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Trouble Under the Sun: How Safe is Your Sunscreen?
By David Steinman, from Healthy Living
What you don't know about sunscreens could mean big trouble for your skin this summer.
Fortunately, it is easier than ever to find sunscreens that use quality ingredients without questionable toxic effects. But there's a lot to know.
Sun Sense and Sunscreens
One important problem to be aware of with sunscreen use is that since people aren't experiencing sunburn they believe they can stay out in the sun all day. Most sunscreen users simply do not recognize that not all of the dangerous rays of the sun cause sunburn. While ultraviolet B rays cause sunburn, some rays, called ultraviolet A, penetrate deeply into the skin where they are absorbed by skin cells called melanocytes, involved both in melanin production (sun tanning) and in melanoma formation. The UVA rays cause direct damage to cellular DNA and also inhibit activity of the skin's Langerhan's cells, responsible for immune function and cancer cell surveillance. According to Dr. Gordon Ainsleigh, some 30,000 cancer deaths in the United States alone could be prevented each year if people would adopt a regimen of regular, moderate sun exposure‹even if they use suncreens regularly and frequently.
Also keep in mind what sun protection factors (SPF) actually mean. If your sunscreen formula offers an SPF of 15, it will block about 94 percent of UVB rays. An SPF of 30 will block about 97 percent of UVB. But when it comes to UVA rays, your protection is minimal‹about 10 percent of the UVB rating.
Read the Safe Shopper's Sunscreen Investigation
Problem Ingredients in Sunscreens
There's another catch-22 with sunscreens. One of the best protectants against both UVA and UVB rays is benzophenone. Yet, according to Dr. H.R. Larsen, "Benzophenone is one of the most powerful free radical generators known to man. It is used in industrial processes to initiate chemical reactions and promote cross-linking. Benzophenone is activated by ultraviolet light. The absorbed energy breaks benzophenone's double bond to produce two free radical sites. The free radicals desperately look for a hydrogen atom to make them 'feel whole again.' They may find this hydrogen atom among the other ingredients of the sunscreen, but it is conceivable that they could also find it on the surface of the skin and thereby initiate a chain reaction which could ultimately lead to melanoma and other skin cancers."
Our market survey reveals that almost all major sunscreen manufactureres use this ingredient. Most chemical sunscreens contain up to five percent of benzophenone or its derivatives (oxybenzone, benzophenone-3) as their active ingredient. For this reason, we recommend formulas that use physical barrier-type sunscreens, such as titanium oxide and zinc oxide.
Another indicator of what we believe to be a lesser quality product is use of chemicals that can cause formation of nitrosamines. According to our market survey of sunscreen formulas for both adults and children, many products contain triethanolamine (TEA). This ingredient may cause formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines in products by combining with nitrite (used as preservative in raw materials or present as an environmental contaminant and not disclosed on cosmetics labels). In this reaction, these chemicals' amines combine with the nitroso compounds to form a nitrosamine. The specific nitrosamine formed is known as N-nitrosodiethanolamine or NDELA. Most nitrosamines, including those formed from TEA, are carcinogenic.
But what makes them of special concern is that these chemicals need not be swallowed to do damage. According to experimental studies done in the 1970s by Dr. H. Maibach up to 35 percent of TEA applied topically can enter the bloodstream. Other studies have found that products such as sunscreens that are left on the skin for extended duration of time produce the greatest absorption. Many experimental and epidemiological studies link nitrosamine exposure to cancer in more than 30 species of animal, including man.
Thus, it would seem prudent to reduce unnecessary exposures to such nitrosamines whenever possible.
In surveys of cosmetic products conducted in 1991-92, NDELA was found in 65 percent of the samples at levels up to three parts per million. Not all products containing TEA contain nitrosamines. Some may; others will not. Yet because of the failure of the FDA to request Congress to enact adequate product label disclosure legislation, the consumer has no way of knowing which products are contaminated with nitrosamines. That leaves the consumer to play carcinogen roulette and hurts the entire sunscreen industry, making all products suspect. Our recommendation is to select formulas from companies such as Aubrey Organics that do not contain these suspect chemicals and yet that offer comparable UVA/UVB protection. Other companies with acceptable formulations include California Baby and Kiss My Face.
Safe Shopper Tip
Chemical-free sunscreens use titanium dioxide and zinc oxide; physical barrier-type sunscreens are also excellent UVA/UVB blockers. Modern versions of these two ingredients have been "micronized," meaning they leave no visible film on the skin. Both Augrey Organics and Kiss My Face offer sunscreens with physical-type barriers.
Sun Safety
Apply sunscreen frequently.
A sun protection factor of around 30 seems to be most protective with the least irritation.
The best protection comes from sunscreens that explicitly state on their labels they block UVB and UVA rays.
Use wide-brimmed hats and sun-protective clothing for adults and children.
Avoid sun exposure during the hours of eleven to three when the sun is at its strongest.
Read the Safe Shopper's Sunscreen Investigation
>
References
Ainsleigh, G.H. "Beneficial effects of sun exposure on cancer mortality." Preventive Medicine, 1993; 22: 132-140. Bronaugh, R.L., et al. "The effect of cosmetic vehicles on the penetration of N-nitrosodiethanolamine through excised human skin." J Invest Dermatol; 1981; 76(2): 94-96.
Cosmetic Handbook. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition FDA/IAS Booklet 1992.
Farmer K.C. & Naylor, M.F. "Sun exposure, sunscreens, and skin cancer prevention: a year-round concern." Ann Pharmacother, 1996; 30(6):662-73.
Garland, C.F., et al. "Could sunscreens increase melanoma risk?" American Journal of Public Health, 1992; 82(4): 614-615.
Hacker, S.M. & Flowers, F.P. "Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin." Postgraduate Medicine, 1993; 93(8): 115-126.
Larsen, H.R. "Sunscreens: do they cause skin cancer." International Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 1994; 12(12): 17-19.
Maibach, H. "NDELA-Percutaneous Penetration." FDA Contract 223-75-2340, May 19, 1978.
Moan, J. & Dahlback, A. "The relationship between skin cancers, solar radiation and ozone depletion." British Journal of Cancer, 1992; 65(6): 916-921
"Nitrosamine-contaminated cosmetics; call for industry action; request for data." Federal Register, April 10, 1979; 44(70): 21365.
Stern, R.S. & Laid, N. "The carcinogenic risk of treatments for severe psoriasis." Cancer, 1994; 73(11): 2759-2764.
The New England Journal of Medicine, 1993; 329(16): 1147-1151.
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