Sun
screens - cancer in a bottle?
The dangers of PABA / Oxybenzone
(Already know the dangers, just looking for chemical free suncreens, just follow the link, click "products from the top menu and then select "sun care on the left")
The British
Medical Journal recently showed that sunbathers using
some suntan lotions have a higher risk of developing
malignant Skin Cancer, and a possible link with Oxybenzone.
Oxybenzone is the Chemical used in many sun products
with high Sun Protection Factors.
Oxybenzone’s function is to ‘filter’ ultra violet light on
the surface of the skin, converting it from light to heat, but it can also
be absorbed through the skin. As yet we have not seen any research to indicate
what happens when the oxybenzone is absorbed through the skin, but UV light
causing cell damage is well known and readers may choose to avoid this form
of sun protection. If light is converted to heat in the basal layers of the
skin, damage to growing cells is very likely.
Environmental + Health News May 98 reports that scientists at the Memorial
Sloan Cancer centre N.Y., U.S.A. and the U.S Government Brookhaven Laboratory
have found that sunscreens protected against sunburn and cancers like Carcinoma,
but not against Melanoma which has increased twenty fold in Europe and U.S.A.
since 1935.
Environmental + Health News also reports that Oxford University scientist John
Knowland shows that PABA* seemed to damage DNA, thus increasing the
risk of skin cancer. He recommends using non-PABA products.
*Para-amino-benzoic acid is very common and works by absorbing UV rays in much
the same way as oxybenzone.
One of the oldest tried and tested methods is to use tin oxide as a ‘reflecting’ coating
to the skin. Tin oxide is widely used in wound dressings and considered safe,
Applied as a cream it is visible in daylight. Although ‘safe’ it
should be avoided by people with dry skin conditions as it has a drying action.
Many people will remember Calamine Lotion as both a sun protection and a soothing
after sun. It is based on Zinc Oxide, is pink, visible in daylight and is easily
washed off in water. It is likely that this, and other "reflective" sunscreens
will, in the long run turn out to be much safer than "absorbing" lotions
containing PABA and/or oxybenzone or benzophenone.
If you
are in doubt about the safety of your sunscreen, email
us, or simply use non-oxybenzone
sunscreens rather than "converting" ones. (select "products at the top of the page, then "sun care" from the left)
Back
from PABA-Oxybenzone to Harmful Chemicals
Non
PABA/Oxybenzone/Benzophenone sun screen
Antioxidants
|
