Gisele Bundchen is a super model, not a role model. The supermodel is known for her marriage and baby with Tom Brady, Victoria Secret photo spreads and now her ability to stick her foot in her mouth. Recently Gisele said (1) she does not use sun screen because of the chemicals they contain that would harm her skin would be poisonous. While there is some level of truth to what she is saying advocating for not wearing sun screen is not the right message to put out into the world.
Many sunscreens require a chemical stabilizer to make them effective in the sun. However, this stabilizer can then break down and cause the sun’s UVA and UVB rays to get into the skin as well as to cause free radical damage which can break down a cell’s ability to heal and release melanin and can cause age spots and skin damage.
Sunscreens also have a habit of adding Vitamin A to their products (2). While Vitamin A is great at night for rebuilding the skin it works to the opposite effect when it is changed by UV rays. The FDA has done a study that shows that Vitamin A in the sun can speed excess skin growth relating to a growth in skin tumors and lesions as well as can create free radicals.
The top rated sunscreens according to the Environmental Working Group (3) are ones that do not include chemicals that can disrupt hormones and have no vitamin A. The following are mineral based sunscreens that the EWG says are the safest.
Badger: Sunscreen Face Stick: SPF 30, Sunscreen for Face and Body: SPF 30.
BurnOut: Kids Physical Sunscreen: SPF 30+, Clean and Clear, Zinc Oxide Sunblock: SPF 32.
California Baby: Sunscreen Lotion No Fragrance: SPF 30+, Sunblock Stick No Fragrance: SPF 30.
Coola: SPF 45 Mineral Baby Moisturizer Unscented.
Doctor T’s Supergoop!: Quickstick.
Hara Body Care: Sport SPF 30.
Heiko: SPK 40 Kids.
Kabana Skin Care: Green Screen Organic Sunscreen Fragrance Free, SPF 20.
L’uvalla Certified Organic: SPF 20 Sunscreen Face/Body.
Loving Naturals: Sunscreen, SPF 30+
Marie Veronique Organics: Kid Safe Screen: SPF 25.
Purple Prairie Botanicals: SunStuff: SPF 30, Sun Stick: SPF 30.
Soleo Organics: All Natural Sun Screen: SPF 30+, Soleo Organics / Atlantis Resort All Natural Sunscreen: SPF 30+.
Suntegrity Skincare: All Natural Moisturizing Face Protection: SPF 30.
Thinkbaby and Thinksport: Sunscreen SPF 30.
Of course there is no beating a hat and a nice lightweight shirt to keep you protected in the sun. When you are planning on spending a day at the beach or a day outside you need to reapply sunscreen often, usually every half hour. Just ten minutes in the sun will cause free radical damage that can lead to skin cancer so a good natural sunscreen is the best protection even on a cloudy day.
Ladies should be careful with their foundation and powder as many of the same stabilizers from sunscreens are in foundations. In your night cream or facial serum you should look for Vitamin E and White tea to help fight free radical damage in the skin. Drinking tea will also help fight free radical damage from the inside out.
You have to walk the line with the sun as we learn more about skin cancer and Vitamin D. You should be getting fifteen minutes to a half an hour in the sun unprotected to get enough Vitamin D (4). Vitamin D deficiency can be a factor in cancer, heart disease, stroke, depression, muscle weakness and osteoporosis. Get out in the sun with exposed skin but once you see the slightest tinge of pink go inside.
Gisele herself is launching a line of organic products and will hopefully one day have a sunscreen on the market that she suggests is healthy.
Sources:
(1) http://omg.yahoo.com/news/gisele-angers-cancer-experts-claims-sunscreen-is-poison/55673
(2) http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/9-surprising-facts-about-sunscreen/
(3) http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/
(4) http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
