All summer long, it feels like no matter what store you walk into, you can't help but be inundated by shelves and shelves of all different types of sun protection products. Last summer, I spent 20 minutes or more scouring the shelves at a drugstore and even my fave natural grocery store, looking for a sunscreen that was free of oxybenzone, the toxin linked to allergies, hormone disruption, cell damage -- even low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. It felt impossible to steer completely clear of the ingredient, one of its sneaky cousins, or retinyl palmitate, which has been linked to the development of skin tumors and lesions. Fantastic, right? Now, to add insult to injury, sunscreen is literally burning people.
No, really, it's true. A Massachusetts man named Brett Sigworth has been making headlines for his terrifying experience with Banana Boat sport aerosol sunscreen.
Sigworth applied the spray, went over to his grill, took one of the holders to move some of the charcoal briquettes around, and in less than a second, he was on fire! The flames trailed the exact path of where he had applied the sunscreen. What the ... ?!! The poor guy has second degree burns on his chest, ear, and back. Photos from the hospital burn unit show the burns appear in precise lines -- where he sprayed the sunscreen.
Sure, sunscreen is flammable, and there are warnings on the products that read "don't use near heat, flame, or while burning," but who would have thought the product would continue to be a fire magnet once it's applied to the skin?! Sigworth said:
I think if people were told this is flammable for two minutes on your skin afterward, people wouldn't use it.
Yeah, I'd say catching on fire being pretty much the last desired effect you'd want from your sunscreen. Geesh! Even though Banana Boat issued a statement saying they were sorry to hear about Sigworth's experience and would begin a prompt investigation, I can't believe Sigworth isn't pressing charges. He says he just wants people to hear what happened to him, so they're aware of the potential issue. "I had no idea and it was so scary and I just wouldn’t want to see it happen to anyone else," he told local CBS news.
Hopefully his message gets out. After all, getting cancer and getting burned are the two things we're trying to avoid by using sunscreen! So, to me, this horrifying story is only further proof that most commercial sun protection products are more trouble than they're worth.
Here's more on Sigworth's story ...
Can you believe this? Do you use regular sunscreen?
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Comments 4
Another example of 'dumbing down America'. Can nobody go through life anymore with detailed instructions about product applications? This is the second article today about people misusing a product because a. they can't read the instructions or b. they are just to stupid to be using the product. If your skin is still wet from the sunscreen application then you do not go near an open flame, sort of like with hairspray. I read earlier about a contact solution consisting of 3% hydrogen peroxide that may be recalled because people are too stupid to read the label and can't figure out that a mild organic acid shouldn't be applied to the eyes. RIP common sense, I sure miss you!
The best thing to do is wear big floppy hats, light cotton long sleeved shirts, and sunglasses, and stay in t he shade, and try not to take long walks outside during peak hours (10am-3pm in most places) that is NATURAL skin protection without having to use chemicals. If you are going to use sunscreen, and sometimes for trips to the beach and whatnot you need to, it's best to use PHYSICAL sunscreens that have titanium or zinc oxide in them. For one thing, physical sunscreens prtect you IMMEDIATELY (like putting on a shirt provides physical blocking straight away) whereas chemical sunscreens take up to 30 MINUTES to absorb into the skin and start working - and who really puts on sunscreen 30 min ahead of time?! (Plus there's that pesky ABSORBING chemicals into your skin thing...) Now it is possible because these zinc & titanium ingrediants are basically nano-particles of oxidized metal and we're still learning about the effects of nanoparticles that these may ultimately prove somewhat risky as well. However, the oxy-class of chemicals like oxybenozene is a KNOWN carcinogen and toxin that DEFINITELY sink into your skin, whereas the physical sunscreens are largely viewed as relatively safe and as of YET are not known to be toxic (again...this could be disproved later). Personally I'd rather choose the "maybe bad" option rather than the "definitely bad" option.