is known about these ingredients which make up 50-70% of sunscreen and encourages the FDA to address this.
EWG asks these questions when assessing sunscreens:
Will the chemical penetrate skin and reach living tissues?
Will it disrupt the hormone system?
Can it affect the reproductive and thyroid systems and, in the case of fetal or childhood exposure, permanently alter reproductive development or behavior?
Can it cause a skin allergy?
What if it is inhaled?
Are there other toxicity concerns?
Sun Protection Factor (SPF)
An SPF of 30 means that you can stay in the sun 30 times longer to burn the same amount as with no sunscreen. There are several problems with this:
- that is under ideal conditions with sunscreen evenly and thickly-enough spread and re-done every 2 hours according to the FDA, more if in water or sweating.
- the higher the SPF, the more chemical is on the skin and the higher the potential toxicity
- protection against UVA is poor in most sunscreens; SPF says nothing about UVA protection
- the false sense of security with a high SPF means more time may be spent in the sun and the sunscreen is not as effective as being out of the sun
- the less burning afforded vs UVB means more exposure to sun and therefore UVA
- testing shows little difference in protection above SPF 30. That is the legal limit for labelling in Australia, 50 in Canada.
Which sunscreen is best to use?
Based on all this, EWG rates individual sunscreens. The least expensive mineral filter one that is in their top category that I find is Coppertone mineral sunscreen Pure and Simple. There is an infant, child and adult product, same price, same ingredients as far as I can see. Zinc oxide is the active ingredient. One article I read states that there is a difference in the size of nanoparticles used. In my view, any formulation is acceptable.
Do people like this sunscreen? Reviews on Amazon give it 4/5 but there are three particular complaints: Some people find it difficult to spread. Some people complain of a white cast on their skin after use which is hard to wash off. These two problems price we are paying for using zinc oxide which appears to be the safest and best sunscreen active ingredient. The third occasional complaint is that it doesn't smell good.
http://labeling.bayercare.com/omr/online/coppertone_pure_simple_spf50.pdf
Important measures to take
People should avoid the direct sun from 10 am to 2 pm as far as possible. They should wear broad-brimmed hats. More attention with sunscreen application should be given to body parts that burn more quickly. A problem with using sunscreens is that people stay out in the sun longer and yet protection from sun is far from complete, especially against UVA which doesn't cause burning. On the beach, having a big protective umbrella or canopy to go under is valuable.
Clothing
Clothing limits the amount of UV radiation reaching the skin but varies with the material. A tight weave is better than a loose one; dark and bright colours are better than light colours; synthetic fabrics are generally better than natural ones. However, a significant disadvantage is the heat retention caused by heavier-weight and darker-colored fabrics. UV-blocking clothing is available and should have a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) of 30 or more.
Should sunscreen be used?
To my mind, there are two answers. When travelling south in the winter, Yes. During the summer in Canada, as little as possible.
Why? A one-week trip to Mexico in January exposes very untanned Canadian skin to unusually strong sun rays. It takes about a week for a tan to develop, and a tan protects against sunburn. The vacation will be over by then and without sunscreen most travellers will burn. Thus it makes sense to use a sunscreen for this relatively brief period.
In Canada the sun is not strong in the spring and early summer. Burns are less likely. Tans will develop if no sunscreen is used, protecting against the stronger summer sun to come. It makes sense then to use as little sunscreen as possible. Doing so avoids daily exposure to sunscreen’s potential harms through the whole summer.
Feedback
If the reader does not agree with the information provided here or opinions expressed, we would be happy to hear from you. Write the author at travelclinic@rogers.com.
Sources
1, Environment Working Group - at https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/executive-summary/
2. National Toxicology Program, USA - https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/data/index.html but best google-searched as "retinyl palmitate NTP" for example
3. US Ocean Service - see text below
4. Food and Drug Administration - https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/sunscreen-how-help-protect-your-skin-sunThe
5. Wikipedia
Environment Working Group, EWG, is my main source of information. How reliable is it? There are criticisms that it is too draconian from what I see on the web. But some of the critics seem to be industry promoters. EWG does give sources, particularly US and other government toxicology reports including Canada, Europe, Australia. Further, it promoted the idea that only the mineral sunscreens zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are really safe because they are minimally absorbed and encouraged the FDA to look at. The FDA finally did recently and issued precisely that recommendation. EWG also looks at all excipients in sunscreens and rates them.
I checked one of their references to the National Toxicology Program, NTP, a US government agency for retinyl palmitate. Experiments in mice did find that it increased skin tumors vs a control carrier cream.
EWG seems to think the FDA is too sensitive to industry pressure. It says European recommendations are stronger. FDA listed a number of sunscreen active ingredients as acceptable but for which insufficient information is available to ensure safety. Conversely, EWG lists ingredients which have not been approved for use but which are in Europe and are said to protect against UVA. See EWG's list of active ingredients and how they rate their safety at https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/executive-summary/