To now be worried about sunscreen / skin cancer

[PaulinesPenStash]

I've always been so careful in the sun after a scare with a mole a few years ago (was fine but really shook me up) ...worn factor 50 on my face every day for over ten years. And and may - September any exposed parts get the factor 50 treatment as well

However I've started to see stuff pop up about wearing sunscreen being now linked to skin cancer

I mean fgs you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. So do I wear sunscreen or not or just stay indoors all the time

“I am almost 30 and haven’t got cancer...”

That is a triumph! 🙄

That's a good article @TheGoogleMum

I think on balance I'll carry on with the sunscreen. Maybe I'll switch to factor 30 on my face in autumn / winter. I do take vitamin D every day anyway

@Lindellia thanks for commenting as well, it's good to have some actual proper advice from a dermatologist

Just a reminder folks that the SPF number isn't relevant to the temperature. It increases the time you can be in the sun. You can still burn with SPF50.

Those who never use a sunscreen and have never got cancer are like people who smoke 50 a day and don't get lung cancer. It's luck pure and simple. Don't forget you can wear a high SPF daily on your face say (I run most days so have ditched facial moisturiser for this. That and teenage years spent baking in the sun have taken their toll) and if your arms/back other body parts aren't SPF'd you'll absorb Vit D through them still.

Thank you to all the scientists and dermatologists speaking common sense on this thread

I react to chemical sunscreen, and now we are learning more about sunscreen damaging coral reefs, so mineral screens are the way to go. It is hard to find ones that are a nice texture on the skin, but they have improved ( I am very pale anyway, which helps).
There is a misconception about suncream, that it allows you to stay out for hours and hours in the sun but not burn. Actually it should be used for much shorter times , eg about the length of time it would take you to burn without it. After that you need to get indoors, put clothes on , a hat etc. Mineral screens are also better here, as they are a physical block, so like wearing a very thin layer.
I haven’t read the links between sunscreen use and cancer, but it could be a combination of the chemicals, plus people staying in the sun far longer as they feel protected.
Use a mineral product op, and read the label, some so called “green” sunscreens used in organic products are not reef safe and are possible endocrine disruptors (eg

Look for titanium dioxide and or zinc oxide as the active sunscreen ingredient. I am using the new REN mineral screen for everyday face use, The Ordinary also have one I use. I use the Avene mineral one on my body if I am at the beach, or a tinted mineral one, I think it might be La Roche Posay. I avoid the beach until after 4.

Hmm the methoxycinnamate disappeared from my post ! It should be there in brackets after the eg .

@tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz do you not use it on your other exposed parts when running then? Don't you burn ?

This is the study about suncream chemicals being absorbed into the bloodstream at 300x the safe level, which hasn't been tested on humans yet (the FDA are now demanding the companies test these levels): uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-sunscreen/high-levels-of-sunscreen-ingredients-end-up-in-the-bloodstream-study-idUKKCN1SC1XH

This is also a good article. Vitamin D lowers the risk of many cancers and supplements aren't always an adequate way to get it. www.outsideonline.com/2380751/sunscreen-sun-exposure-skin-cancer-science

We have literally lived for hundreds of thousands of years with the sun. Skin cancer rates are currently going UP, despite everyone putting suncream on like mad, and hot countries like the Mediterranean have lower rates of it than countries that get less sun.

I don't wear suncream unless I'm on holiday somewhere hot. Not bothered about wrinkles. I like being tanned and the mental health benefits of being in the sun are huge for me.

I think the thing with sun cream is that you need to treat it like toothpaste. Use it but also keep the sweet treats limited.

I also wouldn't use it during winter at all. You need the vitamin d.

I would also use a hat and clothing to provide coverage without relying on suncream alone. And also take shelter in shaded areas.

SirVix that's a good point about coral reef damage. I'm using a La Roche Posey one but will look into those other brands too. Yes, my point regards SPF did read a bit "stay in the sun all day!" obv not what I meant.

OP yes I do cover my arms/chest/shoulders but tend to leave my legs while in shorts and stick to the shadey side of the pavement.

The other thing I notice in the sunscreen debate is my skin condition is better when I'm using it too. The sun is so visibly ageing and I'm finding it even more so on my chest, arms and hands. Vanity makes me wear it to avoid looking like a raisin!

These quotes from the article you have linked ItIsWhatItIsInnit jumped out at me:

“The results in no way suggest that people should stop using sunscreen to protect against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, researchers said.”

And

“However, the Personal Care Products Council trade association pointed out limitations of the study and expressed concern that it may confuse consumers.

Sunscreens in the study were used at “twice the amount that would be applied in what the scientific community considers real-world conditions,” said Alexandra Kowcz, the group’s chief scientist.”

I haven’t had a chance to read the study this article is based on, but it sounds like a very small study population and the conclusion doesn’t seem to be stop using suncream, it’s that more research may be needed. It seems to me that this is a prime example of details from a study being taken out of context and twisted to make a sensationalist headline.

hot countries like the Mediterranean have lower rates of it than countries that get less sun

Correlation =/= causation

That could be explained for example by the fact that populations in countries with less sun will generally have lighter skin which tends burns more easily than people in countries that get more sun.

As for rates of skin cancer going up, this is very complex, but reasons for this include that there is much greater detection of skin cancer now than there would have been 50 or more years ago. People go to the doctors with their concerns, rather than resigning themselves to living with it.
We also travel a lot more than we did in the past, which increases your sun exposure.
Importantly people are also living longer, so in the past people who would have developed skin cancer due to sun damage in their youth died of other causes before they had a chance to develop it. These are all just off the top of my head, there are undoubtably many more factors at play here, but essentially these things are never black and white. Everyone is obviously free to wear suncream or not wear suncream or slather themselves in coconut oil and roast like a turkey but the overwhelming amount of evidence we have now is that suncream prevents skin cancer.

Yes, obviously the evidence we have at the moment is very in favour of suncream. I just thought I'd post some alternative viewpoints - nothing is proven yet. Anything can come out in 20 years time, like with margarine & thalidomide, so I'm not saying it's some sort of "conspiracy theory", but that we should be aware that we don't know 100% what problems these ingredients may present further down the line.

Zinc oxide based suncreams are fine (this is the same ingredient in Sudocrem, which is very white to go on).

I can find nothing to suggest I don’t carry on using the sun cream I use, and I am a fair-skinned health worrier. The main ingredient they seem to have vague potential concerns about isn’t even in my suncream. (Nivea/Soltan). And they are currently just doing some more research.

If official advice changes, I will review - but I can’t imagine it will change to ‘use coconut oil’

Ps wide-brimmed hats and long sleeves people. It’s how I glamorously spend my summers, come and join me!

We were in Kos last year and the family who tended to choose sun beds close to ours were a french family. The grandmother was beyond glamorous and youthful looking with incredible skin. She would sit and read her book in the sun for an hour first thing and then stay with n the shade for the rest of the day venturing out wearing her hat and stylish kaftan around 5pm. She was probably the chicest lady around that pool and had a good 25 years on the rest of us! I had a bit of a crush on her and .

No idea where that rogue "and" came from.

French granny sounds trés chic !!