Alina Khan
Due Date: 12/14/18
Professor Michael Grove
English 21003
Research Paper Draft
What’s in the Sunscreen?
Skin care used to protect sun damage should be a part of everyone’s daily routine. Though it may not seem so significant to people, sun protection is a necessity f. One main product used all over the world is sunscreen, which is beneficial for preventing skin cancer and delay the aging of the skin caused by sun exposure. Despite sunscreen being the topic discussed and known by people all over the world, people tend to know less about the ingredients in the products, due to which there are lower rates of sunscreen usage. Cancer Researcher M.S. Latha states that, “The increasing incidence of skin cancers and photo damaging effects caused by ultraviolet radiation has increased the use of sunscreening agents(Latha, 2013),” which displays that it’s pertinent to encourage the use of the right sunscreen products in order to prevent future damage to the skin.
In order to increase the utilization of sunscreen, it’s essential for consumers to create daily habits on using the right products on their skin. People don’t really pay attention to the ingredients that are in the product which they are applying on their skin. From a young age, we teach people about the importance of using sunscreen daily to protect their skin from ultraviolet rays, skin aging, and early skin cancer. Whether it’s in moisturizer, makeup, etc, it’s necessary to wear at all times to shield the skin from harmful effects caused by the sunlight. This makes people reliant on doing what is necessary, but does not make people realize how important it is to take notice of the ingredients they are allowing on their skin, or what these ingredients may cause. There are certain ingredients which people should avoid, such as oxybenzone, a synthetic estrogen that penetrates the skin and can disrupt the hormone system. Catastrophic ingredients like Oxybenzone lead to concerns, “regarding the environmental effects of commonly used organic ultraviolet (UV) filters(Schneider SL, 2018).” Although Oxybenzone is a main ingredient in common sunscreens, it may cause more harm than good. This chemical absorbs into the skin, causing damage to the bloodstream. Other harmful ingredients which people should avoid are retinyl palmitate, retinol or vitamin A. It’s also significant to avoid chemical sunscreens since they lack UV-A protection and UV-B protection. UV-A radiation penetrates deep into the dermis, which can cause premature skin and wrinkles. Similarly, UV-B radiation can cause pigmentation, sunburn, and chronic changes. The protection from UV-A and UV-B rays is achievable when a sunscreen product is manufactured with agents that have SPF of 30 or greater.
On the other hand, there are many sunscreen products which are utilized on a daily, however, its safety and efficacy are questioned, due to which people limit their usage. In order to test out the efficacy of sunscreen, research was done to determine whether chemical broad-spectrum sunscreen has the ability to protect human skin against tissue, along with DNA damage when exposed to UV radiation. Vickram Bissonauth conducted research which stated, “tissue and DNA damage may provide excellent quantitative end points for assessing the photoprotective efficacy of sunscreens(Bissonauth, 2000).” Clinical and epidemiological evidence provides an insight on the increase of skin cancer when exposed to UV light. On the other hand, Latha addresses the efficacy of SPF level through a computer program and sunscreen stimulators to observe whether or not the product meets the standards to protect the skin against UV-A and UV-B radiation.
According to the research article, Sunscreening agents, “Improper sunscreen usage and inadequate application also contribute to the increased prevalence of sunburn, despite the frequent use of sunscreening agents. Available evidence indicates that sunburn is more commonly seen in white-skinned people and young people with sensitive skin(Latha, 2013).” Though many people utilize sunscreen products, they do not use the proper products. The relevance of proper sunscreen products is shown through the increased rate of sunburn without it. Normally, the common ingredients found in sunscreen are titanium dioxide, kaolin, talc, zinc oxide, calcium carbonate, and magnesium oxide. In order to avoid future damage to the skin, people need to choose sunscreen which include the more effective ingredients such as bemotrizinol, avobenzone, bisoctrizole, and octocrylene. Though certain ingredients don’t play a role in the effectiveness of the product, there are main ingredients which people should check before purchasing the product. Ideal sunscreen should be safe and non-irritating to the skin, along with providing full protection of against harm from solar radiation. Sunscreen products which include SPF 50 or higher provide more protection to the skin when exposed to the sun, allowing protection against UV-B rays. “Inorganic particulates may scatter the microparticles in the upper layers of skin, thereby increasing the optical pathway of photons, leading to absorption of more photons and enhancing the sun protection factor (SPF), resulting in high efficiency of the compound.” Sunscreen may protect the skin from the sun with a mineral or chemical barrier. Chemical sunscreens are known to absorb high energy UV rays since they include multiple organic compounds which prove to be beneficial to the skin.
Therefore, people all over the world need to start including sunscreen in their daily routine. Though there are many brands of sunscreen, it’s pertinent to choose the one which would provide the most protection for the skin. The avoidance of synthetic estrogens, UV-A rays, and UV-B rays will prove to be effective in the prevention of skin damage. The efficacy and safety of sunscreen products is vivid through the appropriate product ingredients. If there are concerns on which sunscreen to use, professionals, such as dermatologists would prescribe the products which would perform more intensive protection on the skin.
Citations:
- Latha, M. S., Martis, J., Shobha, V., Sham Shinde, R., Bangera, S., Krishnankutty, B., Bellary, S., Varughese, S., Rao, P., … Naveen Kumar, B. R. (2013). Sunscreening agents: a review. The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 6(1), 16-26.
- Young AR, Orchard GE, Harrison GI et al. The detrimental effects of daily sub-erythemal exposure on human skin in vivo can be prevented by a daily-care broad-spectrum sunscreen. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2007;127:975–8.
- Bissonauth, Vickram & Drouin, Régen & L Mitchell, D & Rhainds, Marc & Claveau, Joël & Rouabhia, Mahmoud. (2000). The efficacy of a broad-spectrum sunscreen to protect engineered human skin from tissue and DNA damage induced by solar ultraviolet exposure. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 6. 4128-35.
- Schneider, S. L., & Lim, H. W. (2019). Review of environmental effects of oxybenzone and other sunscreen active ingredients. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 80(1), 266-271.
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