As The FDA Sunscreen Report Is Published There Is Concern Over Chemicals – Part 2

The Remaining Part Of The Study

The volunteers applied the sunscreen just once on the first day. The men and women in the study took a shower in the morning then applied the sunscreen every 2 hours for a total of four applications each day on days 2,3, and 4. For those first days of the sunscreen use and then later after a week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks to see how long these chemicals might stay elevated in the body, researchers took 34 blood samples from each study participant. 

Here Shinkai says mimicking what it says on the sunscreen tube is what they did in this study. As these are not unrealistic and it is the real world and the way its recommended. 

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, it largely confirms the findings of the first study as the new study. 

The six active ingredients tested were absorbed into the body as is shown. Beyond the FDA’s threshold of concern for 3 weeks, after the people in the study stopped putting them on their skin, some continued to be elevated 

Blood concentrations of oxybenzone were more than 180 times the FDA’s level of concern after a single application of sunscreen for example. After 4 days of regular use, they soared to more than 500 times the FDA’s level of concern. Blood tests continued to show higher levels of oxybenzone though it was much lower than at the start of the study three weeks later. 

Affecting breast development, infant birth weight, and sperm function are oxybenzone as shown by the studies. Contributing to the killing of coral reefs in the ocean is being shown. Hawaii has banned the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate starting in 2021 as a result. 

Nneka Leiba, the vice president of the Environmental Working Group’s Healthy Living Science program explains that extremely concerning is the fact that these chemicals are being found at elevated levels in the blood combined with evidence that they have been linked to adverse health impacts in other studies. Warning consumers for years that ingredients in chemical sunscreens may not be safe is the Environmental Working Group. 

What Now?

While the UV filters in chemical sunscreens can’t be considered safe, that doesn’t mean they are unsafe as the FDA says. Hereafter it is not known by scientists. 

When you want to protect yourself or your kids from the uncertainties of untested ingredients, what should you do? 

He reminds his patients that sunscreens are just one part of sun protection according to Vij. 

He says if you can, between 11 and 4 when UV radiation is at its peak, avoid the sun. It helps to use mineral-based sunscreens or using clothing that has built-in sun protection. 

Looking for clothing that has a UPF factor is what Vij advises his patients to do. 

As we just don’t know what the biological effect of sunscreen in your blood is, it is coming a little bit scary. 

According to Alok Vij, MD, a dermatologist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, when in the sun, be smart limiting your sun exposure if you know you burn. Limit your sun exposure in case you know you have a family history of melanoma. 

Kids are one big knowledge gap. About how they might be absorbing sunscreen ingredients or what those ingredients might be doing to a growing body, there’s very little information. 

Shinkai says it is smart to look for mineral-based sunscreens, especially for children. Here sunscreens containing the ingredients zinc oxide or titanium dioxide are included. Both these ingredients are safe as FDA says. 

It can be harder to apply and it turns the skin white, as sometimes it isn’t acceptable especially to people with darker skin tones as she acknowledges. 

She says if formulated correctly and applied correctly mineral sunscreen is every effective. 

Look for products that combine zinc and titanium as Shinkai recommends. 

Many formulations come with zinc only. Here it is seen that they miss part of the UV spectrum. Providing broad-spectrum protection that’s very comparable to what you get in chemical sunscreen is mixing zinc and titanium together as she explains. Also here is no reason why they don’t recommend mineral sunscreen.  

The Concluding Thoughts

As we sign off sunscreens are a lot more effective than they seem to be. This is because technology is ever-evolving bringing to the forefront those important factors to be considered when going out in the sun.