Summer Sun Safety Update: The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

July 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Summer is in full swing and record temperatures throughout most of the country are undoubtedly making it tough to stay cool and comfortable for a lot of you. If you’re anything like me, then you’re probably spending as much time as you can at the beach in the hopes of catching the occasional ocean breeze while soaking up some sun. It goes without saying that all that extra beach time carries a hidden price tag when it comes to your skin!

sunscreen bottle at the beachI’ve never been a fan of sunscreens as the best or only solution to protecting yourself from sun damage –partly because of all the misleading marketing hype around these products, the notorious (but rarely discussed) unreliability of SPF ratings, and the over-use of synthetic chemicals that have been shown to be potentially toxic. If you’ve followed this blog or subscribe to my newsletter, you know I’ve written numerous articles and blog posts on the subject of sun safety, skin cancer and sunscreens in the past.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything on the subject, because for a while there it seemed like nothing much had changed from one season to the next. I have been waiting to see how the new FDA rules might change things.

The new rules for sunscreens were announced last summer and just went into effect last month. While they represent progress in terms of better definition and accurate labeling of these products and have even prompted some manufacturers to re-formulate, by and large the biggest change is that most companies are just re-packaging to conform to the ne guidelines. And as is typical of industry, many companies are protesting certain aspects of the new guidelines and while they wait for a response continue to do things the same way. Namely, companies are protesting the new cap that the FDA has placed on the SPF ratings a product can have. Based on the new rules, the highest SPF rating a product can have is 50+.

There’s a good reason to cap the SPF at 50. SPF ratings higher than 50 are misleading and fool consumers into believing they are getting significantly more protection than they would from using a lower rated SPF, which simply isn’t true. Consider this: an SPF 15 absorbs 93.33% of UV rays, allowing 6.67% to get through while an SPF 30 absorbs 96.67% allowing 3.3% to pass through. What that means is a product rated SPF 30 provides only 4% more protection from the sun than one that has a rating of SPF15. As you’ve probably guessed by now, at SPF 50 you’ve pretty much maxed out on the amount of protection you can get. Any product with an SPF rating higher than 50 is just trying to trick you into thinking it’s better than all the other products out there. Pretty devious, eh?

To add insult to injury, many products are still producing products labeled with higher than 50 SPFs. I don’t know if this is arrogance (i.e. they think that they will prevail on the cap of 50 rule) or plain stupidity. Either way, it’s a sad sign that not a lot has changed so far.

I think it bears repeating that there are a number of different ways you can protect yourself and your skin from sun damage and potential skin cancer risks. Instead of relying on greedy self-serving manufacturers to protect yourself, learn about the other ways you can do this and of course, practice good common sense when it comes to spending time outdoors in the sun!

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The Precautionary Principle Run Amok: Walking a Fine Line …

August 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

As a member of the Safe Cosmetics Campaign and a participant in the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetics database, I support and applaud these organizations efforts to bring some reform to the way cosmetics and personal care products are formulated -especially in the case where products are still being made with known toxins. With the recent introduction of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010, they are clearly making some significant strides in moving their agenda forward.

This is important work because of the potential benefits and protection it could provide consumers who are at present like experimental subjects in the giant petri dish that comprises the $35 billion a year beauty and personal care industry (often ironically referred to as HABA or HBA which is shorthand for Health and Beauty).

However as a small manufacturer who is working hard and diligently to make safe and effective products I sometimes wonder if, in spite of their best intentions, they are on a course that will soon run amok. What I mean is as they continue to gain credibility as an independent authority on the subject (and right now they are pretty much the ONLY independent authority on the subject) they will begin to wield real power or market clout that can have an impact on consumers perceptions of what’s safe and what’s not. And that is not something to be taken lightly.

While these are the “good guys” looking out for your health and safety, at the end of the day they are NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that have neither the scientific backing nor the funding to legitimately substantiate all the red flags they are continually raising. They are walking a fine line now between fear-mongering and agitating for meaningful change.

The latest red flag is the finding from a 2009 FDA study that the ingredient Retinyl Palmitate, which is a synthetic form of Vitamin A found in many skin care products and apparently widely used in sunscreens as well, may actually speed the development of cancer, even when present in low doses. The industry puts Vitamin A in its formulations because it is an anti-oxidant that slows skin aging. It seems that if you use these products at night or indoors you’re ok but if you go out into the sun after applying them you may be in big trouble.

This is not an insignificant finding, however I have to wonder what must be going on in the average consumer’s head when they hear this. In its 2010 Sunscreen Guide, the EWG recommends that consumers avoid all sunscreen products with this ingredient. If more than 40% of sun products contain it then that doesn’t leave a lot of options to choose from. Basically, out of 1400 products with sunscreen that were assessed, the EWG identified only 39 products that were worthy of their coveted “green” rating and all of those products used zinc or titanium oxide (sun blocks) as their primary ingredients.

It reminds me of the story of the boy who cried wolf. If day in and day out, all we hear is more bad news about cancer-causing ingredients and products and little or no useful or better alternatives we can trust, then we might as well all slit our wrists and jump off a cliff now and get it over with! I’m being facetious of course. But my point is if this is all that’s presented to us, eventually fatigue will set in and we will stop listening and that’s not good for anyone. This is one of my fears about what might happen if the EWG continues to lead us down this rabbit hole.

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What We Still Don’t Know About Sunscreens: A Running Debate

August 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

As I mentioned in my last post, about the only thing that seems to have changed with respect to the state of sunscreens and sun safety products is that the mainstream media is starting to pay more attention to this issue and take a frank look at what needs to be done.

The New York Times appears to have taken the lead here with its recent Room for Debate blog: What We Still Don’t Know About Sunscreens. In Room for Debate, The Times invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss news events and other timely issues. For this conversation, the Times convened the following contributors:

  • Darrell S. Rigel, Clinical Professor of Dermatology
  • Sonya Lunder, Environmental Working Group
  • Michael K. Hansen, Consumers Union
  • Kerry Hanson, Chemist, University of California, Riverside
  • Lenora Felderman, Dermatologist

Darrell Rigel tackles the subject of better labeling and better ingredients. Apparently in the U.S. there are only 17 approved sunscreen agents, while Europe has 28, and Japan has more than 40. He blames the FDA for lagging in formally approving regulations and feels that rather than wait until they can come up with their own standards for testing UVA that we simply adopt the same standards as Europe has.

Sonya Lunder looks at an alarming new finding: the use of Vitamin A (in the synthetic form of Retinyl Palmitate) in sun care products may be accelerating the development of skin lesions and tumors when applied in the presence of sunlight! According to Lunder, this ingredient can be found in a whopping 40% (almost half!) of sunscreens used in the U.S.

Michael Hansen takes the FDA to task for not being more aggressive in demanding and enforcing the use of warnings on product labels that would clarify which products provide actual protect against UVA. A product may have a high SPF which means it protects against UVB radiation but that doesn’t mean it protects against UVA. He also feels that the FDA should more thoroughly investigate the health concerns that have been raised about various sunscreen ingredients.

Kerry Hanson questions whether our current concept of sun care protection needs to be redefined given what we’ve learned about the difference between UVB and UVA exposures and their respective roles in causing or promoting skin cancer. Since companies don’t have the substantial resources needed to fund the research (or the proper impartiality), there’s an opportunity for government agencies like the FDA, National Science Foundation, and the NIH to jump in and take the lead.

Lenora Felderman laments the false sense of security that sunscreens provide and echoes the other contributors’ call for better and more responsible action by the FDA.

Since it was posted on July 5th, this has generated over 200 comments. You can read the full discussions here and add your comments as well.

What do you think the FDA’s top priorities in this area should be?

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Update on the State of Sunscreens: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same!

August 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Every year around this time of the year, I scan industry trade rags and do some searching on the Internet in an attempt to find out what’s new in the market for sunscreens. And every year I marvel at how some things never seem to change! In fact they appear to be getting worse!

In spite of a growing body of increasingly credible evidence that turns everything we’ve been led to believe about sunscreens over the years on its head, companies are still producing essentially the same products, and packaging and marketing them in increasingly deceptive ways. Caveat emptor (buyer beware!) …

The FDA still hasn’t formally issued its new rules and guidelines for sunscreens with respect to UVA testing and labeling, which were informally adopted back in 2007 after an exhaustive 9-year review. This was supposed to happen in May and now the word is that it will happen later this year, probably in October. And in spite of the fact that there’s no consensus on whether sunscreens prevent skin cancer, and the discovery that some sunscreen ingredients might actually increase our risk of getting melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer), women’s magazines, sun product manufacturers, and dermatologists still relentlessly and religiously repeat the mantra to wear sunscreen whenever we go outside, or avoid any exposure to the sun. Are they really that blind to their hypocrisy or are they waiting for a larger force (i.e. the FDA) to force them to sit up and fly straight?

Most experts agree that people should use sunscreens to protect their skin from the sun, but they disagree widely on how well they actually work. There’s so much conflicting information and outright disinformation on the subject how can anyone make a reasonable decision about what products to use? The simple fact is that sunscreens were never developed to prevent skin cancer. They were (and continue to be) designed primarily to prevent sunburn. And even though SPF ratings are notoriously unreliable people continue to mistakenly believe that using higher SPFs buys them a lot more time in the sun without risk, so sun care companies keep coming out with higher and higher SPFs. We’ve hit a new high (or new low depending on how you look at it) with SPF 100!

Almost in defiance of the FDA’s proposed regulation, these companies substantially increased their high-SPF offerings this year. According to the Environmental Working Group’s analysis of nearly 500 beach and sport sunscreens, nearly one in six products now lists SPF values higher than 50, compared to only one in the prior eight years. Neutrogena has six products labeled “SPF 100,” and Banana Boat has four.

About the only thing I can see that has changed is that more mainstream media are finally starting to question the safety of sun care products.

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Possible 75% cancer mortality reduction with Vitamin D

September 26, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Too good to be true? Check out this video from the University of California TV where they interview Dr. Cedric F. Garland from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine on his ground-breaking research findings about Vitamin D’s role in preventing major cancers. If this doesn’t convince you of the importance of Vitamin D to your health I’m not sure what will!

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Exposure to the Sun May Give You Skin Cancer But Vitamin D Can Save Your Life!

September 24, 2009 by 5 Comments

Sun exposure offers us many health benefits: it provides us with a natural high by stimulating the release of feel-good substances in the body –seratonin, dopamine, and beta-endorphins. Sunshine also suppresses hormones such as melatonin that makes you feel sluggish and down. And, as I mentioned in my last post, it’s your best source of Vitamin D.

The importance of Vitamin D as a vital and protective nutrient cannot be underestimated. Its role in reducing mortality rates in cancer patients is starting to make many in the medical community question the conventional wisdom about sun safety and weigh the considerable benefits of sun exposure against the potential risk of skin cancer.

This short but informative video summarizes some key points on this subject:

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Let the Sun Shine In: The Benefits of Going Bare in the Sun

September 22, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Are you avoiding the sun for fear of getting skin cancer? If yes, then you’re not alone. I’ve posted a lot lately about skin cancer and sun safety because I feel there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation on the subject that is affecting the behavior and choices of most people –though not necessarily in a good way.

My philosophy in life is everything in moderation and that goes for sun protection too. The media, dermatologists, and some doctors have been hammering in the message that any exposure to the sun is unsafe and so you shouldn’t ever go out in the sun without some form of protection or you risk getting skin cancer. This in my humble opinion is a gross exaggeration and frankly a little irresponsible.

Why are there so few voices out there touting the benefits of the sun and the importance of finding a balance between getting enough exposure, without putting your self at risk?

The cynic in me would say there’s no money to be made by encouraging people to get some sun, but there is a ton of money to be made from scaring people into believing they should wear sunscreen as a second skin –after all, the companies that make sunscreen products depend on this fear for their livelihood and prosperity!

Fortunately, there are a few doctors and researchers out there providing a voice of reason on this subject. One key proponent of responsible sun exposure is Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, who authored book called book “The UV Advantage.” In his book Holick cites more than 120 peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate moderate exposure to UV light will give the body the Vitamin D it needs without significant skin damage.

What many people may not know is that our bodies use sun light to create Vitamin D — a key nutrient we need to fight a variety of diseases including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancers like breast, prostate and colon cancer. Recent studies suggest your body needs up to 1000 mg of D per day to cut the potential risk for ovarian, colon, and breast cancer in half. Without sun exposure, that’s hard to do with diet and supplements alone.

Holick says that slathering SPF 15 sunscreen all over your body (about 1 oz) prevents its ability to make Vitamin D by 95%. That’s because all sunscreens are designed to block UVB rays, which are the ones we need to make Vitamin D.

For that reason everyone needs a little unprotected time in the sun, depending on the latitude, time of day, season, and their skin type (degree of skin pigmentation), which he covers in his book in detail. To be sure you’re getting enough sun –but not too much … estimate how long it will take you to get a mild sunburn (i.e. 20 minutes); divide that by 4 (i.e. 5 minutes). Two or three times a week, expose your face, hands, and arms, or legs, for that amount of time, then apply a broad spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF15.

With the arrival of fall and subsequently winter here in the U.S., the intensity of the sun’s rays will be much lower than they are in the summer –even during the peak hours of 10 AM to 2 PM. So don’t be afraid to let the sun shine in!

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Protect Your Skin from the Inside Out: Polyphenols & Isoflavones to Counteract the Effects of Sun Damage

September 9, 2009 by 1 Comment

We’re wrapping up our theme of protecting your skin from the inside out. Here are two additional promising groups of cancer preventive antioxidant agents derived from plants –polyphenols and isoflavones– have also shown favorable results preventing and in some cases, reversing cell damage caused by sun burns.

Genistein
Soy is a rich source of flavonoids called isoflavones, the most plentiful of which is Genistein –a powerful antioxidant. It’s been found to provide protection from oxidative damage induced by UV radiation. When administered topically it inhibited skin tumor development by 60-75% in hairless mice.

Tea Polyphenols
Tea is a significant source of ROS-scavenging polyphenols, which make up 30-35% of the leaf’s dry weight. Tea polyphenols have been widely studied in animals for their anti-carcinogenic potential. Researchers in both Turkey and the U.S. found that oral or topical administration of polyphenols found in green tea may prevent UV-induced skin tumor development.

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Protect Your Skin from the Inside Out: Antioxidants to Counteract the Effects of Sun Damage

September 3, 2009 by 2 Comments

There’s no shortage of dire warnings about the damaging and cancer-causing potential of unprotected exposure to the sun. While sunscreens and sun blocks do provide protection from sunburn (UVB exposure) and arguably some protection from the long-term effects of UVA exposure, a number of factors can diminish their effectiveness and there’s some cause for concern about the accuracy of SPF ratings. As if that weren’t bad enough, now many doctors are warning that over-use of sunscreens impedes your body’s natural ability to synthesize Vitamin D –a vital nutrient that can protect you from other common cancers like prostate, breast, and colon cancer.

But it’s not all bad news out there. There is one promising area of research that doesn’t receive much attention from the media, but may hold the key to protecting your self and your loved ones from the damaging effects of UV radiation. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that a diet low in saturated or trans fats, supplemented with certain foods and nutrients rich in select vitamins and antioxidants can also help protect your skin from the inside out.

Even better, preliminary and ongoing research indicates that many of the antioxidants found in vitamins and botanicals when added to sunscreens AND taken orally — significantly boost the skin’s natural UV-filtering properties while enhancing its defenses against free radical formation.

Here’s how it works … prolonged exposure to sunlight, especially ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, can induce the formation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), the most potent of which are free radicals that can cause genetic DNA mutations. These DNA-damaged cells then become the precursors for cancerous tumors. An antioxidant-rich diet can neutralize free radicals, counteract the sun’s damaging effects, and in some cases even reverse it.

Most of these protective vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are readily available in the foods you already eat. The ones holding the most promise are Vitamins C and E, the mineral Selenium, and carotenoids like Beta Carotene (the natural form of vitamin A and the source of color in carrots) and Lycopene (the carotenoid that gives foods like tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, and guava their red and pink color).

While not necessarily antioxidants, Zinc, Copper and Manganese are minerals that support the process of neutralizing free radicals. Glutathione-rich foods like asparagus, avocado, garlic, parsley, acorn squash, zucchini, tomatoes, can also protect the body from carcinogens.

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Skin Cancer Detection: How to Check Yourself for Skin Cancer

August 28, 2009 by 2 Comments

Examining your self for skin cancer sounds like a pretty easy and straightforward thing to do and yet I bet most people don’t even give it a second thought unless they have a family history of skin cancer and therefore a reason for concern.

Given how important it is to protect yourself from the potentially fatal outcome of developing Melanoma, I wanted to share this simple but practical video I found that goes through the basics of self-examination, so you don’t omit any important areas. It also offers some tips on documenting anything you find that might turn ugly later on. After watching this you’ll want to include a regular self-exam into your health and wellness routine. If you can, enlist the help of a family member or friend to examine and document hose areas of your body that are hard to see by yourself (mainly your back side and your scalp).

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