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Sunscreen.... Always a HOTT topic!

 I am going to be real with all of you… I do not wear enough sunscreen. And I am sure, you don’t either. For the longest time, I hated when my parents forced me to wear sunscreen when I was in summer camp or going to the pool. To be honest, the only reason I hated sunscreens was because of the way it looked on my skin. The sunscreen my parents used, happened to make my brown skin look ghostly white. I looked exactly like James Charles’ “Flashback Mary” meme. I know you know what I am talking about. Point is, I believed that every sunscreen would make my skin look like that, making me hate all sunscreens by association. Boy was I wrong. In this blog, I will be explaining the importance of wearing sunscreen, chemicals in sun protection, and which types of sun rays they block. When I tell you I am going to talk about a hot topic, I mean literally HOTT!

I can understand that sunscreen is annoying to put on, but in reality, it is essential for the protection of pretty skin that we all are blessed to have. Sunscreen use is one of the most important photoprotective actions for skin cancer prevention, such as squamous cell carcinoma or cutaneous melanoma. There are different types of SPFs (sun protection factor) that one can buy, in which the higher the number, the longer the sun’s UV radiation would take to redden your skin. In other words, with SPF 15 it would take 15 times longer to burn than if you weren’t wearing sunscreen. However, you can get any SPF but if you don’t apply enough sunscreen then you are not going to get enough protection. According to the article “The influence of the amount of sunscreen applied and its sun protection factor (SPF),” the authors wrote “to achieve the labeled photoprotection (i.e. SPF), these products must be applied, according to international methods (2,3), in an amount of 2 mg/cm2” (Schalka, Dos Reis, Cuće 2009). In the article, it was mentioned that the reason many users do not receive appropriate protection from the sun despite using high SPF sunscreen is a result of the reduction of applied thickness (Schalka, Dos Reis, Cuće 2009). 

Now let's talk about the type of chemicals used in sunscreens. There are two main categories, inorganic and organic, ultraviolet filters. Inorganic filters contain zinc oxide and titanium dioxide while organic filters have oxybenzone and octinoxate. In “Update About the Effects of the Sunscreen Ingredients Oxybenzone and Octinoxate on Humans and the Environment,” it was said that “inorganic filters are more effective at blocking forms of UV light, both UVA and UVB, as compared with organic filters because organic sunscreens absorb and convert radiation whereas inorganic sunscreens reflect radiation” (Siller, Blaszak, Lazar, Harken 2018). Oxybenzone and octinoxate are not only used in sunscreens but also in lip balms, lotion, shampoos, etc. However, these ingredients are not the healthiest because they cause hormonal disruptions in both humans and wildlife. It causes a “disruption of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal system including estrogen, progesterone, and androgenic receptors when subjects are exposed to benzophenone (i.e., oxybenzone) and cinnamate (i.e., octinoxate) compounds” (Siller, Blaszak, Lazar, Harken 2018). 

It is my opinion that if you are looking for which sunscreen to use, look at the ingredients that are used, and go for one that contains zinc oxide and titanium dioxide since they don’t carry the health concerns that oxybenzone and octinoxate carry. I also believe that you can go for any specific SPF, but if you do not put on a thick enough layer of sunscreen, then you are just gonna get burned. 




References

Schalka, S., Reis, V. M. S. D., & Cucé, L. C. (2009, July 8). The influence of the amount of sunscreen applied and its sun protection factor (SPF): Evaluation of two sunscreens including the same ingredients at different concentrations. Wiley Online Library. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1600-0781.2009.00408.x?casa_token=dmQ8Nj630KMAAAAA%3AZ8lR0hc_sE7zO7jKMyt8IB0OH3OA3MWqvTa638WYXuxSDb27bBklfLa9LUJGzsA3ZNBAbWvBKJjHlMY2 


Siller, Alfredo BS; Blaszak, Scott C. BS; Lazar, Michelle; Olasz Harken, Edit MD, PhD Update About the Effects of the Sunscreen Ingredients Oxybenzone and Octinoxate on Humans and the Environment, Plastic Surgical Nursing: October/December 2018 - Volume 38 - Issue 4 - p 158-161

doi: 10.1097/PSN.0000000000000244 


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