What You Don't Know About Your Sunscreen CAN Hurt You
As much as we all love a sunny day on the water, our skin can only handle so much exposure to the big bright circle in the sky. Life-giving sunshine can cause serious damage to our delicate bodies if we're not careful. Overexposure to ultraviolet rays can cause problems as minor as dry skin and sunburn, or as major as skin cancer.
Studies abound with some pretty scary details about the harm that can be caused by too much sun. As a result, an entire industry has sprung up in recent decades promoting products that are supposed to protect us when we venture outdoors.
Many of the common sense ideas do a great job keep us safe. Grab a wide brimmed hat, wear long sleeves or a cover-up, limit your time outside, grab some shade when you can, etc...
For those folks who prefer a tank top and shorts, or, one of mankind's' greatest inventions - the bikini - the market has a solution for you too - sunscreen.
Slap this wonder product on your exposed skin, spread it around, and voila, you are safe from all that UV radiation.
Unfortunately, most sunscreen is brought to you by the major chemical companies who are responsible for creating some of the nastiest toxins out there.
Mounting evidence is showing that your typical, grab-some-on-the-way-to-the-beach sunscreen might be doing as much damage to your body, if not more, than the sun is.
Consider this, according to an article written by Rebecca Sutton for the Environmental Working Group, a "March, 2008 study by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revealed that 97% of Americans are contaminated with a widely-used sunscreen ingredient called oxybenzone that has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage. A companion study published just one day earlier revealed that this chemical is linked to low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Oxybenzone is also a penetration enhancer, a chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin.
Environmental Working Group identified nearly 600 sunscreens sold in the U.S. that contain oxybenzone, including products by Hawaiian Tropic, Coppertone, and Banana Boat (see the full list of 588 sunscreens here) as well as 172 facial moisturizers, 111 lip balms, and 81 different types of lipstick."
In addition to oxybenzone, all sorts of awful stuff can be found in most of the sunscreens you'll find in your grocery store or big-box retailer. Octyl methoxycinnamate, psoralen, p-aminobenzoic acid, ethylhexyl salicylate, menthyl anthranilate, butyl-methyoxydibenzoylmethane, and all sorts of other scary sounding and truly toxic ingredients are common ingredients in this stuff that is supposed to "protect" us.
Considering that most medical research suggests that up to 1/3 of the sunscreen we apply is absorbed through the skin, it is frightening to think what this stuff could be doing to our bodies.
Hormone disruption, allergy problems, reproductive system damage, the creation of free radical reactions, an increased risk of birth defects, cellular damage and DNA disruption are just some of the things that can happen from exposure to this stuff.
To add insult to injury, the US Food and Drug Administration requires hardly any testing from the chemical peddlers who are pushing this stuff!
Just as they have with cleaning products and so many chemical compounds, big business has lobbied successfully to keep consumers in the dark when it comes time to disclose what their products contain and what they might do to our body.
Worst of all, what is it doing to our kids?
Worldwide, the greatest rise in skin cancer has been experienced in countries where chemical sunscreens have been heavily promoted, primarily the United States and Australia. A study several years ago in Queensland Australia, where the medical establishment has aggressively promoted the use of sunscreens for years, revealed more incidences of melanoma per capita than any other place on Earth. Recent research in the USA suggests California is closing the gap.
So what are we to do the next time the sun is shining and the water calls?
For sure, sun protection garments are a great beginning. On a hot summer day though, getting in the water or soaking up a few rays is just part of the deal for most boaters.
In addition to common sense, why not try some non-toxic sunscreen? Like most problems that need solving, Mother Nature has created a host of ingredients that do the job without all the harm. Naturally occurring plant and mineral compounds such as Coconut Oil, Green Tea Extract, Shea Butter, Titanium Oxide, and Zinc Oxide, do a great job of protecting us from the sun without damaging our DNA.
A growing number of non-toxic sunscreens are on the market today. At www.greenboatstuff.com we carry several.
Just like we have advocated with cleaning products, one of the keys to determining if the sunscreen you choose is good or bad is to look at the label. Plant and mineral ingredients are usually safe to consider. Avoid products with ingredient lists that sound too much like a chemistry set.
And of course, use the Internet to check this stuff out on your own. If your reading our blog you're just a Google search away from seeing the evidence for yourself first hand.
After you take care of yourself and your loved ones, please consider the effects toxic sunscreens are having on the environment.
It might sound silly to think that a glob or two of sunscreen could cause significant harm to something as massive as the Ocean, but think again. Anybody who has spent time in Coastal Mexico or the Caribbean in the past few years has probably come across a new policy at many of the most popular swimming and snorkeling spots.
On a recent trip to a beautiful lagoon near Tulum, Mexico, we were forbidden from using any sunscreen other than those specifically labeled "biodegradable." Security guards actually confiscated people's chemical sunscreen, forcing folks to go without or spend big money on a tiny bottle of the good stuff in the gift shop.
I love Mexico, but it is one of the last places I would expect to encounter the long arm of the law over my sunblock. The reason the rules were enforced, though, is simple. This gorgeous swimming hole, which is a big money maker for the locals, is dying.
Years of Coppertone and Banana Boat mixing with sea water have done incredible damage. In addition to the problems caused at the microscopic level by these poisons, the physical characteristics of the chemical sunscreens have taken their toll too. The ingredients in most plant and mineral based sunscreens are broken down and flushed from the aquatic system much easier than the synthetic compounds found in traditional sunscreen. The chemical stuff often lingers in the ecosystem, blanketing plants and animals with a stubborn, slimy film that inhibits growth and disrupts the natural way of things. Sheltered coastal areas that are not regularly swept by the full power of the Sea are especially vulnerable.
On a final note, consider the overall impact that the creation of these chemical compounds has on the Planet as a whole. An industrial complex far removed from the tropics is the likely source of the toxic ingredients found in the average tube of sunscreen. Now picture the manufacturing process itself, with all the toxic byproducts created and somehow disposed of, either properly or just as likely, flushed down a drain.
Once again, mankind's quest for a solution to one problem has led to unintended, yet still serious, consequences for the Earth and it's many inhabitants. So often the challenges we face in dealing with the messes we have made seem overwhelming for the average person. We ask ourselves, "What can one person do, how can I make a difference?"
Next time the sun comes out do something simple that can make a difference. Use your common sense, grab a hat, and replace your toxic sunscreen with the good stuff.
