Is skin cancer caused by sun screen?
Sep 2nd 2010adminSkin care products
There’s lots of buzz just now about how sun screens may be causing skin cancer. Statistics reported recently show that the incidence of skin cancer has increased with increased use of products with SPFs.
Could it possibly be that it isn’t the product that’s at fault? How about “user error”?
In other words, users slap on a chosen SPF product and think they are now immune from all those UV rays for however long they chose to play around in the sun.
Those of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time know that there is a distinction between “sun screen” and “sun shield”.
A screen does just that — it screens out some stuff while letting other stuff pass through. A sun screen is no different. Even the highest SPF allows some dangerous rays through. These are absorbed.
SPF on the label indicates certain chemicals in the product; the number following indicates the amount of protection that particular chemical formula can be expected to provide. It also indicates, indirectly, the period of time that the formula will remain effective at screening out the sun. The higher the number, the more effective the screening and for a longer period.
A shield protects. Shields were once used to deflect the enemy’s spears and are used today by riot squads to deflect rocks and bottles.
A sun shield deflects UV rays. They literally bounce off protected skin rather than being “filtered” and absorbed.
You must still exercise good judgment about how long you remain in the sun before renewing whatever product you choose to use against the sun’s rays.
A skin care product containing a sun shield will not have an SPF number because it contains none of the chemicals needed to rate for an SPF number. These are natural skin care products.
The effective ingredients are not only harmless to skin cells but also protect them against other environmental threats. Look for titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide in a cream or lotion. This will give you the best protection possible against skin cancer.