New online trend to say it's better not to wear sunscreen

There were UV levels of 9 in the midlands yesterday, anything above eight is a high risk of harm from UV rays.

My mum thought this 25 years ago. I am a pale redhead and spent a lot of my childhood covered in blisters all over my back and shoulders from being burnt (grew up in NZ).

I am now terrified the sun damage will turn into cancer.

It is appallingly negligent not to at least protect from the sun if not using sunscreen.

I think there’s a middle ground here. Use sun cream, but seek out a brand that has fewer toxic ingredients. The free Yuka app is good for this.

I see it a lot, I had skin cancer so algorithm gives me a lot of skin related content and the amount of people I see saying they won’t use spf or cover up is depressing.

ive had skin cancer, which involved an extensive face reconstruction, wear spf.

I prefer to avoid the sun than use sunscreen. I never sunbathe, I tend to wear loose, long clothes to cover up, sit in the shade, avoid the hotest part of the day, etc.. I buy a bottle every year and on the very rare occasion being sunned on all day is unavoidable I use it. My DD14 takes the same approach. Even as a little kid she'd rather cover up or avoid the sun than put up with lotion. She's never had sunburn and I've maybe been burned 3 times in my life and on two of those occasions I was wearing sunscreen. The third I got trapped somewhere I was unable to get to shade or to sunscreen. It is plenty possible not to use it and not to burn.

ETA I don't think suncream causes cancer. The texture is an issue, it's gloopy and slimy. We are a ND household though so texture is a big issue over here!

this debate has been going on for decades
It's better to use sunscreen and take a vit D supplement than risk skin cancer/burning/aging

The carcinogenic argument has also been going for at least 15/20 years and having worked in a sun screen related job bAck then I've never seen any convincing/real scientific evidence so I keep slapping on the Soltan, along with all.of my family

Wow. I have not seen that.

Yeah, those people are just dangerous.

YANBU. It's all part of the big online shift towards alt right / conspiracy theory / big wellness / anti-expert / trad wife insanity that has been happening for the last few years.

My maternal grandparents both died of skin cancer and neither left the country in their lifetimes. The didn’t really even leave Lancashire much. Both had indoor jobs - a dental mechanic and a mill worker.

I’ve inherited my maternal grandmother’s skin and I get my Vit D dose up to 10am then on goes the F50 if I’m spending time outside. I had some serious sunburns when I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s when the highest you could get was F15 - not taking any more chances.

That is more due to particular religious groups that totally cover up and tend to have darker skin which needs more sun to get enough vitamin D anyway.

Normal sun in the UK gives plenty of vitamin D in the summer even with sunscreen in hot weather. We mostly need supplements in the winter because there isn't enough sun and we tend to cover up more, but by all means take supplements all the time if you think you need to if using sunscreen.

No but the ones online are frankly bonkers
they're mostly saying that people have skin cancer because the spf reacts with the sun and saying coconut oil and tallow works as an spf

commenting on people applying spf (and not showing which brand/type) to their children “welcome to skin cancer” and shit like that

We take a balanced approach

Most of the time in the UK a sun hat and covering exposed skin is all that's needed on a sunny day. We wear long sleeved light cotton clothing and sunhats when playing outside, and if we are swimming we wear UV resistant long sleeved and legged swim suits or wetsuits. (Let's face it it's nicer for kids swimming in UK seas to wear wetsuits. We went to the sea in May and the water was 6 degrees still, with a wetsuit they can enjoy it more)

If its a day where the UV is very strong that day and we won't be able to keep out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, we will use suncream together with the usual precautions, but it's only applied once or twice. It doesn't need reapplying every hour, and only after they have been exposed to some morning sun when the rays are not as strong

There are benefits to sunlight for both your body and mental health, its silly to wear sunscreen year round. But if you can't stay safe in the sun then sun cream is a safety measure for those days

That ^^
they’re claiming skin cancer is caused by wearing spf in the sun and not by the sun

most people don’t get enough vitamin d anyway especially if you’re in an office all day. Take a supplement and cover up/wear SPF/go in the shade

There are plenty of legitimate concerns about nano sunscreens and the various chemicals added to them. Both for human health and the killing of the coral reefs in Aus and Hawaii in tourist areas. It’s not just tin foil hat nuts.

Not all sunscreens have the same ingredients.

I rarely use sunscreen, I'm not outside with exposed skin enough to worry about it. My DC the same, the amount she gets before and after school going from a to b is short enough to not worry

I use suncream on my son, but I do err towards longsleeve, loose tops and thin cool trousers, and just keeping him out of the sun whenever I can.

Not all suncream is the same. Nano sunscreen has tiny particles that enter the bloodstream and this is generally what people are worried about. Mainstream suncream contains all sorts of chemicals and fragrances known to disrupt the endocrine system (as do many other products, but most of them we’re not slapping on young children in big quantities) and awareness is rising. Many sunscreens destroy coral reefs (easy to find this online) too.

Mineral sunscreen sits on the surface of the skin. They are much harder to find and way more expensive but beginning to be more mainstream.

It’s all a balance of risk - burning and getting cancer later in life vs being exposed to chemicals that may accumulate to affect health in other ways.

Being moderate - covering up, staying in the shade but using it on exposed skin when necessary is the approach we always took and only use mineral sunscreen (still do).

I never use it in the UK it is not needed and yes the chemicals are not good for you, i have vit D deficiency

I've taught my children to respect the sun. They were suitable clothing and hats and stay out of the sun in the middle of the day. If this isn't possible, then we do use sunscreen - not sunblock as that can cause other issues. Fortunately neither of them are prone to burning and are both really outdoor children, so tan and build up a degree of natural resistance.
Can not get my head round the sunblock obsession with children........ rather than being practical....

I wear spf50 on my face everyday, year round. SPF50 on my body when I’m out and about for longer than 10-15 minutes

Of course sunscreen is needed in this kind of weather. It's ridiculous to say it isn't!

There's emerging evidence that the action of sun on the skin produces beneficial compounds over and above Vitamin D.

Wearing sunscreen and swimming in sea/ rivers can be bad for aquatic life.

I have no idea if sunscreen is carcinogenic. Probably no more so than UVA rays!

So, it's common sense to maintain a balance. I gather the current advice is to let DC run around in the sun for 15 minutes before applying any sunscreen- in the UK, that is. I only tend to put sunscreen on myself and the DC between 11 and 3- again, in the UK.

It’s part of the same collection of mad health beliefs held by anti-vaxxers and those who think homeopathy is the only treatment anyone should have for cancer etc.I think these people have always been around, they just have the internet now! I agree there are some genuine concerns about vitamin D but not sunscreen being carcinogenic.

Yes this. I don’t tend to put sunscreen on my child because he doesn’t really like being out in the heat for long, and some sun exposure is good for vitamins D.

If we’re going to the beach or park etc and going to be outside all day I take a bottle with us and put it on when we’ve had a bit of time outside.

If he’s going off to school for sports day etc I put it on before he leaves the house.

Technically they are not wrong. Suncream is actually really toxic however not all of them are. There are plenty of brands that are less toxic and more expensive ones that are more natural.
people are misinformed and don’t do their own research

they absolutely should be wearing it and putting it on their children