Can Sunscreen Really Minimize Sun Damage
Recently, studies show that being exposed to the sun for several hours can cause premature aging and skin cancer. Due to its harmful effects to the skin, the sun has definitely gained a bad reputation. As a result, it is advisable to wear sunscreen or sun protection. Nowadays, it is necessary to slather sunscreen on to the body especially when you are going outside or when you are being exposed to the sun for long hours. It is important to use it constantly. In fact, it becomes part of our daily body essentials.
However, are these statements true? Does the sun really cause premature aging and skin cancer? Do the sun’s rays cause damage to the skin? And, is applying sunscreen enough to prevent skin damage?
It is a fact that the skin is the largest organ in our body. Hence, it is important and crucial to take care of it. Studies show that about 60% of what we put onto our skin is easily absorbed into the bloodstream. And, they can be excreted or released through urine. On the other hand, they settle in the adipose or fat cells in the body. However, when they are left to accumulate and expand, they eventually pollute the body. That is why, it is important to know what we put into our skin. It is essential to be aware of the contents or ingredients of the sunscreen that we are putting onto our skin.
Nowadays, there are countless sunscreens available and sold in the market. However, according to the Environmental Working Group or the EWG, there are only about 25% of the 800 sunscreens tested that effective works. This means that there are only 25% of the 800 sunscreens tested that truly protects the skin from the harmful rays of the sun.
What does this mean? And, how can this affect you? This means that not all sunscreens are effective. Although there are marketed to protect the skin as sunscreens, this does not mean that they contain the much needed protection for the skin. In fact, Oxybenzone and Retinyl palmitate, which are potentially harmful ingredients, are found in almost 40-60% sunscreens. These ingredients are even linked or connected to various skin diseases such as skin tumors, skin cancer and even endocrine disruption.
But, the most shocking part of all is that the FDA has not changed or made any actions to alter or modify the labeling and safety guidelines for sunscreen. Since 1978, there were no changes with regard to regulating the ingredients or manufacturing of effective and safe sunscreen. Recently, it is only in Europe and Japan that manufacture and market sunscreen which are made of natural ingredients. But, in US, the FDA won’t approve of using these natural sunscreens.
With all these in mind, it is, thus, essential to read labels before buying and applying sunscreen. We may think that since it is a sunscreen and it is promoted and marketed to protect us from the sun’s rays, then it must be good. But, now that we know of natural sunscreen, we can choose them rather than those chemically manufactured ones.
Stop by Sylvia Salcedo Rojas’s site where you can find out all about natural sunscreen protection and what it can do for you.