To use sun cream?

[Esmereldapawpatrol]

A minor celebrity I follow on Insta is currently away on holiday in a sunny destination. As with a lot of influencers they holiday a few times a year. Her and her children always look sun kissed and have a tan. She was doing a AMA yesterday and someone asked what sun cream she uses for her and the kids and she stated that they don't use sun cream. Instead they wear hats, cover up and play in the shade when they feel the kids have had too much sun but the kids have built a resilience. She said it's because of all of the cancer causing ingredients in sun cream, if they have to use sun cream they use a Zinc based one.

I was really shocked by this but she later posted to say how much support she'd had and the story has been shared online and there are lots of comments saying they agree and they don't use sun cream on their kids either.

I was under the impression that it's not just burning that does damage to the skin, it's being unprotected in the sun and the skin can still be damaged without being burnt.

Have I been living under a rock and everyone else thinks sun cream is poisoning us or is this a random theory people are running with?

Perfect example of why you shouldn't follow absolute no-marks

Social darwinism in action!

We're the same. I've just had radiotherapy and I'm supposed to use factor 50 for the next 12 months. I'd rather just stay inside.

Google images of skin cancer. When you've finished feeling sick, remind yourself that it is UV that is its major cause, not suncream. If she's sunning without sunscreen, she's going to look like a walnut in her old age, if she doesn't get skin cancer herself. I think that's child abuse.

This was on the TV this morning. They had a Dr on saying how stupid she was.

This is a big “conspiracy theory” at the moment.

I’m of the view that staying out of the sun entirely is probably better than wearing sun cream, as not putting chemicals on your skin is probably better than the alternative. However, if you have any sun exposure, then I think sun cream is better than not having suncream.

Also, apparently shading your eyes with hats and sunglasses also increases your need for sun cream as your eyes need to be able to see the bright/UV to deploy skin protection. I have no idea of the science behind this, but again I can believe this is true.

So I think the correct priority order is:

No sun exposure at all (although there’s a vitamin D concern here)
Sun exposure only in the early morning and late afternoon when the UV levels are low with no sun cream (to mitigate the vitamin D issue)
Sun exposure with sun cream
Sun exposure without sun cream

I suspect that the influencers are misinterpreting data to come up with the idea that it’s okay to be in the sun without sun cream.

Big caveats: I’m not a scientist and I wear SPF every day even in winter

Have you tried Aldi’s aerosol sun cream? It’s absolutely changed my life in terms of sun cream and sensory issues. Not goopy, can spray on with no need to rub, easy to quickly reapply. I probably wouldn’t rely on it to then cook on a lounger all day, but for protection while walking around etc I swear by it.

Oh for god sake! Sam Fairs is an absolute doughnut! Why on earth are you listening to her? She’s got zero medical qualifications and is more than happy to fill her face with fillers and Botox! You know what causes skin cancer? Exposure to UV radiation! You know how to minimise skin cancer? A decent sun screen!

I don't do my own research, because I'm not a scientist and don't have the expertise to do so.

I do follow advice. The advice I follow is the advice of medical professionals and experts, not so-called influencers.

Melanoma removal centres quite literally on every street corner over there!!

If anything qualifies a person to advise on skin cancer, it's being on TOWIE.

Sam Faiers is an absolute idiot.

Yes wearing protective clothing along with hats and staying out of the sun during peak times is the best protection but saying suncream is damaging is madness.

She’s the same idiot who asked for money for a fundraiser in Africa only for it to come out that the head of the charity was an abuser who kept all the money!

She also spouts on about “Chem trails” from planes yet flies 15+ times a year.

She’s talking nonsense. Factor 50 all the way here. I’m not an advocate for staying out of the sun entirely, but factor 50, zinc stick for noses/under eyes, and being inside at the height of the sun are key.

Covering up and keeping out the sun is really sensible. As is wearing suncream. We know UV causes cancer. How are her children going to feel if they get a skin cancer diagnosis later in life? Or don't but have terribly sun damaged skin?

Lots of people with darker skin tones prefer not to wear zinc suncream either as it just plasters your face white.

Sorry I didn't mean I take advice from influencers. I meant I took advice from experts that have done the scientific research, but I will 'research' in terms of looking for that scientific advice...from an expert not an influencer.

I didn't say I was listening to her or taking her advice, I was discussing what she had said.

I’m mid 60s. I now have 4 facial scars, longest of which is 7cm due to multiple Basel cell carcinomas. They’ve all appeared in the last 8 years.

I hate heat and sun, all my life. Never sit in sun. Get allergic reaction to sun anyway (PLE) . And have to take high dose of vitamin D , clearly cos I don’t get enough sun

all it took was getting sun burnt once badly aged 9 (mum forgot suncream in 1970s ) and got a tan after 1 month interrailing when 20, when I didn’t know better (think that’s when PLE started)

sure, some people like my brother is dark hair and more melatonin. He’s older, spends his working life in sun and is wrinkly and no skin cancer. He doesn’t have “immunity” built up…just different skin type with naturally more melatonin ..and he ain’t out of woodwork yet in terms of developing skin cancer

damage to skin takes years to appear in some cases, especially BCC. Children and adolescents are when the damage is done.

also reading something recently from skin cancer specialist researcher - doesn’t matter if you burn once then tan, or tan slowly over longer time without ever burning .the skin is still being damaged and a tan is the sign of that. A tan is result of damaged cells.

whilst BCC isn’t going to kill me, my face is scarred . I have a small bald patch in my hair where a small skin graft was needed on one, I’m only in my mid sixties and at this rate my face will be very scarred if more appear. I’m constantly monitoring and my latest MOHs procedure is still healing on my upper lip in a noticable place.

ignore the idiots. The evidence is there. BCC is common, with around 1/4 million new cases per year …

yep, sunlight is important for vitamin D and we believe possibly mental well-being, but for Northern Europeans with little melatonin it needs to be managed very carefully. And don’t let kids/teens skin tan ..that’s when the damage is done the most.

And there a 77 week wait on nhs too for Basel cell carcinomas. .. 77 weeks! Because not enough treatment for 250000 new cases per year.

aint exactly rare here either,

Presumably people will generally agree with influencers that they follow, because if they thought they were twats they wouldn’t follow them! So it’s not a sample of people that reflect society as a whole. If you want to know about sun cream, I’d suggest following a dermatologist rather than someone from TOWIE.

This.

I have to ask where the “apparently using sun hat …” reduces protection form skin comes from

ive done a quick trawl..nowt…only that confirming my cancer /plastics team view that the BEST form of sun reeling is clothing including wide brim hat - as long as said clothing has good uv protection. Sun screen isn’t a panacea - it can be badly applied with parts of skin missed too easily, and has a short ffective shelf life that people ignore.

they should not be relied on sclusively, they simply do not give 100% protection that clothing or complete shade form sun does.

so where did this stuff come form around the magic protection that is triggered by sun on eyes…I assume it is melatonin production. Please send link…as BCC sufferer it is clearly vital for me to know this

There’s been major backlash today against her saying that. What an absolute idiot she is

I understand her followers agreeing but the comments I saw were on an online article about it, I think that's why is surprised me there were so many agreeing as that isn't her fan base.

I in no way agree with her, started following her years ago for whatever reason and now unfollowed!

Good, I am pleased in the sense that those who have seen her post and might be influenced by it it will hopefully see that backlash and realise it's a load of BS.

I live in the country with the world's second highest rate of skin cancer. She is very ill-informed. Years ago when the dangers weren't known - I was born in the sixties - we were herded outdoors on the basis that it was "healthy". People talked about having a good tan which really meant a dark tan. A lot of my contemporaries are getting carved up removing skin cancers. I haven't sunbathed since I was 14 and wear a lot of sunblock. I visit a dermatologist every six months to be checked over. I have had two skin cancers removed - they were both round my hairline and where I didn't put sunblock. The rest of my face which got the sunblock on every day is fine. (I should have worn more hats and I do now.) I can honestly say at my age it is very easy to see who was a person who tanned. They easily look 10 plus year older than the people who used sunblock. Also, with an increased focus on avoiding sunburn by using sunblock our skin cancer death rate has fallen. Lots of campaigns to encourage people to reduce their sun exposure.

I have been lucky enough to afford very expensive MOHs surgery to minimise scarring - they cut the cancer out and then a pathologist dermatologist looks at the sample to check if the edges are clear for cancer or not - they do this before they close the wound so you're sitting round till that's done. If they get it all on the first go, they'll close. I had to have a second lot of cutting before they got clear margins and could close. These were tiny early basal cell carcinomas - and they don't just cut out a little circle - because they can't close a little circle. They have to cut out a crescent to be able to close in a line which minimises scarring. So your little cancerous dot becomes a much longer incision. I had to have some sort of flap rotation to avoid distorting the shape of my eyebrow with a specialist carefully stitching away taking his time. One of the incisions - not the MOHs one - dogeared and I had to wait for a year till the scar "matured" before a plastic surgeon could recut and revise the scar. Melanomas are much worse in terms of treatment and survival rates - depending on how early it is caught. Because of my childhood sun exposure, I've had lots of moles removed when they looked a bit dark or a bit irregular to make sure they were okay and I was lucky enough that the tests came back negative. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

I watched a documentary which featured skin cancer removal in an NHS hospital for a basal cell carcinoma and they were just cutting a hunk of skin out and hoping for the best - the woman would only find whether they'd got it all when she got the results back in 4 weeks or something. She was on her second round of surgery since the first hadn't got clear margins. It honestly looked like something out of a factory production line. Scar minimisation did not appear to feature in the ethos.

So, keep putting that sunblock on and wear a hat.

She's a moron OP, don't worry about it. It's yet another facet of the anti-science, anti-vax, anti-climate change, anti-experts bollocks that is poisoning suicidal media.

Let's face it, she didn't seem like the brightest spark does she. Just because someone has a platform, doesn't mean what they say needs listening to.