Dermatologist Debunks Sunscreen Misinformation Making the Rounds on Social Media

Welcome to Culture Clinic, MedPage Today‘s collaboration with Northwell Health to offer a healthcare professional’s take on the latest viral medical topics.

As summer temperatures heat up, so have social media posts spreading misinformation about sunscreen. Physicians are pushing back in a bid to protect patients.

Pooja Shah, MD, a dermatologist and director of women’s skin health & wellness at Northwell Health in New York, hasn’t had any patients ask her directly about social media posts discrediting sunscreen, but she has heard about the posts.

One theme that often comes up is concern about “chemical” sunscreens — which are one of the main types of sunscreens, along with mineral sunscreens.

Chemical sunscreens typically include at least one active ingredient such as oxybenzone, octinoxate, cinoxate, dioxybenzone, ensulizole, homosalate, meradimate, octisalate, or octocrylene, among others, according to MD Anderson Cancer Center.

However, Shah said, patients can opt for a mineral sunscreen instead, which typically contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

Shah cautioned that it’s important to distinguish between oxybenzone and benzene, the latter of which is commonly used in plastics and other chemicals and has been labeled a known human carcinogen: “They’re different molecules,” she said.

Regarding reports that benzene was found as a contaminant in some sunscreen (and other consumer) products, Shah did note that more investigation into the issue is warranted, adding that sunscreen should be stored in a dark, cool place and that its expiration date should be checked before use.

“What we really should focus on,” she said, are the “rising rates of skin cancer,” adding that she has been seeing many more melanomas than 5 years ago.

These can occur after many years of sun damage, and “UV rays have become stronger for sure,” she said. “That’s what we should be focusing on, not these myths going around social media.”

Shah stressed that it’s important not only to use sunscreen, but to use it appropriately. To protect the skin, sunscreen should be applied half an hour before going outside, and should be reapplied every 2 hours or so, or even more frequently if someone is going in and out of the water or sweating a lot.

It’s also crucial to use the correct amount of sunscreen, she said. This includes at least 2 finger lengths worth of sunscreen for the face and a full shot glass worth for the body.

In addition to sunscreen, clothing can offer protection, ranging from broad hats to gloves. Getting a lip balm with SPF is also on the list, she said, noting that “skin cancer on the lip can be pretty high risk.”

“Our goal is to not get a burn or a tan because they are equally damaging to the skin, both in terms of skin cancer and aging,” Shah said. “Proper sun protection, seeing your dermatologist to get skin checks, [these] are all the right things to do.”

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