SUNCARE Q & A

Mineral vs. Chemical

There are mineral sunscreens and there are chemical sunscreens. Mineral sunscreens mean a mineral ingredient (an ingredient that occurs naturally in nature) like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide sits on top of your skin to reflect and scatter the sun's rays. The zinc and titanium provide a physical barrier between your skin and the sun. Chemical sunscreens mean a synthetic chemical ingredient or combination of synthetic chemicals work by absorbing into your skin and absorbing the sun’s UV rays. The chemicals convert the UV rays into heat and at the same time the chemicals breakdown.

So Which is Better?

Well technically that is for you to decide, but we don’t like synthetic chemical ingredients. Or perhaps better said, we prefer a life with as few synthetic chemicals as possible. So we believe in naturally occurring ingredients when they provide equal or superior alternatives to chemicals. We won’t sacrifice quality or efficacy for the sake of being natural but we believe zinc and titanium are actually superior to the chemical UV blocking ingredients found on the market and in most common sunscreens.

The active ingredients (meaning the ingredients that block the UV rays) in chemical sunscreen ingredients penetrate into the skin and have more questionable safety concerns than mineral sunscreen ingredients. There are conflicting studies on chemical sunscreen ingredients. Some will argue they are safe and don’t accumulate in the body. Others studies say they are potential hormone disruptors, that they routinely generate free radicals due to sensitivity to sunlight, and that they have even been found in mother’s breast milk. Both mineral sunscreens and chemicals sunscreens (with the right mix of multiple chemical ingredients) protect the skin from UVA and UVB rays, so we believe in going with the safer choice. These are the names of the most common active ingredients in chemical sunscreens: oxybenzone, octisalate, octinoxate, and avobenzone. We don’t like that they are potentially detrimental to your health. It’s not one application of a product or one bit of exposure to a chemical but a lifetime of increased exposure to chemicals that we think leads to increased rates of cancer and illness.

1. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually. 
2. Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have skin cancer at least once.
3. The incidence of many common cancers is falling, but the incidence of melanoma continues to rise at a rate faster than that of any of the seven most common cancers. Between 1992 and 2004, melanoma incidence increased 45 percent, or 3.1 percent annually.
4. Treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers increased by nearly 77 percent between 1992 and 2006.
5. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer; an estimated 2.8 million are diagnosed annually in the US. BCCs are rarely fatal, but can be highly disfiguring if allowed to grow.
6. Contrary to popular belief, 80 percent of a person's lifetime sun exposure is not acquired before age 18; only about 23 percent of lifetime exposure occurs by age 18.

There is a plethora of statistics out there. All of the above information was taken from the Skin Cancer Foundation’s website. We like their website for information. It is informative and easy to navigate. Go to www.skincancer.org to learn more about skin cancer.

Why Best Practices Matter

Ok, now we know it might seem a little silly to talk about best practices in terms of sunscreen, but a little awareness can make a big difference. The one and done method of applying sunscreen all over and then forgetting about it may be tempting, but it can be damaging. We talked about UVA and UVB rays and different forms of skin damage in the SPF section. Basically, what we are saying is that skin damage comes in more forms than just a sunburn. So even if you don’t feel a burn coming on nor do you get one later you could still be getting some pretty nasty sun damage. Thus, we think it’s helpful to know the best ways to use sunscreen to prevent sunburn as well as the less immediate forms of sun damage like skin cancer, wrinkling, and aging.

Top Tips for Using Sunscreen Effectively:

1. Shake the container well to ensure even mixing of ingredients and apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before exposure.
2. The standard rule of thumb is to use one ounce of sunscreen to cover your whole body. So always make sure you wear enough! Applying too small an amount of sunscreen can mean you are actually getting a lower spf protection level.
3. Reapply sunscreen every two hours and/or after heavy perspiration and time spent in the water.
4. Apply sunscreen on all exposed body parts including ears, feet, and any other sneaky spots.

The Summary

SPF is a measure of protection against UVB rays only. However, both UVA & UVB rays cause skin damage, early signs of aging, and both appear to lead to skin cancer. To also get UVA protection look for the term "Broad Spectrum" on the label. This means the sunscreen was tested to give you protection from both types of UV rays. Our sunscreens and moisturizers with SPF provide broad spectrum protection. No matter what type of sunscreen - mineral, chemical, or a mix of the two - the only way to make sure you are getting broad spectrum protection is to check for it on the label.

The Details

SPF, we’ve seen that on sunscreens forever and we all know what it means, right? The higher the number the better, right? Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as that. SPF stands for sun protection factor and the most important thing to know is that SPF is a measure of protection from UVB rays only. Protection from UVB rays is great, but the sun also exposes us to UVA rays. Seems kind of silly that whoever invented the SPF system left out the UVA rays but that’s because the damage from UVA rays is more subtle. UVB rays cause more intense damage like the oh so painful sunburn that is all too familiar to most of us. UVA rays are damaging too but they cause less immediately painful damage like wrinkles and skin aging. It turns out the UVA rays are actually worse than we thought. Read the following quotes on UVA damage from the Skin Cancer Foundation’s website:

“UVA rays account for up to 95 percent of the UV radiation reaching the Earth's surface. Although they are less intense than UVB, UVA rays are 30 to 50 times more prevalent.”

“...until recently scientists believed it (UVA rays) did not cause significant damage in areas of the epidermis (outermost skin layer) where most skin cancers occur. Studies over the past two decades, however, show that UVA damages skin cells called keratinocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis, where most skin cancers occur. (Basal and squamous cells are types of keratinocytes.) UVA contributes to and may even initiate the development of skin cancers.”

Sounds bad, right? Now keep in mind too that UVA rays are what cause us to tan and tanning is just a form of skin damage. One precautionary note, tanning salons primarily emit UVA rays and at much higher doses than the sun’s output. So now we know UVA and UVB rays cause skin damage (they can also cause eye damage/cataracts), the question is how do you make sure you get protection from both rays? This is where we get some good news - Broad Spectrum.

In 2011 the FDA announced new sunscreen regulations for manufacturers. One key change was that sunscreens are permitted to label their products as “Broad Spectrum” (meaning they protect from both UVA and UVB rays) if they pass the FDA’s test for protection against both UVA & UVB rays. Another interesting new fact is that “only products that are labeled both as Broad Spectrum with SPF values of 15 or higher may state that they reduce the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging, when used as directed.” So the FDA is saying you need at least an SPF 15 and "when used as directed" means you also need to properly apply and reapply.

The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends a sunscreen with either “avobenzone, ecamsule (a.k.a. MexorylTM), oxybenzone, titanium dioxide, and/or zinc oxide” to ensure sufficient UVA protection. Unfortunately there is no measure of UVA protection so it’s hard to tell from a label how much UVA protection a sunscreen provides. Click here to see a great chart of sunscreen ingredients and the amount of UVA and UVB protection they provide. You will see that our favorite mineral ingredients, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, protect against UVA and UVB, with zinc (the only UV filter we use) offering a bit more UVA protection.

So buy a sunscreen that has "Broad Spectrum" on the label and is at least an SPF 15

We don’t think any spray sunscreens are safe because we don’t believe in the spraying of any sunscreen, mineral or chemical.

In summer 2012 a man made headlines by catching on fire when using a spray sunscreen near his grill. This is a pretty unusual incident; however, it does show how easy it is to accidentally misuse a spray sunscreen. Some of the ingredients that allow certain sunscreens to be sprayable are flammable

Also, if you spray on a sunscreen you are taking the risk of potentially inhaling the ingredients or getting sunscreen in someone’s eye. Regardless of the sunscreen formula we don’t think it’s a good idea to inhale any cosmetic formula. Our goal is to make smart, safe, and lovable sunscreens and we think spray sunscreens aren’t the smartest option.

Super high SPF claims and temptation seem to be everywhere. I walk by sunscreen displays and it feels like they are screaming at me, “Sun is bad, arm yourself with SPF 200!”. Yah, it’s not that simple, of course.

First of all no matter how high of an SPF you buy sunscreen efficacy can wear off because we sweat, we get wet, it rubs off, the dog on the beach licks it off or any other number of factors. Sunscreen is just another form of a skin care lotion and it can wear off. So whether you are using an SPF 2 (not such a good idea), 15, 30, or 300 you need to reapply it. Some sunscreens stand up a little better than others to water, sweat, and the like but that is because of how the formula is made and has nothing to do with the SPF number.

Secondly, super high SPF claims are misleading. Generally higher SPF claims cost more because there are more active ingredients (the SPF providing ingredients) in them then similar sunscreens with lower SPFs. In reality though, the truth is that once you hit SPF 30, the difference in SPF levels is negligible. SPF 15 protects against 93% of UVB rays, SPF 30 protects against 97%, and SPF 50 protects against 98%.

Additionally, the psychology behind buying an outrageously high SPF sunscreen can lead consumers to using the sunscreen in a not so effective manner. There are consumers (not you or I, of course) that buy an SPF 80 and think “I’m armed!!! Nothing can penetrate my SPF 80. I can lay in the sun for 12 hours, go swimming, and sweat and nothing can touch me!” (This might be a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea). It’s all marketing, but it’s dangerous because SPF 80 or any SPF for that matter is not impenetrable armor and it all needs to be used in the proper manner. There are actual studies that show that consumers who use high SPF sunscreens spend more time in the sun and at times with more intense sun exposure then low SPF sunscreen users but the high SPF users use the same quantity of sunscreen as the low SPF users. So essentially, a false sense of safety is causing some high SPF sunscreen users to stay in the sun longer and under more intense sun exposure which ultimately exposes them to more UV rays.

The biggest buzzword in suncare right now is nanotechnology or nanoparticles. Nanotechnology refers to using very small sized particles of ingredients in formulas. Sunscreen manufacturers started using nano-sized particles of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in order to get as light-weight of a formula as possible. Traditionally, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide sit on top of the skin and reflect the sun's rays. However, with the new very small particle size the concern became that titanium dioxide and zinc oxide could now be penetrating the skin.

The European Union (EU) and the Australian Government's Department of Health studied the issue and both concluded that nano-particles are safe. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) agrees as well in their article entitled “Nanoparticles in Sunscreens” as long as they are not used in spray or powdered sunscreens (chemical sunscreens should also not be used in spray or powdered form).

At Block Island Organics we do not use nanoparticles in our Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30. Our Natural Face Moisturizer with SPF 30 uses a specific type of zinc called ZinClear - some folks say this product is non-nano while others say it's nano. This is because ZinClear starts off as a nano particle but in the finished product often aggregates into a non-nano sized particle. Here is a quote from the manufacturer of ZinClear:

"ZinClear IM and ZinClear XP comprise zinc oxide crystallites having sizes typically in the range of 25 nm. Accordingly, they are classified as nanomaterials based on a nanomaterial being defined as a material that contains nanoparticles either in an unbound or bound state. In both ZinClear IM and ZinClear XP, the nanoparticles are bound together to form larger particles called 'aggregates' or 'agglomerates' having average sizes in the micron range. In this regard, ZinClear may be better viewed as comprising micron-size particles having nano-structure."

Find more on ZinClear from the manufacturer here.

Lately headlines regarding the safety of Vitamin A in sunscreens are everywhere. The concern is really regarding a specific type of Vitamin A, retinyl palmitate, as not all forms of Vitamin A are potentially hazardous in sunscreens. The reason Vitamin A is making headlines is because many sunscreens specifically put Vitamin A in their sunscreens as a way to reverse or prevent the effects of sun damage. Vitamin A is an anti-oxidant and thus many believe it is a must have for preventing the signs of aging skin. However, now the concern is that Vitamin A is photosensitive, meaning it reacts negatively when exposed to sunlight, and becomes unstable leading to free radicals and some argue even tumors. Basically, the argument is that when exposed to sunlight Vitamin A becomes unstable and could potentially be causing instability in your skin cells which could cause tumor growth.

There is no definitive answer here so we choose to err on the side of caution and suggest avoiding sunscreens with retinyl palmitate. Sunscreen prevents sun damage and skin aging so just use a good sunscreen to prevent the sun’s negative affects on the skin. If you do want to use a product with retinyl palmitate on your skin we suggest doing so in the winter where you are less exposed to UV radiation.

We believe the first step in choosing a good sunscreen is choosing a mineral based sunscreen with zinc oxide (our first choice and what we use in our products) or titanium dioxide over a chemical based sunscreen. However, the rest of the ingredients in you sunscreen matter too. Our cosmetic industry is not as well regulated as the food industry. Unfortunately many chemicals banned for use in our food and banned for use in cosmetics in Europe are permitted for use in the U.S. cosmetic industry. Your skin is a living organ that absorbs the gels, lotions, and creams and that you apply. Thus, you want to be careful and pay attention to the ingredients you put on your skin.

The list of ingredients to avoid is long. Fortunately, the EWG has a great database where you can look up ingredients as well as actual products to get toxicity reports. Try and remember some key ingredients to avoid and read ingredient listings before you buy a product. Also, be on the lookout for brands that have 1 or 2 safe products but then the rest of their products are made using questionable chemicals. There are lots of great safe cosmetic brands out there and eventually you will learn which brands you can trust to make great quality and safe products, like Block Island Organics!

New FDA regulations prohibit the use of the term waterproof. Instead manufacturers can only claim either Water Resistant (40 min) or Water Resistant (80 min). Additionally, in order to make these claims sunscreen manufacturers must perform independent tests to support the claim. Essentially, the claims mean that after being submerged in water for the according length of time (either 40 min or 80 min) the sunscreen still offers SPF protection at the product’s stated SPF level. So if you put on an SPF 30 that is water resistant for 40 minutes you can go swimming for up to 40 minutes and the sunscreen should still be providing an SPF 30 level of protection when you exit the water. Other factors can reduce your sunscreen’s SPF level like excessive sweating, toweling off, or a friendly kiss from a dog. Thus, at Block Island Organics we always recommend reapplying your sunscreen every couple of hours even if it is water resistant.