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Heyeveryone, Regina Barbara here inFramaria,Sagarra.
I'm a host over at NPR Science Podcastshortwave, but I'm here today to help you stay protected from the sun by telling you what you need to know aboutsunscreen.
There has been a lot of misinformation on sunscreenrecently.
I've seen videos on TikTok saying that sunscreen is harmful orunnecessary, and a lot of people are believingthese, especially youngpeople.
One survey from the Orlando Health Cancer Institute found that about one in seven American adults under the age of35, believe that daily sunscreen use is actually worse than direct sunexposure.
And another survey from the American Academy of Dermatology found that almost40% of Gen Z adults believe tanning is safe as long as you don'tburn.
By theway, neither of those statements aretrue, and doctors are concerned about the spread of misinformation likethat, since skin cancer is on the rise for youngpeople.
In this episode fromshortwave, we level up our sunscreengame.
Health correspondent Alzen Arbery debunks some sunscreenmyths, and she shares the six common mistakes people make when it comes to choosing a sunscreen and aclimate.
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Hey, ShoreWavors, Regina Barber here with NPR Sciencecorrespondent, AlisonAubrey.
Hey,Alison.Hey,Regina, great to behere.
So, we're well into one of my favoriteseasons,Summer.
And in my part of the world in the PacificNorthwest, it's a goodbye to clouds andrain.
And now there's more peopleoutside,hiking, biking in thesun.
It'swonderful. It'sfun,right?
It's sonice. And when we're in the summer and we're seeing thesun, that means it's time to revisit a topic we do a lot when the weather getswarmer.
The Science behindsunscreen, and the best way to protect our skin from thatsun.
Yeah, this one never getsold,Regina.
I kind of feel it's some of the most important information to get out there is how to apply sunscreen for maximumprotection.
Andyet,yet, it turns out that a lot of people are still doing itwrong, makingmistakes.
That's notgood. Because the dangers of not protecting yourself from the sun areserious.
It helps us protect against skincancer,right?
That's exactlyright. And everyyear, over 80,000 people in the US are diagnosed withmelanoma, more than 8,000 people die from this type ofcancer.
And there's millions of cases of basal cell and squamouscell,carcinoma, diagnosed each yeartoo.
And about90% of these skin cancers are linked to the ultraviolet radiation from thesun.
Ooh, and sunscreen plays a key role in protecting theskin.
But you found out recently that a lot of people are making mistakes when they useit.
Imean, I hope I'mnot, butI, but Iam.
Yeah, youknow, people seem to put a lot of thought into what type of sunscreen theybuy, how high they want the SPF tobe, whether they wantspray,lotion,chemical,mineral, but it turns out which sunscreen you choose may not be nearly as important as avoiding six very common mistakes that people make when it comes to applyingsunscreen.
Okay, so today on theshow, we're going to hear about six common mistakes and how to avoidthem.
Plus, we get into which sunscreens may be better thanothers.
You're listening to shortwave fromNPR.
Okay,Allison, sunscreen mistake numberone, what isit?
Using oldsunscreen. I've done itmyself.
How aboutyou?Yes. Youknow, a couple of weeksago, I was rummaging through my last season's pool bag and I found a few bottles of half usedsunscreen.
I'dfigure,okay, let's just usethis.
Imean, whynot? You paid ten bucks forit.
But then I spoke to EdaArango.
She's a dermatologist at Baylor College ofMedicine.
She persuaded me to toss itout.
I always tell people that you need to look at the expiration date and get rid ofthem.
And even if they haven'texpired, my kind of mantra is every spring by all new sunscreen for myhousehold.
Wow. She says the active ingredients can degrade and she says bacteria can get into the creamstoo.
So several dermatologists told me that eachseason, they throw out the old bynew.
It may seemwasteful, but the cost of not protecting your skin properly is muchhigher.
Okay, so let's talk about the active ingredients abit.
What arethey? Youknow, there's a whole list of compounds that the FDA calls acceptable active ingredients forsunscreen.
These include chemicals likeoxybenzone,avobenzone.
You can go to the FDA website to get a completelist.
And these are chemical sunscreens that form a kind of thin protective film on the skin that absorbs UVradiation.
If you're using one of thesesunscreens, you need to make sure it's marked broad spectrum because there's actually two types of UV radiation that you need to protect yourself from UVA andUVB.
And a broad spectrum chemical sunscreen will protect you againstboth.
And most products these days are broadspectrum.
But there's also some concern that chemicals in this sunscreen might beharmful,right?
That'sright. And I would say there's some uncertainty about the safety of thesechemicals, or at least some ofthem, recent studies have shown some of these compounds are absorbed into thebloodstream.
But the impact of absorption isn't really wellunderstood.
The FDA has been conducting a safety review and has asked industry for moredata.
Fornow, the FDA has said that there's inadequate data to support a safety finding for some of the chemicals that are common in sunscreen likeoxybenzone.
Now, there's no evidence ofharm.
So there's no kind of definitive answer onthat.
And most dermatologists say the risks from a sunburn far outweigh on the potential risk of sunscreenchemicals.
But is there analternative?
Youknow, if you are concerned about these chemicals insunscreen, there arealternatives.
You can choose a what they call physicalsunscreen, or also referred to as mineralsunscreen.
These are typically made from zinc oxide and titaniumdioxide.
They stay on the surface of the skin and physically block thesun.
That's why you kind of see that lifeguard effect of the white glaze on someone'sface.
I spoke toDr. TollaOyesania.
She's a dermatologist at Kaiser Permanente in the Baltimorearea.
And she recommends this type of sunscreen to lots of herpatients.
I think that zinc oxide and titanium dioxide aremuch, much safer than chemicalsunscreen.
Because they're soinert, they're less likely to answer thebloodstream.
She also says they're better for people with sensitiveskin.
They might not lead to breakout.
Youknow, older versions of these mineral sunscreens went on as kind of that thick whitepaste, which some people don'tlike.
Now there are some colorfulversions, a brightpink.
And there's also a lot more zinc oxide products available now that go on muchclearer.
And a good reason for choosing these mineralsunscreens, especially if you're going to theocean, is that the National Oseanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA says sunscreens without chemicals are better for coral reefs and marinelife.
Okay,Allison. So what's another mistake peoplemake?
Not applyingenough. Do you know how much she reallyneed?
I reallydon't. I apply some to my face every day and I hope it'senough.
Okay.Well, youknow, a lot of people spend time worrying about theSPF, but a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 will block out93% of the UVrays.
And when you bump it up to SPF30, you're blocking out about97%.
SoDr. Oyasanya says the sunscreens with the highest sun protectionfactor, like the 80s or the hundreds aren't necessarilybetter.
SPF 30 issufficient. And that's because SPF 30 is going to filter97% of the UV rays that are coming through from thesun.
And as we go up inSPF, SPF50, SPF75, SPF100, you're really getting a minusculeincrease.
She basically tells herpatients,look, focus less on the SPF and more on the amount ofsunscreen.
Here'sDr. Ida Arangoagain, the dermatologist from BaylorUniversity.
She says the recommended amount is about an ounce and a half of liquidsunscreen.
We always say it's like a shot glass full of sunscreen is for the wholebody.
And then about a teaspoon for theface.
Oh mygosh, I actually do do this in themorning,Alison, I feel sogood.
And do you do the shot glass for thebody?
I donot. I think that's a lot of people falldown.
And when it comes to spraysunscreens, another little thing that can trip people up is that it can be tricky to gauge theamount.
Right. I think that spray sunscreens are a bit risky because of the spray is easy to miss a whole area of yourbody.
Yeah. So shesays, make sure that all the parts of your body that you need to be covered feel wet after youspray.
And that brings us to a thirdmistake.
Oh, what isthat? Assuming that one application of sunscreen will last you allday.
Many people think that a higher SPF lastslonger, but that's just nottrue.
So I spoke toDr. JenniferHolman, she's a fellow at the American Academy ofDermatology.
She says sunscreens just don't last verylong, especially when people sweat andswim.
If you're exposed to thewater, even withsunscreen, labeled as waterresistant, you're really only getting about 80 to 90 minutes ofprotection.
So she says she really just need to remember to reapply sunscreen every couple ofhours, even on cloudydays.
I always forgetthat.Always.
Yeah. Imean, Dermatologist told me that they see some of the worst sunburns linked to overcast days because people just assume they don't needit.
You're still getting about80% of the UV rays filtered through those clouds on a cloudyday.
So you absolutely canstill, youknow, experience damage from UV radiation on a cloudyday.
So that's another common mistake peoplemake.
If it'scloudy, they just don't think they needit.
And we're talking abouteveryone,right?
Like all humans are at risk of skin cancer from sundamage.
That'sright. Imean, sunscreen protection is recommended for allgroups.
Imean, with the exception of babies under sixmonths, and that's because infants are more susceptible to rashes fromsunscreen.
They're also much more likely to get asunburn.
So the FDAsays, forinfants, the best thing is just to keep them out of the sunentirely, especially during the hours of 10 to 22 when the sun is strongest or when they are outside to have on lots of protectiveclothing.
So, youknow, longsleeves, ahat, keep them in theshade.
For everyoneelse, it doesn't matter how dark or how light your skinis.
Everyone should protect themselves from the sun'sradiation.
Dermatologists say fair skinned people are at higher risk of burns andmelanoma, but people with dark skin are vulnerable to damage from the suntoo.
Imean, I've cut skin cancers also with every skin type that I can think of because that risk is stillthere.
AndDr. Oyasanya told me that she advises people with darker skin who've had a lot of sun exposure to be careful to check theirpalms, thesoles, theirfeet, their nails inside their mouth because these are all the areas that people can develop skin cancer because there's less melanin in thoseareas.
It's a littlealarming, butokay, I think we have one more common mistake tocover,right?
Yeah, and this goes to where you store yoursunscreen.
It should be somewhere that is cool anddry.
Dr. Oyasanyasays, do not keep it in the glove compartment of yourcar.
Ohno,no. Iknow, it's hard because things need to beconvenient, but you're sort of treating the convenience of keeping it in the carwith,uh-oh, what if these chemicals start todegrade?
Now, it's not going to happen overnight if you're going on a week-long camping trip orsomething.
Probably find it just leave it in thecar, but as a rule ofthumb, you want to keep the sunscreen in acool, dryplace.
The sunscreen is actually being degraded byheat, and so the components of the sunscreen that are supposed to protect you are getting broken down slowly overtime.
So one thing you can keep in your car is clothing or hats to shield you from thesuns, like a baseball cap that will protect part of yourface.
Dermatologists say what's better is a three-inch brim hat made with tightly woven material that will give you more protection from the sun's rays andparasols.
Yes, I'mBraillez,perfect.
And inBraillez.Okay,Alison, thank you so much for bringing us this very important information I learned alot.
Let's lather up and enjoy thesummer.
ThanksRegina. This episode was produced by Carly Rubin and edited by Jane Greenhalsh and RebeccaRamirez.
It was fact checked by Alison andJane.
Robert Rodriguez was the audioengineer.
Beth Donovan is our seniordirector.
I'm ReginaBarber. Thanks for listening toshortwave, the science podcast fromNPR.
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See how teachers across the country are taking a holistic approach to maximizing studentpotential.
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By working acrosscommunities, oceans andaisles, the Nature Conservancy is delivering solutions for the planet and building a future where people and naturethrive.
The NatureConservancy, together we find away.
