Using sunscreen daily harmful to your skin

Question

Is the daily use of sunscreen harmful to your skin barrier because it blocks sun rays from giving people the Vitamin D they need? Please let me know as someone who values skincare.

Comments

This claim is seemingly false, wearing sunscreen daily is essential to your skin barrier. According to the American Academy of Dermatology wearing sunscreen daily helps prevent harmful sun rays harm your skin. The AAC by giving examples on how wearing sunscreen can benefit you, "reduce your risk of developing skin cancer," "decrease signs of early aging on your skin like wrinkles, age spots, and sagging skin," and "Prevent sunburn" help us understand how use of daily sunscreen is not harming our skin but doing the opposite.

https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/sun-protection/shade-clothing-sunscreen/is-sunscreen-safe#

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Great response, concise but hits the nail on the head. Also uses a very reputable source. Keep it up!

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I believe that sunscreen is more effective than harmful, but I think there is some truth to certain sunscreens with chemicals causing irritation. I am curious about what specific sources were used to back up these claims.
According to Cancer Council, "Reactions to sunscreen are rare and can be a result of a sensitivity or allergy to any of the many ingredients used in these products. Some people may have a reaction to a fragrance, preservative, UV absorber, or another component of the sunscreen."

https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/about-sunscreen/sunscreen-reactions

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I like your standpoint on this claim. You provide well sourced evidence, such as the American Academy of Dermatology. You also explain the facts you found from the sources, which is helpful for factchecking.

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I agree with your factcheck. I liked how you cited what source you were using, and explained what the American Academy of Dermatology stated. I do know that some sunscreens contain ingredients that can be harmful, and I think it would beneficial to include more on that because knowing about both sides of the claim can help further reveal how accurate this claim is. I would also like to know more about the American Academy of Dermatology and how that is a credible source. Overall, I really like your factcheck and I think you included helpful information.

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This claim seems to be false, this is because according to Harvard Health Publishing "Concern about vitamin D deficiency should not be a reason to avoid sunscreen." It is also said said that some sunscreens contain a chemical that is an apparent hormone blocker called "Oxybenzone". This is nothing to worry about though, as testing was done to see the affects of this chemical. After studies done on rats using the chemical, it is said "It would take an individual 277 years of sunscreen use to achieve the equivalent systemic dose that produced effects in these rat studies,". https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-science-of-sunscreen

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Based on my research, the claim that “using sunscreen daily is harmful to your skin” is false. Here’s what I found:

First of all, a Q&A site like Quora.com is not a valid source as the information comes from individual users instead of licensed professionals. After a quick google search of the main claim “Is using sunscreen daily harmful to your skin?” I found multiple sources that prove that daily sunscreen is in fact crucial to protecting your skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

The first reliable source I found was an article from the American Medical Association called “What doctors wish patients knew about wearing sunscreen”. The AMA is a licensed organization with educated professionals in varying medical fields, with this article focused on statements from two dermatologists.

- Evelyn Jones, MD, a dermatologist and owner of WellSprings Dermatology and WellSprings SkinCare in Paducah, Kentucky.

- Klint Peebles, MD, a dermatologist in Washington and suburban Maryland at Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, a member of the AMA Health System Program.

The article lists multiple points on how to properly choose, apply, and reapply sunscreen. The first sentence of the article, “wearing sunscreen is one of the easiest ways to protect your skin’s appearance and health at any age,” already disproves the initial claim, with the article then going into more detail about how wearing sunscreen helps to prevent skin cancer.

Although this article is from 2022, meaning that it isn’t the most recently posted evidence, it is still a reliable source. If this claim was about politics or current events, an article from three years ago might not be the best evidence to use, but facts proven by medical professionals and dermatologists are still reliable after three years.

In addition, I investigated “The science of sunscreen” published by Harvard Health, yet another incredibly reliable source backed up by professionals of a prestigious university and medical school. Dr. Jennifer Lin, an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Melanoma Risk and Prevention Clinic at Brigham and Women's Hospital answers commonly asked questions about sunscreen. This article states the many benefits of wearing daily sunscreen, but it also addresses some potential worries that people have about sunscreen.

There is a question asking “Is there evidence that sunscreen actually causes skin cancer?” in which Dr. Lin replies with a no, stating that those who use more sunscreen are also the ones who are exposing themselves to more of the suns harmful rays. This means that there is a direct correlation from sun exposure to skin cancer, not sunscreen to skin cancer.

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-wearing-sunscreen

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-science-of-sunscreen

Answer 1

Based on my research, the claim that “using sunscreen daily is harmful to your skin” is false. Here’s what I found:

First of all, a Q&A site like Quora.com is not a valid source as the information comes from individual users instead of licensed professionals. After a quick google search of the main claim “Is using sunscreen daily harmful to your skin?” I found multiple sources that prove that daily sunscreen is in fact crucial to protecting your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. 

The first reliable source I found was an article from the American Medical Association called “What doctors wish patients knew about wearing sunscreen”. The AMA is a licensed organization with educated professionals in varying medical fields, with this article focused on statements from two dermatologists. 

 

• Evelyn Jones, MD, a dermatologist and owner of WellSprings Dermatology and WellSprings SkinCare in Paducah, Kentucky.
• Klint Peebles, MD, a dermatologist in Washington and suburban Maryland at Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, a member of the AMA Health System Program.

The article lists multiple points on how to properly choose, apply, and reapply sunscreen. The first sentence of the article, “wearing sunscreen is one of the easiest ways to protect your skin’s appearance and health at any age,” already disproves the initial claim, with the article then going into more detail about how wearing sunscreen helps to prevent skin cancer.

Although this article is from 2022, meaning that it isn’t the most recently posted evidence, it is still a reliable source. If this claim was about politics or current events, an article from three years ago might not be the best evidence to use, but facts proven by medical professionals and dermatologists are still reliable after three years. 

In addition, I investigated “The science of sunscreen” published by Harvard Health, yet another incredibly reliable source backed up by professionals of a prestigious university and medical school. Dr. Jennifer Lin, an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Melanoma Risk and Prevention Clinic at Brigham and Women's Hospital answers commonly asked questions about sunscreen. This article states the many benefits of wearing daily sunscreen, but it also addresses some potential worries that people have about sunscreen. 

There is a question asking “Is there evidence that sunscreen actually causes skin cancer?” in which Dr. Lin replies with a no, stating that those who use more sunscreen are also the ones who are exposing themselves to more of the suns harmful rays. This means that there is a direct correlation from sun exposure to skin cancer, not sunscreen to skin cancer. 

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-wearing-sunscreen

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-science-of-sunscreen

Answer 2

Using sunscreen protects our skin and is not harmful. Some people believe that sunscreen causes skin cancer. However, Harvard Health states that " it was the high amounts of sun exposure, not the sunscreen, that elevated their risk of skin cancer." Also, one research by NIH shows that "sunscreen use reduces the risk of squamous cell and melanoma skin cancer," and they say sunscreen prevents not only skin cancer but also "sunburn and skin photoaging." As for vitamin D, there is an insistence that "sunscreen blocks ultraviolet B rays, which are shortwave rays from the sun that are important for generating vitamin D in the skin. However, because most people apply far less than the recommended amount (about one short glass-sized amount to the body and a teaspoonful to the face) of sunscreen, users typically aren't deficient in vitamin D."

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7759112/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-science-of-sunscreen

Using sunscreen daily harmful to your skin