Is Your Sunscreen Protecting You But Hurting Our Environment?

Anyone who asks me about sunscreens knows that I am a stickler for ingredients -zinc and titanium only as much as possible. 

In July 2018, I wrote an article about Hawaii’s reasoning for the ban on Oxybenzone and Octinoxate:

“In 2015, scientists testing coral reef and water in various tropical locations demonstrated that chemical sunscreens, Oxybenzone and Octinoxate, are damaging to coral reefs. Oxybenzone has received the most attention, causing coral bleaching and DNA damage to the coral.  Corals bleach when they lose or expel the nutritional algae that normally live inside them.”

On July 3, 2018, Hawaii signed into law a bill banning the sale of sunscreen containing Oxybenzone and Octinoxate that will go into effect in 2021. Last month, February 2019, Key West passed a similar ban to go into effect in 2021, and there are similar bills pending in other states.

At the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Meeting in March 2019, there was a substantial amount of data presented regarding sunscreen safety and the impact of sunscreen on coral reefs. This data, presented by the past president of the American Academy of Dermatology and others, concluded the following. “Warming of the oceans and other environmental changes have caused most of the decline in the coral reefs, not sunscreen.”

At the same session at the AAD meeting, a representative of the FDA spoke about their Proposed Rule for sunscreen ingredients which is to be finalized in November 2019. That presentation highlighted the current classification of sunscreens into the three categories GRASE Categories. GRASE stands for Generally Recognized As Safe and Effective. I was happy to see my favorites in Category 1.

The FDA representative further presented data for sunscreens in Category 2 and 3. Oxybenzone had the most systemic absorption into the bloodstream. But, the possibility of systemic absorption of Oxybenzone isn’t new news. Oxybenzone has been labeled by the media as a “hormone disruptor” for many years. The label as a “hormone disruptor” originated from a study in which rats were orally fed oxybenzone. In that study, the weight of the rat’s uterus increased, but the effect of oxybenzone was minimal compared to the effects of estrogen. In response to the rat study, in 2011, dermatologists conducted an analysis of real–life human use that demonstrated the following.

Oxybenzone would need to be applied to 100% of the body surface area daily for over 50 years before it would begin to have a systemic effect.

In summary, the FDA’s data and the media outcry was countered by AAD representatives who identified that Oxybenzone’s real-life systemic hormonal effect is very minimal to non-existent.

The concern for dermatologists is that the recent laws and bills, combined with the media frenzy, and the FDA’s recent proposed bill has led to increasing public concern about sunscreen safety for BOTH humans AND our environment.

We, as dermatologists, want our patients to use sunscreen because 1 in 5 Americans gets skin cancer. Regular sunscreen use decreases the damaging effects of the sun on the skin and reduces skin cancer development. As a Dermatologist, I cut out multiple skin cancers out each workday. Skin cancer is a reality I would like to see changed!

I use sunscreen every day on my exposed areas. I would like to encourage my patients, family, and friends to do the same. If you are still worried about your safety, your family’s safety or the environment’s safety, USE ZINC OXIDE!

Researchers have identified NON-NANO zinc oxide to be the safest and least damage to coral AND the FDA and dermatologist recognize zinc oxide and the safest and most effective sunscreen.

But what exactly makes a particle NANO? And how do we know what the particle size is on the sunscreens we find in the store? Most organizations agree that the cut off is 100nm.  So, we want the particle size to be >100nm for coral reef safety.  The only way to know for sure is to obtain information from the manufacturer, but unfortunately, there is no standardized test or governing body to ensure labeling and claims are true.  One independent site to check on overall sunscreen safety is the Environmental Working Group.

Looking at my annual sunscreen list from 2018, Pthe commercially available sunscreens who claim to use NON-NANO size particles include Garden Goddess, Cerave, Bare Republic, and Neutrogena Pure Baby.

Click here if you would like to read the American Academy of Dermatology’s Comment on the FDA Proposed Sunscreen Rule.

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