The Great Sunscreen Dilemma: Would Like Cancer? Or Cancer? [All your sun-blocking options]

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If something is good for you then more of it should be great for you, right? Duh. Isn’t that basically the first law of health?? Yeah, okay so that’s obviously stupid – I learned the fallacy of that the hard way during the great Over Training Debacle of ’08! – and yet lots of health and fitness people still act like it’s true. Including me. Commence shame spiral, as I’ve done it again.

I’d like to introduce you to my newest obsession:

bananaboatsunscreen

 

I’m not pimping this particular kind (they’re not paying me, I didn’t get it for free, I have no relationship with Banana Boat) but it smells delish. And the 100 SPF makes me happy even though I heard somewhere than anything over 30 is all the same. Whatever. 

Yep, sunscreen. When we moved to Colorado, we heard lots of Shangri-La stories about our new home but we were inevitably presented with two Very Important Warnings: 1. The prairie dogs here are hilarious and adorable but it turns out they’re evil plague-carrying vermin so don’t touch them. Plus it’s illegal to kill them because they’re a protected species. 2. Because of the “thinner air” at this altitude, you have to watch out for skin cancer like Kim Kardashian has to watch out for rogue GPSes targeting her new baby. (North West? Really??)

For whatever reason, I’ve chosen to ignore the prairie dog issue (seriously they are SO funny waddling down the middle of the road with their chubby butts and stumpy tails, I can’t help but stop to watch them) and instead decided to focus all of my obsessive energy (of which there is much!) on the sunburn issue. You know that huge ball of beautiful light that sustains every life on the planet? Public enemy number one. Yes sir.

There’s been some skin cancer in my family. I had at least six really major sunburns as a kid. Plus I’m basically Snow White, but paler. So I’ve got some legit reasons to worry about me and my kids. (And my hubby – he’s one of those people with hundreds of moles all over his body. But I can’t tackle him with the Banana Boat. As easily.) And yet, I realized today as I tried to organize my car and came up with no less than 8 different bottles of sunscreen that I might have a problem. And that’s not even counting the three I have in the house.

Who needs ELEVEN bottles of sunscreen?! At first I was just putting some on my face if we were going to go anywhere outdoors for more than 15 minutes. But now I put SPF 50 on first thing in the morning, slathering special “sensitive” lotion on my face and then a separate moisturizing kind all over the rest of my body. Next I put on my makeup and I wear a BB cream with sunscreen in it. Then I put more sunscreen on as soon as I get in the car. Even if it’s just 30 minutes later. Next, I do one more coat of the spray kind when we get wherever we are going. Lastly I reapply whenever I feel like my skin is “burning” which ends up being every half hour or so.

Two problems with this (besides the obvious mental issues):

1. IT’S NOT WORKING. My previously fish-belly pale arms are now covered in freckles, in spite of my hyper vigilance. My son told me the other day that my hands look like “old lady hands” because of how freckled and bony they are. I’m basically a big ball o’ freckles!! I haven’t had any burns but clearly some rays are getting through my 17 layers of chemical biodome.

2. Sunscreen can give you cancer. Oh I’m serious. 75% of the sunscreens on the market contain known CARCINOGENS. See? It’s making me caps-scream. One of the main culprits is oxybenzone, which “can lead to hormone disruption and potentially to cell damage that may lead to skin cancer.”

So I don’t buy sunscreens with oxybenzone. But there are a lot of other funny chemicals in there and who knows what they do when you slather them on your skin (or inhale the spray fumes) ten times a day? So which is worse – the burn or the remedy??

Not everyone worries like I do. Noted Hollywood hippy Gwyneth Paltrow recently explained her no-sunscreen policy in an interview, saying, “I don’t think anything that is natural can be bad for you. I try to get at least 15 minutes of sun a day.” Girlfriend has a point – we’ve all heard about all the health benefits of vitamin D and the best way to get that is direct sun, on our skin!” Gwyneth adds, “We’re human beings and the sun is the sun – how can it be bad for you?”

Eh, pretty bad, according to a new study from The Mayo Clinic that shows melanoma cases have increased four-fold in women under 40 over the past 50 years.

“While more than three million cases of basal and squamous cell carcinoma are diagnosed each year, only about 2,000 people a year die from these non-melanoma skin cancers. Melanoma is a far more ominous diagnosis, causing about 9,400 deaths each year in the United States.” And I can attest from watching both my parents battle basal and squamous cell carcinomas that while they may not kill you they certainly can disfigure you. (My poor dad – had to have this horrible chemical peel on his face that made him red as a lobster and in terrible pain for months.)

Dr. Darrell Rigel, a dermatology professor at NYU Langone Medical Center, has more scary statistics, saying that every month at his New York practice, about two women in their 20s are found to have early melanoma, a dramatic rise from 20 years ago. Once melanoma is the size of a dime, there is a good chance that it has already spread and treatment may not work, Dr. Rigel said. “I know I’m looking at a death sentence on their arm, and they feel perfectly fine,” he said. “It’s absolutely awful.”

DID YOU HEAR THAT? He’s looking at a DEATH SENTENCE. On their ARM. Betrayed by an appendage! It could happen to anyone! I have an arm right now, in fact!

Seriously though, I’m a mom. I can’t take risks with my health that might leave my kids motherless. Do you know what options motherless children have in America? They either have to be a Disney princess or a serial killer. And all that from a spot no bigger than a tick. Plus, I’m also vain. While I’m all for aging gracefully, I don’t want to have wrinkles or age spots any sooner than I have to. I still don’t have any gray hairs!

So what options do I have?

1. Chemical sunscreens: Chemical sunscreens are the most common kind on the market and they work by having certain chemicals that absorb the sun’s ultraviolet rays. These are popular because they don’t typically feel too greasy or heavy and they soak right into your skin so it doesn’t even feel like you’re wearing anything. Unfortch, these are also the ingredients most likely to be carcinogens themselves.

2. Physical sunblocks: Sunblock and sunscreen are often used interchangeably but they have opposite mechanisms. Where sunscreen absorbs the sun’s rays, sunblock, well, blocks them by reflecting the rays. The two most popular ones are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (of the white nose fame from the 80’s!). While they’re harder to rub in – they tend to sit visibly on the surface of your skin – these are often considered safer than sunscreens but it turns out these might be carcinogens too, especially when they’re “micronized” to make them easier to apply.

3. Natural sunblocks: From olive oil to jasmine, there are a host of “natural” sunblocks/sunscreens. While many have been used for centuries, there isn’t much research to support that they actually work. Plus, just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean it’s without side effects. And, this is just me, but every “natural” sunblock I’ve tried smells like patchouli. I hate patchouli. Hate. (Note: Studies have shown that ingesting fish oil supplements actually helped protect against the sun’s rays and helped prevent melanoma! Here, fishy, fishy!!)

4. Clothing block: Bring back the parasols and pioneer bonnets, baby! Thick fabric is probably the most used with the best track record of any sunblocking device. Dessert nomads wore layers of robes and wrapped scarves around their faces. People for millenia have worn large hats that cover their faces, heads and necks. Parasols used to be a sign of status, they were considered so important. And yet today the trend seems to be to wear as little clothing as possible. Modesty issues aside, thong bikinis aren’t doing us any health favors.

I have recently discovered “UPF clothing” or clothes made with sunblocks/screens in the fabric. Joy! Of course they only work on skin that they cover so these days with my UPF 50+ long-sleeved jacket, pants and hat I either look like I’m a cult member or unnaturally devoted to Athleta. (Side note: people always ask me if I’m too hot in all those clothes. My answer? Once you’re hot, you’re hot. I already sweat like a dude. The only difference between a plain t-shirt and my UPF jacket is that with the latter you can’t see my pit stains. Besides, it’s not a down parka – they look heavy but the UPF fabrics are actually very light!)

5. Become a hermit. Or a vampire. Looking better and better, frankly.

So what’s your sun policy? Do you just go about your business and figure that the sun is good for you? Do you sunscreen religiously like me? Give it to me straight: Am I insane?

73 Comments

  1. As an Australian, we’re constantly bombarded with the ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’ campaign (slip on a long-sleeve shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat) and with good reason – we have no ozone layer down here! But with that, we’re also suffering from a chronic lack of vitamin D as a result.

    I think you need to make sure you do get some sun (at least 10-15 mins a day but not during the hottest time of the day) but be careful. Melanoma is a dangerous thing.

    I wear sunscreen every day on my face and I should wear it more often on my whole body. But it’s winter here now and I’m constantly covered up, so that’s my excuse.

  2. Jennifer Bonnell

    Hey Charlotte,

    My dad told me as a kid it is better to be ‘pale and interesting’ than tanned, god love him. Given I have the so called ‘English rose’ colouring, blonde hair, very pale, and lots of freckles and little moles to boot, I’ve always been very careful, even as a kid. Plus, I HATE being hot, and seem to run about 5 degrees (celsius) hotter than all the other women I know. Now we live in Newfoundland, so generally this isn’t an issue – foggiest city in Canada, with the fewest sunny days a year – but the summers they are a changing here and more and more sun means more hiding me. My husband and I went to Arizona for a trip in late May, and I was pretty worried, so I got several very loose, light weight cotton and linen long sleeve shirts and pants, and got myself a straw cowboy hat, and I was just as cool in them as I was in a tank and shorts. And no burns – not even a tan :). Cheaper than that Sunblocking clothing too.

    Jennifer

    • Hi Jennifer!
      I grew up in Newfoundland but am living on the mainland now. I hope you are enjoying it there; 10 years up here and I actually find myself missing fog! I also had a really hard time in the summers because the sun shines here day in and day out. Most people get SAD in winter months, but until recently I would find myself getting depressed here every year in the summer months, because there’s just TOO MUCH SUN! It is just so alien to what I grew up with, because as you say, we get the fewest days of sunshine in a year. Your comment struck me because I was talking to my mother back home yesterday and when she told me that it was actually 26 degrees and sunny there, we had a convo about how much the climate has changed; when I lived there the summer temps averaged in the high teens, but now it’s common to get temps in the high 20s. It absolutely boggles my mind! Normally I would have said that if you run hot (as I do) Newfoundland would be just the place for you, but as you say, the times sure are changing!!

      • I live in southeastern Idaho, which is in the Rocky Mountains, and is desert climate. It is sunny here about 300 days a year. I love and cherish cloudy, rainy and cool days. I think I have reverse SAD. I get more depressed in the spring and summer months. So I can relate.

    • Love that you use clothing too! I think it’s funny how it’s come full circle. I’m telling you, bonnets are going to make a comeback. But they’ll be $150 from boutique websites;)

  3. Hey Charlotte. I’m super pale and leave at the beach, so here’s my best advice.
    A-technically there IS a difference with sunscreens over SPF 30. It’s just that *most* people won’t notice it. For super pale people, it can mean the difference between burning in 15 minutes and burning in 30-45 minutes. And when you’re outside all day, or trying to get kids to reapply, that’s a by difference.
    B- copper tone sensitive skin sunscreen. It has a few chemical ingredients but its main one is zinc oxide (and while it’s thick, it does rub in-it’s not like the old school stuff that sits on your nose). Things that are just the chemical stuff without zinc oxide don’t work for me (I’ve burned in 20 minutes wearing 100+) but the copper tone stuff works great. There are also a couple department store brands that sell sunscreens with zinc oxide but at a much higher price.
    C-get a big floppy southern bell hat. They’re fun and cute and shade your face and shoulders.
    D-don’t obsess. I live here at a southern vacation beach, I’m super pale and had more than 6 serious sunburns per summer as a kid. I don’t wear sunscreen every day. If I’m going to work, I don’t worry about the little bit I get going to the car and walking into the building, etc. I only put it on when I’m really going out for awhile. And I’m not a dermatologist, but I don’t stress about feckles (mostly cause I will get those no matter what. Including areas that have literally never seen sunlight…) it’s the burns I try to avoid, and that I thought really caused the damage. And even I (the palest person I know) have never gotten burned just walking to the house from the car. (And I managed to get sunburned sitting outside in the moonlight once. Not kidding).

    These may not all work for you, but they work for me, so maybe they’re worth a shot? Some sunscreens just don’t work for some people, so maybe it’s worth trying different kinds and finding one that DOES work for you.

    • Ps-maybe wear the sunscreen when you need it and it every minute of every day, so there’s a happy medium between the chemicals in it and the sun exposure risk itself?

    • First, thank you for explaining A! And I love tips B-D. Especially D. I really need to stop obsessing. And thanks for the props about freckles – they’re certainly not going away so might as well love them!

  4. I use the RIT wash in sunscreen for clothing and the most natural ‘screen I can find.
    and then obsess
    a little
    about chemicals for the child.
    Im over fretting about me 🙂

    • I had no idea such a thing even existed!! Thank you! And true, I do worry much more about my babies’ tender pink skin;)

  5. Who has 11 bottles of sunscreen? *raises hand*

    When hubby and I went on vacation (beach) we had a small backpack (the drawstring style) JUST for our sunscreen. We hosed ourselves down with it multiple times every day. The irony (of us using aerosol sunscreen to protect us from the sun wasn’t lost on us–we are the cause of ozone depletion!!) of our sun screen use was not lost on us.

    And know what? We still got burned a bit. Nothing major but still crispy spots on each of us (my poor hubby is notorious for getting weird burns, like stripes or spots).

    I also wear a sun hat (even in the pool) and cover my body with a towel when I’m not in the water.

    Moral of this too long tale? Do your best and forget the rest.

  6. I spend about half of the year at the equator at an elevation higher than Denver (I have literally been sunburned through a t-shirt there), and the rest of the year in the US at an elevation even higher than that…oh yeah and I’m a blonde with blue eyes and pale skin, so sunscreen and sunglasses are my religion. In my line of work I see a lot of people who have spent their lives working outdoors, and the condition of their skin basically makes me think “bring me those chemicals, ASAP!”.

    I do think there is pretty solid evidence that anything above SPF 50 is just a marketing gimmick, though. And I always buy the “baby” formula of any brand, because that tends to have way, way less chemicals than some of the adult formulas.

    I’m stringent about keeping sunscreen on my face and neck (I set my watch alarm to re-apply every 2 hours if I’m going to be outside), but I am really bad about doing my arms and legs. I have one of the world’s starkest and most embarrassing farmer’s tans.

    Anywho, I guess my vote is to go for the chemicals, but to be very cautious (as I’m sure you are) about what formulas you use. Also don’t forget sunglasses! Being exposed to UV is asking for damage to your eyes and developing cataracts later in life.

    • Great tip about the “baby” formula! I will totally use that! And thanks for the reminder about sunglasses. I always wear mine in the car and around but I need to get some wrap-around types for running in now…

  7. Coconut oil. I use it on my face and body as an after shower moisturizer daily and even living in Florida on a mini farm. I never burn. Works for me and keeps my skin soft too!

  8. Never use sunscreen. If I’m out in the sun for a prolonged period of time, I carry an umbrella.

  9. I’m allergic to chemical sunscreens so have alternates between skipping it all together or using good old zinc oxide. Whether or not baby options have fewer chemicals, or whether it just won’t kill me if I eat it (not that I do…) I usually reach for it.

  10. I’m allergic to chemical sunscreens so have alternated between skipping it all together or using good old zinc oxide. Whether or not baby options have fewer chemicals, or whether it just won’t kill me if I eat it (not that I do…) I usually reach for it.

  11. My mom is a redhead with extremely pale skin. I got her skin. I literally never get tan, only burn ed. We tend to stick with baby sunscreen, too, though I find it is often harder to spread. Maybe this is comforting, maybe not, but I think there are probably a lot of carcinogens we don’t even know about. We can only do our best with the information we have, and it certainly sounds like you are doing that 🙂

  12. A friend of mine works on a palliative care ward in a major hospital. Once in his unit he went through a multiple months long period where everyone there was under the age of 30 and dying from some form of skin cancer. It was horrific for him (clearly). His experience really brought the lesson home about the importance of sun protection. The best protection in my eyes is avoidance, so I tend to try to not be outside between 11 and 3 or so and if I am, I gravitate towards shady protected areas.

  13. i am obsessed with sunscreen. and i put it on obsessively.

    my practice of sunscreen usage has stuck from my high school days as a life guard and only last weekend did i realize that my love of using only 60+ baby sunscreen on my face was worth it. without my baby sunscreen, i borrowed a friend’s and got a chemical burn on my face and neck from using a brand that i generally trust to put anywhere else on my body.

    so, there’s something to be said about checking the ingredients!

  14. I definitely use sunscreen, everyday. I use Alba Botanica very emollient sunscreen, a Zinc Oxide sunscreen, that gets a good score on EWG’s list and I think it rubs in pretty easily. (http://www.ewg.org/2013sunscreen/about-the-sunscreens/499916/Alba_Botanica_Natural_Very_Emollient_Mineral_Sunscreen,_Fragrance_Free,_SPF_30/)

    You also might want to check out the site: NoMoreDirtyLooks, it’s a all natural beauty website and they’ve posted a lot on chemical free sunscreens. http://nomoredirtylooks.com/tag/sunscreen/

  15. I definitely go the Hermit/Vampire route. I have been called both on numerous occassions. When I was a kid I thought a tan was a wonderful thing, but growing up in Newfoundland we got so little sunshine that it was hard work to get one. I live on the mainland now and living here has made me develop an intense aversion to the sun (mostly because I hate being hot and this is one of the hottest places in the country) and I’ll stay indoors for days at a time in the summer if I don’t have to leave for work or the grocery (which I do after 7-8pm normally). If I have to venture out I cover up with clothing. I don’t even own shorts or capris. When people see me they say…God, you need to get some sun! I always respond with a curt “Forget that!”. What annoys me is that 99% of them are not addressing the legitimate issue that I do not get enough sun to get proper vitamin D, they are only concerned that paleness is not considered fashionable and that I should have a proper sexy, stylish tan. I’m pale as a vampire and perfectly fine with that. I dated an Iraqi fellow once, and when he went back home for a visit he told me he was catching up with friends and they asked him, “Do you have a girlfriend there? Is she white?”, to which he replied solemnly, “She’s the whitest person I know.” I always think of that and laugh when someone criticises me for being so deathly pale. 🙂

    ps: Yes, you ARE insane. But don’t worry that the 11 bottles of sunscreen gave you away, those of us who have been faithfully reading your blog caught on to that fact years ago. For me, the exact moment was when you wrote about how you had to sneak downstairs to empty the dishwasher and re-load it because your husband had done it initially and you were unable to sleep for obsessing over it having been done “wrong”. My reaction to that was: “Oh. Geez. Wow. MAN…this chick has got SERIOUS issues!” Ever since then, whenever you write “Am I crazy?” (which you do often), I always think, “Yes dear, you are…but we all love you anyway!!” I’m a firm believer that sanity can be vastly over-rated 😉 <3

    • So I just re-did the dishwasher tonight. True story. And you’re right, I got WAY more crazy than just sunscreen;)

      And this: “What annoys me is that 99% of them are not addressing the legitimate issue that I do not get enough sun to get proper vitamin D, they are only concerned that paleness is not considered fashionable and that I should have a proper sexy, stylish tan. ” is so so true. I get that a lot too. When I tell people I don’t tan, they always tell me I can get a spray tan. I should just start saying that I don’t want to look tan either!

  16. I’m sorry…I stopped reading attentively and you lost me at the sentence about prairie dogs being a protected species there.
    Awha? Seriously?
    They’re rampant here. Cute little guys but they’re seriously overrunning the place…We had one in the university yesterday hopping down the staircase to the lab building… 🙂

    • There are several different species of prairie dog in North America, actually (White-tailed, Black-tailed, Gunnison’s, Utah, and Mexican), with varying levels of federal protection. One reason they’re protected in the Rockies is that crashes in their populations due to plague nearly resulted in the extinction of the black-footed ferret, which is only now limping its way back to viability in a few small localities.

      Sorry for hijacking; I’m a wildlife biologist and got excited about animal talk.

    • SPF 60 is what I use since I burn when I look at the outside. With 60 I just freckle up a bit…hiking in the Utah desert all day was just fine with 60 on…:)

    • Love that A jumped in! I had no idea there were so many different kinds! And the image of a prairie dog hopping down a staircase… laughing so hard! I love them. Can’t help it.

  17. Excellent post on sunscreen! A couple of corrections, though:

    1) My cycle of facial chemo-therapy gave me a painful lobster face for weeks, not months, and it was to get rid of precancerous “actinic keratoses,” not actual cancer–which may not make much difference to most people but makes a lot of difference to me since it means I’ve (technically) never had cancer. I like that!

    2) Bonus: the chemo-therapy took so much skin off my face, it was like I’d gotten a skin peel! Everybody thinks I look “younger” now (except for the saggy muscles, belly, etc., etc.).

    3) Dessert nomads? DESSERT nomads?? What, are they the tribes who herd their wandering goats from banana splits to lemon bars? How does one sign up to be a dessert nomad?

    Lotsa love, Dad!

    • A parent who actually reads his daughter’s blog posts and comments? Wow!!!

      I don’t think anyone I know “in real life” reads my blog, least of all family members. But perhaps if I wrote as brilliantly as Charlotte and did as much helpful research I’d have better luck with that. That sounds WAY too hard though.

      And if you find that wandering tribe of dessert nomads let us know, I wanna sign up too!

    • Oh my goodness. I like your dad Charlotte. How fun to have him clarify and join in. I can see were you got your wit.

    • Hahah I love you too Dad! Both for taking the time to read my stuff (that means a lot to me) and for the corrections. Sorry I was confused about your (non) skin cancer. And… I have no excuse for “dessert nomad” #hangshead It’s even worse because I’m the daughter of a professor… with an English degree.

  18. I had this whole amazingly witty comment but then my computer wigged out and it didn’t get posted. Just know it was terribly insightful and amazingly hilarious. (Since it was deleted you’ll never know if I’m telling the truth!)

    My husband is covered in moles too and I’ve had a few bad sunburns as a kid. I get checked out by a dermatologist every year or so just to be sure.

    • Oh I totally believe you! I’ve had my fair share of awesome, long, witty comments sucked into the Internet ether. That sucks. Thank you for trying again anyhow! And I’m glad I’m not the only one married to a mole factory. I worry about him!

  19. I’m on my phone reading this while at the pool between swim lessons. In my swim bag I have one bottle of 100+ and 2 spray bottles of 50. In my linen closet at home I have at least five full bottles. But we are outdoorsy in Texas with red headed babes. I have my kids trained to put on moisturizer with SPF 15 after they wash their faces in the mornings and then we reapply with regular sunscreen depending on the activity.

    But I secretly still love the look of tans. And I like my freckles. I’m just afraid of skin cancer and wrinkles and think spray tans look, well, fake. I tell my little girl we need to protect her beautiful skin, but the truth is she had a light tan even with my diligence. Her big brother is a mess of freckles. I think it’s adorable, but also have guilt about it.

  20. This is a very interesting way to look at the issue! I have recently gotten a pretty bad sunburn, to the point where my thighs were swollen and ached from all of the pressure. Yeah, ouch! Before this sunburn, I lived by a no sunscreen policy and soaked up the sun’s natural rays. However, after this specific burn, I am rethinking my policy because of all of the cancer findings in younger people. I am currently 22 and I cannot imagine finding out I have cancer…It feels like I haven’t even started my life yet! My new thought is too much of something is rarely good for you. With this in mind, I am going to research more on the most effective and beneficial sunscreen and apply it before spending lengthy amounts of time outside. This way, I will be helping to ensure I do not burn my skin as well as still absorbing the essential vitamin D from the sun.

    • OUCH. I’ve had a few really bad burns like that. It feels horrible. Hope you are feeling better now! And yeah, you are so young – stay away from cancer!! 😉

  21. First of all, CHARLOTTE, YOUR DAD ROCKS!!!!!!!!!

    I drive myself crazy with The Great Sunscreen Debate in my head. A glass of milk has more color than I do, so I tend to slather on the sunscreen. At least in the summer. I try to go for the brands with fewer chemicals. When I take the kids to the pool, we usually go either in the morning or late afternoon and I try to find a shady spot. (However, being as they’re half Filipino, they NEVER burn. Thankfully.)
    I lost my dad to melanoma, and it was horrible. But then, any kind of cancer is equally awful, whether caused by sun exposure or chemical exposure.

    • I remember reading your sweet, touching posts about your dad and his passing. My heart aches for your loss! Dads are wonderful:)

  22. Living in Phoenix, it’s almost always sunny, and most of the year it is nice enough for me to be outside doing the things I love to do. But it’s also HOT and wearing little clothing has a lot of appeal.

    What I do is wear an SPF30 natural zinc/titamium formula on my face every single day, and I’ve been doing this for 20 years. Even if these are a bit whiter and harder to put on, I just use SPF15 mineral makeup powder over to cover.

    If I’m going to be outside, I use SPF30 Blue Lizard brand, which is a mix of chemical and physical sunscreens. I know it works well, better than any other brand I’ve tried. Spreading out the risk between the two types seems to make more sense to me too – usually the issue is that toxicity builds up over time. Don’t know how much science there is behind my rationale, but since there’s so much conflicting evidence it seems as plausible as anything else.

    My eyes are sensitive to light anyway, so sunglasses are a must. I hated the ‘big sunglasses’ trend but eventually came to see that I could be stylish and protected. I wear a hat when I’m going to be in the sun for any length of time, as in addition to protecting my skin it protects my eyes as well. Also it protects my face, and I’d have to admit that I’m probably almost as afraid of wrinkles as I am of cancer.

    I have only recently embraced the SPF clothing idea. I have a lightweight button-down that I use as an overshirt, that seems to work well and be relatively cool. I try to wear shirts with at least short sleeves to protect my shoulders, as they are very exposed, but usually this is just a normal shirt, which seems to work well enough. I don’t worry about my legs, as they are mostly vertical and sunscreen seems adequate.

    There are lots of opinions and lots of conflicting information, and the best you can do is try to do your best, and IMO something is better than nothing.

    The ‘sun is natural’ argument doesn’t work with me. If you look at populations that are from sunny areas, they have a lot of natural skin pigment. If I were a Native American whose skin developed in this area, I might feel differently. My skin is perfectly adapted to the conditions of northern Europe to vacuum up as much sun as possible whenever it’s rarely available, and that just doesn’t work the same way in Arizona.

    • This: “My skin is perfectly adapted to the conditions of northern Europe to vacuum up as much sun as possible whenever it’s rarely available,” Yep. Me too! And thanks for the Blue Lizard rec, I’ll totally check it out!

  23. Now that is something I am usually pretty knowledgeable about… sun protection. As a kid, my mom would always slap oil on me to ensure I “tan”. I did a little (tan) sometimes after burning, sometimes not. but decided enough is enough about 21 years ago. I’m just glad I don’t show too much opremature aging due to this (thankfully I grew up north fo the 50th parallel, so our summers were short and I was like Charlotte, always cold…)

    Tanning is not good (from CDC website: A tan does not indicate good health. A tan is a response to injury, because skin cells signal that they have been hurt by UV rays by producing more pigment.). Tan = cell damage 🙁
    Cloud/fog cover doesn’t mean you are safe, uv rays can still get through and cause damage.
    So abstinence would be best, but definitely hard to avoid, unless you live at night…

    I put on “physical” sunscreen when I can, unless not available, but if I am outside, I hae to put sunscreen on otherwise I feel like I am a piece of meat cooking in the sun (I don’t like the feel of direct sun on me). Living in southern california makes it harder, espeically with kids. no matter how much/often I put sunscreen on, they play and it rubs off, I don’t know, but they get some color, and it makes me sad that they damage their little pristine skin. But keeping them inddor, not an option, they need the outdoors, so I have no solution other than putting long sleeves/pants when I can (but they get overheated 🙁 ).

    I am with you with aging gracefully, but not prematurely if I can help it! Besides, I actually look old when I :”accidently” tan LOL

    • Excellent tips all of them! And so interesting about how a tan makes you look older. I think so too but so many people feel like it makes them look slimmer, camoflauges cellulite etc.

  24. I use a face moisturizer daily with SPF15 (though an article I read recently recommended never leaving the house without SPF 30 at least, that seems a little obsessive). On a daily basis I’m just doing things like walking from the car to the house/gym/work so I don’t wear any other sunscreen. I work in a lab so I’m certainly not getting any sun there.

    If I’m going to be outside for any length of time (say 15 minutes or more) I use SPF 100. I just recently wore it on my wedding day to take pictures outside! Say what you will about the higher SPF’s but I’m so pale I’m pretty much translucent. I find that with SPF 50 practically as soon as I’m done applying I have to start all over again since the parts that I started with are already burning. SPF 100 I get 20 minutes! And I do a lot of sun avoidance too. Doesn’t hurt that both me and my husband hate the beach (ewwww, sand!) but we do a lot of hiking and those things so I have to be careful then.

    Skin cancer runs in my family too and I’ve had some bad burns in my life so I don’t mess around with sun exposure. But I just checked and my sunscreen does have oxybenzone so hmmm. Do you know of a good dry touch sunscreen that doesn’t? I hate hate hate the greasy sunscreen feeling that I remember from when I was kid. Have you read the actual research about oxybenzone? As a scientist I’m always dubious of media coverage of scientific discoveries.

    • And I saw your wedding pics and you looked GORGEOUS!!! And good point about the hype about oxybenzone – no, I didn’t read the actual research. I’m highly susceptible to regurgitated science:)

      • Aw, thanks! 🙂 I was pretty happy with the pictures, I don’t think I ever thanked you for your sweet comments but yeah, thank you. We got them all back from the photographer (the couple I sent were just the preview!) and man, I look so freaking happy! Glad you liked them!

        I’d totally be interested to see the study about oxybenzone. A friend of mine recently had her first first-authorship paper published. It was related to sleep and she was horrified when the mainstream media picked it up. They took correlation for causation and ran with it!

  25. (Sorry if this posts twice!) I’ve read so much lately, both pro and con sunscreen. Someone actually wrote an entire article about how they’ll never use sunscreen again because skin cancer diagnoses are up even though people are using more sunscreen…except correlation is not causation. I’m willing to bet that people aren’t using sunscreen properly (i.e. reapplying) or they’re not thinking about the fact that tanning booths are increasingly popular. (I also read something about not using aerosol sunscreen because you lose more into the wind, but that’s neither here nor there.)

    I just make sure I have some on my face every day, and I put it on my entire body when I’m going to be outside for more than 20 – 30 minutes. Mostly, though? I sun-avoid. I stay in the shade, I don’t go tanning (OMG, the teenagers tanning at my gym! I just…but I’m super-crazy-anti-cancer), and I avoid the sun during peak hours. Sure, I’m not completely bronze, but I’ll trade that for keeping my skin looking less leathery later on. (I’m mostly Italian, too, so I’m not that pale.)

  26. I need to be better about this. I live in the sun in the early mornings, and suffered a pretty decent burn at my last race (7 hours in the sun + spotty sunscreening at transitions = bad bad bad). I try to sunscreen if I’m going to be outside for more than an hour (since I’m out in the morning, it’s usually shadier on my run and less direct), but I’m at the point where I don’t really burn, so it’s hard to remember because there are no consequences.

  27. I despise sunscreens both in the chemical-ness of them as well as the smell/feeling. As an extremely pale redheaded girl though, I burn quite easily.

    I just choose to limit my sun exposure. I do try to get some time in the sun. Not enough to get a full burn, but just to make my vitamin D. I have read that more serious cancers(pancreatic, colon, ect) may actually be directly linked to insufficient vitamin D, so I try to find balance between sun exposure and sun burn.

  28. I tend to tan deeply, not burn very often. Being up here in Canada we tend to go a little nuts when there’s both sunlight and heat; we spend loads of time outside walking, biking, camping, fishing, even lounging in patio restaurants for hours.

    My solution to prevent over-exposure without all the chemical build-up? I make my own ‘screen with coconut oil, Shea butter and zinc oxide. Yes, it does take a while to sink in, and I end up a little sparkly, but I only bother with it if I’ll be out for more than an hour at a go. Otherwise, I go bare-skinned and keep a light jacket handy if I start feeling too exposed.

  29. Charlotte, I think you need to chill a bit when you read things like “can lead to hormone disruption and potentially to cell damage that may lead to skin cancer.” What that actually is, is a great big MAYBE, POSSIBLY, but HASN’T BEEN PROVEN! Look at the words: “can lead” not does lead, “potentially” not will, “may lead” not causes. This is a scare tactic promulgated by media and advertisers to cause exactly the anxiety you manifest.

    The benefits of sunscreen and sunblock most definitely outweigh the risks of unproven, blind assertions of carcinogens in the blocks themselves.

  30. I get vit D deficient very easily (as most people of color) so I try to get some unprotected exposure daily and the only sunscreen I put on daily is that which is in my facial moisturizer (spf 15 or 30, I think). If we’re going to be in the sun for more than 30-45min, I put some on my shoulders, chest/neck and arms, and often throw a hat on too. I’ve got an abundance of freckles on my forearms and cheeks/nose, but I like them!

  31. Ya never know what to do because every 5 years they tell you that what they told you is wrong! 😉

    Having grown up in a time when baby oil was the thing, I know I have a greater chance of getting skin cancer even with protection now.. I wear sunscreen for now… I really don’t know what to believe anymore….

  32. the hubby and I spend a lot of time outside, so yeah, we own sunscreen. we had probably close to 15 bottles … but then we checked the dates on everything and threw half of it out. if I had to guess, we probably have about 10 now. and you know we also live in Colorado!

    my dad grew up in Tucson and was in the sun all the time … and as he turned 50 (maybe a year or two earlier), he started finding cancerous spots all over. he’s had chunks chopped out of his skin and had to have his earlobe essentially reconstructed. my mom’s actually allergic to the sun and can’t really be out in it.

    basically, I love the fact that my state’s sunny and happy (though a bit more rain might be nice …), but I don’t like frying or being sunburnt. therefore, I will stick to my sunscreen.

  33. I use a combination: staying out of the sun and homemade sunscreen.

    This is Texas, so walking through the parking lot into the grocery store and back is about all I need for vitamin D! I live on a farm, so walking to the pasture and back is plenty of sunshine.

    For sunscreen, I mix Burt’s Bees natural baby diaper rash ointment with warm coconut oil in a squirt bottle. It has zinc oxide in it for a decent spf, but since I don’t buy it as a nano particle powder it means I don’t have to work with it (wearing a mask), and don’t fret about it getting through my skin. I only use it when I know I won’t be able to stay out of the sun. I only put it on my kids’ faces and arms for the same reason. There is also NO EVIDENCE wearing sunscreen prevents skin cancer: it only prevents sunburn. Similar reasoning since sunburns seem to cause cancer, but again sun lotions have never been shown to reduce skin cancer directly.

    We eat a lot of fat and omega 3 in particular, which not only clears up the skin but makes it pretty and glowing and better able to manufacture its own sunscreen. I use sunflower or coconut oil as lotions, which helps the same way with a touch of SPF.

    Hats, long sleeved rash guards and board shorts for swimming, shade, etc. Once the skin begins to tingle, there is no more vitamin D being made: it is the signal you are done for the time being and to get out of the sun. Then with a bit of tan the next time it takes a bit longer for the sun to get through the darker skin. So I don’t think sunscreen and staying out is helping my D production.

    Here is an enlightening article on the zinc nano issue you referred to
    http://www.badgerbalm.com/s-33-zinc-oxide-sunscreen-nanoparticles.aspx

    I’m not a fan of “all natural” either. Lead is natural. Asbestos is natural. So are disasters.

  34. “Noted Hollywood hippy Gwyneth Paltrow recently explained her no-sunscreen policy in an interview, saying, “I don’t think anything that is natural can be bad for you. I try to get at least 15 minutes of sun a day.””
    Guess she considers arsenic, botulinum toxin, lead and dart frog venom to be healthful palate cleansers as long as you take them in moderation.

    As for the relative risks, the link between sunscreen use and cancer is far from certain while the link between sun exposure and malignant melanoma is well established. I know which poison I’m picking (and, clearly, you have too). I just don’t agonize over it :>)

  35. I tend to forget it exists for the most part, unless I’m really going to be OUT in the actual sun sun for a while. I don’t typically turn to burn much or tan and I’m a shade seeking creature. I’d rather look at sunny scenes from under a tree. When I’m most likely truly out in it, I’m also at medieval re-enactment events, and wearing long sleeves and stuff, and I have the most magnificently large sun cat that keeps the sun off my head face and part of my shoulders too.

  36. I use sunscreen 50 on my face, hands, and sometimes legs, and use sunblock clothing (shirts and hats).

    So far so good.

  37. I’m confused. If sunscreen causes skin cancer too, how do we know the rate increase is because of the sun and not because of the huge nation-wide push toward more sunscreen?

  38. I use sunscreen, but I make sure it has a high safety rating from EWG. I typically use Burt’s Bee’s Baby Bee Sunscreen Stick on my face on then something from Kiss My Face or California Baby on my body. I also always wear a nice floppy hat and sunglasses at the beach.

    EWG has a top sunscreens guide this year if you are interested: http://www.ewg.org/2013sunscreen/best-sunscreens/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/

  39. Charlotte! Thanks so much for this post. It’s amazing, I didn’t know that sunscreen even had carcinogens in it! Crazy! Thanks for the helpful list of alternatives. I think my natural inclination is to be a hermit anyway:-), but I should probably get out ever once in a while. Thanks again!

  40. I readily admit that I haven’t research this but I always thought that the point of sunscreen wasn’t to keep you from getting a tan (or freckles as in your case) but prevent you from turning into a giant red lobster, that is, from getting burned. The SPF number is an indication of how much longer you can be in the sun without getting burned, not an indication of how long you can be out without tanning.

    Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that you probably don’t need to see your freckles as a sign that you’re failing to protect your skin. In fact, freckles and a tan is the body’s way to create it’s own protection from burning, sunscreen is just helping it doing that in a way that’s safer. Like training wheels on a bike! Except for your skin. Uhm. Yeah. I’ll be over here, working on my metaphors.