Making sure to put on sunscreen is very important because it helps prevent skin cancer and premature aging. However, there has been speculation that not all sunscreens can protect one’s skin from cancer.
There are two different types of sunscreen, mineral, which is scientifically proven to be better, and chemical, which hasn’t been tested out enough to determine whether it’s bad for your skin.
One of the main differences between mineral and chemical sunscreen is how they absorb or deflect the sun’s UV light. Mineral sunscreens act like a shield against the sun’s rays, leaving a white residue behind on the skin.
Chemical sunscreens absorb the UV light like a sponge onto the skin, rubbing easily into the skin, leaving no white residue, which people seem to enjoy more. Chemical sunscreen also converts the non-damaging heat from the sun into a chemical reaction that will then eventually release the heat from the skin. The benefits of chemical sunscreen is it is easier to rub in, it’s lightweight, and seems to have better water resistance.
When the chemical sunscreen is put on, it attaches to the top layer of skin, causing it to be absorbed and enter one’s bloodstream. Researcher Laura Vandenberg states, “If you use it as intended, which is what would make it effective, there’s a lot more of it that’s ending up in our bloodstream than we realized and the concern is that we don’t know enough about its safety.”
Vandenberg had researched the effects of the two types of sunscreen on your skin and notes that when the chemical type can travel into your bloodstream, it concerns users on whether or not to trust the product. The chemical sunscreen has not been tested enough to be proven bad for your skin, but researchers believe it’s possible.
Mineral sunscreen is shown to be different because it’s able to form a barrier between the sun’s rays and the skin. Creating a protective film over the skin, it can reflect the UV rays away. It is also beneficial because it is proven to be gentler for those who have dry or sensitive skin.
It does not contain harsh chemicals that can be absorbed into the skin, making it safer for people with aching, sensitive, or dry skin.
There are no harmful chemicals that are proven in these two types of sunscreens, but people still seem to believe that oxybenzone is harmful to us. Oxybenzone is an organic compound found in chemical sunscreens, leading many people to believe that it is a hormone disruptor that crosses cell membranes and interferes with the body’s natural hormones.
There is no evidence from scientists claiming this to be true; this sunscreen myth has gone on for a while, leading many people to think oxybenzone is bad for our health. On the website “Health Harvard” it mentions, “there has been no conclusive evidence that oxybenzone is harmful to humans. Organizations that have raised concerns about oxybenzone typically cite studies done in rats, where the rats were actually fed oxybenzone.”
This shows that oxybenzone is not harmful to humans, and is safe to be used in both types of sunscreen. There have been many tests on rats because the animal seems to catch the same amount of diseases that humans do, and are similar to the human race in many different ways. By feeding rats oxybenzone, studies have shown that it is not harmful to them.
This proves that oxybenzone is not dangerous to humans, and even though it is included in the sunscreen ingredients, it is still safe for us to use.
Chemical sunscreen and mineral sunscreen are both similar and different in many ways, inevitably having the same purpose in protecting our skin from the damaging UV rays. Both sunscreens are very beneficial to us, but one more than the other.