The sunscreen rabbit hole led me to Asia.

As a sensitive and fair-skinned redhead you'd think sunscreen was my bff. In reality, its not something my generation (I'm a Xennial) grew up using.  As late as 1999, there was still controversy “regarding the role of sunlight in the development of skin cancer”. SPF 30 didn’t hit the markets till the early 90’s and wasn’t the standard minimum recommendation in Canada until 2016 (my kids were 5 and 1).

“Everyone knew” the best way to avoid a sunburn was to get a good base tan first. "Everyone knew" having a golden summer glow was healthy and good. Sunscreen was really only used if you were going to the beach, and even then you’d see just as many people with SPF 4 tanning oil and aluminum reflectors to catch more rays as you did people applying sunscreen. The only problem with having a sunburn was the pain, or it might make you feel sick if it was bad enough. Sun exposure being linked to cancer risk was simply not a thing we worried about. 

Thankfully science has advanced, and its widely understood now that regular sunscreen use is important for preventing cancer and premature aging. 

Mineral sunscreens are more accurately called inorganic sunscreens, because zinc and titanium are not carbon based molecules. Chemical sunscreens are more accurately called organic sunscreens, because the UV filters used are carbon based. Referring to sunscreens as mineral vs chemical plays upon the (false) idea that natural is better and chemicals should be feared but for simplicity of understanding here, I'll largely refer to them as mineral and chemical.
I've always stuck to mineral/inorganic sunscreens even though I disliked them, because I believed the myth that they were better for people and planet, and that "chemical"/organic sunscreens weren't safe, but I've since learned otherwise. The "chemical" UV filter bemotrizinol for example (trade name Tinosorb S), has an even better safety track record than zinc oxide does. TikTok started me down a sunscreen rabbit hole that led me to Korean and Japanese (chemical) sunscreens and I now have sunscreens I happily wear every day.  I do recognize that being able to purchase Korean or Japanese sunscreens is a privilege.  Its better to use any sunscreen than none, and we don't all have access to international products. Our UV filters and rating system in Canada may not be as advanced as other parts of the world but our sunscreens still help protect against skin cancer and premature aging so using whatever products you have access to and can afford is a good thing!!  

Read More