Why? You may ask.
Well, that question is two-fold:
1. Why Sunscreens? (thought that was a given. Really? Read on McDuff...)
2. Why only 100% Natural and not Chemical Sunscreens?
Just a bit of history to bring you up to speed as to why I have chosen to push the subject of Sunscreens into the Natural vs Chemical debate. For years I have been pestered by customers who buy my other natural products to make a sunscreen, and for years I have declined simply because my attempts to comply have been rather clumsy rather than classy renditions and, more importantly, I would never have been able to give such a product the all important SPF rating.
I also happened to agree with EWG's (Environmental Working Group) stand:
"The best sunscreen is a hat and a shirt. No chemicals to absorb through the skin, no questions about whether they work."
A bit overly-ambitious and impractical for our hot African sunshine I know, especially as we are a sport-mad nation, whether players,watchers or wannabees! We walk, garden, swim, surf, cycle and play outdoors in the sun, so of course we can’t get away from exposing our skin to the sun, but the next best thing would be to use a top-rated sunscreen which provides broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB-sunburn) protection without the hazardous chemicals that penetrate the skin.
I duly dropped the subject, it didn't concern me, but, it wouldn't stay down. Persistent people, (and you know who you are) kept on at me until such time as I started to research the subject more thoroughly and what I found was a minefield of information, misinformation and shocking scientific facts. But I also found arguably the best (in my estimation) 100% Natural Sunscreen and Antioxidant combination on the market today - MelanSol.
For decades, irresponsible cosmetic companies and a small group of very vocal, publicity-seeking dermatologists have strongly advocated that chemical sunscreens should be heavily applied before any exposure to sunlight, even on young children. They insisted that such sunscreen use would prevent skin cancer and protect your health. This was despite a lack of any adequate safety testing of these chemicals. (It is emphasized that most dermatologists today are much more cautious and careful.)
Over the past decade, many scientists studying cancer have come to virtually the opposite conclusion, that is, the use of sunscreen chemicals may be increasing the incidence of cancer and that sunlight exposure may actually decrease human cancer rates and improve your health. It now transpires that many heavily-used chemical sunscreens may actually increase cancers by virtue of their free radical generating properties, and, more insidiously, many commonly used sunscreen chemicals have strong estrogenic actions that may cause serious problems in sexual development and adult sexual function, and may further increase cancer risks. Of course, the fine balance between allowing some natural sunlight on your body as opposed to screening off the harmful rays effectively (without this screening process increasing the cancer risks) is the main issue here and should lead to making the right choice of sunscreen product armed with the whole basket of facts.
Sunscreens are important skin-care products used to further prevent photoaging (damage to the skin from prolonged exposure, over a person's lifetime, to the sun's radiation, which are divided into three categories based on the wavelength -
- UVC - 100 to 290 nm
- UVB - 290 to 320 nm
- UVA - 320 to 400 nm
UVB affects the top layer of skin, causing sunburns. About 90% of UVB radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer but as the ozone layer gets depleted, we are exposed to more UVB radiation. UVB is the most intense between the hours of 10:00 am and 2:00 pm when the sunlight is brightest and is also more intense in the summer months. (not for nothing that saying "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun!).70% of a person's yearly UVB dose occurs in the summer and incidentally,UVB does not penetrate glass.
UVA affects the dermal (deeper) layer of the skin and causes changes that lead to photoaging and skin cancer. The ozone layer has no effect on UVA rays and penetrates deeper into the skin thus working more efficiently. The intensity of UVA radiation remains more constant than UVB without the variations during the day and throughout the year and does go through glass.
Because of other atmospheric filters besides ozone, most of the UV radiation that reaches us is UVB, about 20 times more than UVA. Even though we think of UVB as the sunburn producer and UVA the wrinkle and skin cancer producer, they both work together to cause skin damage which include wrinkles, lowered immunity against infection, aging skin disorders and cancer.
Working together, these UV rays cause damage to DNA - UVB in the epidermis and UVA deeper in the dermis.This damage causes mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene, a gene responsible for either repairing damaged DNA if possible or discarding cells that are damaged beyond repair. If p53 doesn't function properly these highly damaged cells are allowed to continue dividing, creating even more highly damaged cells.Around 50% of skin tumors have this mutated p53 gene in them. UVA penetrates deeper into the skin reaching the dermis where collagen, the structural scaffolding of the skin, is located. This causes the skin to sag in places leading to wrinkles.
Both UVA and UVB cause the number of Langerhans cells, an important part of the immune system, to decrease, thus lowering immunity.
UVA increases the number of inflammatory cells in the dermis.
The scary part of all of this that you can't feel or see any of these mutations happening until the damage has already been done. Most of this damage occurs in childhood which means that it's extremely important to use sunscreen and sun-protective clothing at all times. Even young children need to be protected any time they go outside, not just when they're swimming.
Until recently it was believed that blocking UVB radiation and sunburn were the only measures needed to prevent sun damage. The SPF rating was developed to measure the ability of a sunscreen to block UVB radiation. An easy way to remember what information SPF gives you (but not a suggestion to take sun exposure lightly) is that a sunscreen with an SPF of X allows you to stay out in the sun X times longer without burning but now we know that is only part of the picture!
With the SPF of a sunscreen only measuring the UVB component it is additionally important to consider the component of a sunscreen's ability to filter UVA radiation. A good broad-spectrum sunscreen will filter both UVA and UVB.Enter MelanSol 100% Natural Sunscreen with both UVA and UVB protection, naturally and entirely without the risks of any sinister chemical components.
The UV- protection (absorption or reflection of UVB radiation) progress is not linear in case of a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) increase. An SPF-30 reduces the effect of sunlight (UVB radiation) by 97%, an SPF-25 by 96% and an SPF-10 by 90%. An SPF-50 blocks only 98% or 2% more than an SPF-25 and can only be achieved with 100% more UV-filter substances in the sunscreen product, which is why a higher SPF’s than an SPF-30 are not in the best interest of the consumer nor the environment. MelanSol® sunscreen lotions were successfully tested to evaluate the UVA protection factor (PFA) using the PPD test method (Persistent Pigment Darkening / Japanese Standard) with indications on labels:
PA+/PA++/PA+++
In the next post I will give you some really scary information about the chemicals present in your everyday sunscreens and exactly what they do when exposed to the sun's radiation rays, so that you know why you should avoid them totally and without exception.
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