Chemical sunscreens are definitely effective in preventing sunburn, but at what cost to our greater health?

Chemical sunscreens have been in use for many decades now, and oddly enough skin cancer rates are highest in those parts of the world where sunscreens are the most heavily used and promoted by the medical community. (See a PDF article about this here.)

If a combination of chemicals is strong enough to block the sun from tanning your skin, what else may it be doing to your skin, and could it be seeping into your body, blood and organs?

It doesn't seem that there's been that much research conducted as to the safety of sunscreens. But here's a summary of one University of California study done a couple of years ago, that concludes that "three commonly used ultraviolet (UV) filters -- octylmethoxycinnamate, benzophenone 3 and octocrylene -- eventually soak into the deeper layers of the skin after their application, leaving the top skin layers vulnerable to sun damage. UV rays absorbed by the skin can generate harmful compounds called reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause skin cancer and premature aging. The researchers found that once the filters in sunscreen soak into the lower layers of skin, the filters react with UV light to create more damaging ROS.

The Cal team's research is the first to indicate that sunscreen filters -- intended to protect the skin from the very UV damage they apparently promote -- have reacted in such a way."

Sunscreen does encourage people to stay out in the sun for longer than they would otherwise. While we may be avoiding sunburn while using it, we really can't be sure what's going on beneath the surface of our skin while the powerful chemicals act to block the tan on the outside.

Sunscreen suppresses our natural warning systems that we've had too much sun. It often keeps us from taking traditional measures such as wearing a wide-brimmed hat and protective clothing.

We're no scientists but we have a hunch that we'll be hearing more about the hazards of sunscreen soon.

The above photo of a mannequin tanning on a bench is via Jeremy Burgin.