Why are the petrochemical sunscreens bad?
There are several reasons petrochemical sunscreens are bad for you:
- Petrochemical sunscreens penetrate the skin, resulting in bioaccumulation and systemic exposure. They often end up in your own or your children’s blood, and can accumulate in fat deposits. These compounds are toxic in themselves and will do direct DNA damage over time. Many of them also mimic estrogen in our bodies, which is associated with numerous diseases, including cancer and early puberty in young girls. Many fail to biodegrade, can accumulate in the water supply and ocean sediments, feminize fish and damage coral, information that has been studied and known for over a decade. You will find when you travel to tropical locales that most aquatic parks have banned petrochemical sunscreens for this reason, they did it on the Mexican Yucatan over twenty years ago, yet the United States is only just catching on to this issue. You can use Green Screen® in these parks however because it doesn’t contain the banned chemicals.
- Using petrochemical sunscreens trades UV-induced damage for chemical-induced damage. Although they absorb UV in certain wavelengths, no single petrochemical sunscreen is broad spectrum. Petrochemical sunscreens also do not convert UV energy into harmless energy as well as Zinc Oxide does. Instead, UV energy can ‘photodegrade’ the active ingredients. This means break chemical bonds and effectively not only inactivate the UV absorbing capacity of the molecule, but also create reactive free radicals that further damage your body. The fact that petrochemical sunscreens photodegrade is one of the major reasons it’s necessary to reapply about every two hours. Zinc Oxide on the other hand will not degrade and will remain effective as long as it stays on the surface of your skin.
- Petrochemicals used in sunscreen products result in extremely high exposure levels compared to other environmental contaminants present in our air, food and water (thousands to millions of times higher exposure because they are applied directly to skin!), yet using a zinc oxide-based sunscreen such as Green Screen® is a simple way to limit the risks associated with such chemical contaminant exposure.
- Since petrochemical sunscreens are photosensitive and their chemistry can be damaged by UV light, they often create additional free radicals that react with other biochemicals in your skin. In addition to being a precursor for the development of cancer, these irreversible chemical changes can cause a severe inflammatory response in your skin that may be red and very painful, it’s effectively a chemical burn.
Like what you’re reading? Try our zinc oxide Sunscreens!
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