Sitting behind a lighthouse on Key Biscayne, Florida, we waited for the National Park Service ranger to begin the tour.
He asked if we had questions, and we did: about sunscreen.
With peeling legs and reddened cheeks, we assumed we were safe to lay out in the Florida sun for a few extra hours. The ranger informed us we were anything but safe.
IBISWorld, a market research firm, has found sunscreen sales grew by 4.2 percent between 2007 and 2014. If people are using more sunscreen, the number of new melanoma cases should be decreasing. But they’re not.
The National Cancer Institute reported new instances of melanoma, a type of deadly skin cancer, have tripled since the 1970s.
Sunscreen manufacturers should be held accountable for their false advertising claims. People are being led to believe the sunscreen they are purchasing will prevent skin damage from the sun. These claims should be removed from all the bottles to inform consumers about their tanning habit dangers.
The ranger asked what sunscreen we used, and we tossed him a popular brand in an orange tube, advertised as SPF 30 and to prevent any harmful sun radiation.
He laughed and tossed back the bottle.
“This stuff is useless,” he said. He went on to describe the two ways that sunscreens work — either as chemical blockers or physical blockers. According to the Wall Street Journal, chemical blockers use laboratory-constructed carbon compounds that absorb the sun’s harmful rays.
Physical blockers contain either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which are ground down to a fine powder and physically reflect sunlight. The downside to these blockers is the white residue they leave on your skin.
According to a report by the Environmental Working Group, a consumer environmental group that polices governments and companies about product claims, there are popular sunscreens in their Hall of Shame.
There are a few factors that put these brands in the Hall — spray sunscreens that don’t adequately cover skin or have SPF values greater than 50. Values greater than 50 are generally impossible.
These companies claim their products protect your skin 50 times longer than if you had no sunscreen, and it’s usually used as a marketing ploy, Newsmax reported.
Some of the most popular brands in the Hall of Shame include Banana Boat Clear UltraMist, Coppertone Sport High Performance, Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Sunscreen and CVS Sun Lotion Sunscreen. However, there are ways to avoid skin damage later in life.
Craig Burkhart, a professor of dermatology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal he recommends physical sunscreens and reapplying them every two hours.
Some of the best brands can be found in CVS and Target. They include Blue Lizard, Burt’s Bees, Bull Frog and True Natural.
Although people come back from spring break with glowing tans, consider trading the compliments to protect your long-term health.
Your skin will thank you.
wkiepura@indiana.edu
@wkiepura
