Based on information and recent reviews from http://www.skincancer.org/ we recommend using a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher as an important part of a complete sun protection regimen. Your regimen should also include seeking shade, covering up with clothing including a wide-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses and avoiding tanning and UV tanning booths. Recent attacks on sunscreens by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and by the media point may concern you; however, we believe that sunscreen continues to be one of the safest and most effective sun protection methods available. We are concerned that unfounded criticisms will raise unnecessary fears and cause people to stop using sunscreen, doing their skin serious harm. In general, criticisms have not been based on hard science. The Chair of the Skin Cancer Foundation’s Photobiology Committee, an independent volunteer panel of top experts on sun damage and sun protection, reviewed the same studies reviewed by the EWG, and found that their determination of what made a sunscreen bad or good was based on “junk science.”
MYTH #1: The EWG has claimed that the incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has increased as sunscreen use has gone up in the past 30 years. However, systematic review of all studies from 1966 to 2003 shows no evidence to support the relationship between sunscreen use and increased risk of melanoma.
MYTH #2: The EWG and other groups have claimed that sunscreen blocks vitamin D. While solar UVB is one source of vitamin D, the benefits of exposure to UVB cannot be separated from the harmful effects of sun exposure: skin cancer, cataracts, immune system suppression, premature aging. And excessive exposure to the sun actually depletes our body’s supply of vitamin D. The safest way to obtain vitamin D is through a combination of diet and vitamin D supplements.
MYTH #3: Other claims have suggested that the common sunscreen ingredient oxybenzone may be a carcinogen. However, oxybenzone has been available for 20 years, and there has never been any evidence that has any adverse health effect in humans. The ingredient is FDA-approved for human use based on exhaustive review.
MYTH #4: It has been claimed that retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A and an ingredient in 41% of sunscreens, speeds the growth of tumors and other lesions when exposed to the sun. However, the EWG based its criticisms on an unapproved 10-year-old study of mice that has never been published in any journal. To date, there is no scientific evidence that vitamin A is a carcinogen in humans. In addition, only trace amounts of retinyl palmitate appear in sunscreens, and some evidence suggests that it is actually protective against cancer.
MYTH #5: Some have claimed that nanoparticles in micronized zinc oxide and titanium dioxide may be more harmful than larger forms of these chemicals, crossing the placenta and affecting the developing fetus, or causing DNA damage linked to cancer. However, these compounds are the two most effective broad spectrum sunscreen ingredients. Multiple studies have demonstrated that the nanoparticles in these ingredients do not penetrate the skin, and there is furthermore no strong evidence of their toxicity. The general scientific consensus (which even the EWG now admits) is that they pose no risk to human health.
We continue to believe that sunscreen products are safe and effective when used as directed, and should be considered a vital part of a comprehensive sun protection program.