Summer is officially here. While many Europeans have been swapping their computers and desk chairs for beachside sun loungers, the longstanding online debate about sunscreen persists.
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Although sunscreen is a beachside essential for skin protection, social media posts claiming it is toxic and dangerous go viral every year.
Claims that “sun cream causes skin cancer”
On X, a post that has been viewed 1.2 million times alleges that melanoma rates “began to skyrocket” after sunscreen was created, claiming that people blame “the sun rather than the toxic chemicals in sunscreen".
There are two main types of skin cancer: non-melanoma skin cancer and melanoma skin cancer. Although melanoma is less common, it is the most serious due to its potential to spread quickly.
The number of melanoma cases may be on the rise across Europe, but this is not the use of sunscreen. "There is no data to show that sunscreen causes skin cancer; that is not true at all," Dr. Angela Tewari, spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation, told Euronews.
“The majority of melanomas are caused by chronic sun exposure and sunburn. People can protect themselves from sunburn by reducing the amount of time they are exposed to the sun, by wearing appropriate clothing, and that includes using appropriate sunscreen," Dr. Tewari added.
Another post, which has been viewed almost 50,000 times on X, shares a graph that displays an alleged correlation between the rising number of skin cancer cases in Connecticut, in the United States and the introduction of sunscreens containing certain ingredients.
A spokesperson for the Connecticut Public Health Office told Euronews that “the graph correctly attributes actual underlying cancer incidence trend data, but the addition of the text boxes to the graph, highlighting when different sunscreens were introduced, was not from us".
A 2023 study published by the charity Melanoma Focus found that half of adults in the United Kingdom think sunscreen is too expensive and that 67% would use it more if it were cheaper. This has led experts to worry that the price of sunscreens could be deterring people from protecting themselves.
Does sunscreen contain dangerous chemicals?
Sunscreens contain several ingredients that act as filters, including natural filters, mineral filters, and chemical filters.
Some online users have claimed that the presence of chemicals such as oxybenzone and octocrylene in sunscreens makes them dangerous to use, alleging that these chemical substances can cause hormonal imbalances.
“These claims are based on data that came out a few years ago which raised concerns that oxybenzone could act as a hormone disruptor" Dr. Tewari told Euronews.
Although certain studies found that rats who were fed oxybenzone experienced hormone disruptions, an article published in 2017 by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that an individual would have to apply sunscreen for 277 years to experience a similar effect.
“Sunscreen has been around since the 1930s, and the filters inside sunscreen have massively changed since. That's based on research and new data coming out. If you look at the big brands today, many are no longer using filters such as oxybenzone," added Dr. Tewari.
Does sunscreen block Vitamin D?
Online, users have also alleged that applying sunscreen prevents the skin from producing Vitamin D.
In a post, which has been viewed 2.4 million times, one user claims that “sunlight increases your body’s production of Vitamin D, which fights cancer. Sunscreen is full of chemicals that cause cancer".
However, Dr. Tewari told Euronews that only a few minutes of sunshine exposure are needed to activate vitamin D production, "the action spectrum for vitamin D synthesis is much lower than the action spectrum of redness and sunburn, meaning that you need a lot less exposure to sunshine to get vitamin D production.”
Apps which scan products can be misleading
In recent years, apps like Yuka that allow consumers to scan products like sunscreen in order to determine whether they contain toxic ingredients have soared in popularity.
“In general, people do not pay enough attention to the concentration of ingredients. As soon as you have a small ingredient that is potentially toxic—even if it is present in minimal concentrations—it has to be thrown away because it is considered harmful by apps like Yuka," explains dermatologist Dr. Jeremy Lupu.