I hope you heard my recent interview with dermatologist Dr. Rawn Bosley. Sunscreen has been in the news a lot lately, and not just because summer is around the corner. You've heard that sunscreen chemicals are absorbed in the blood immediately. Dr. Bosley took a measured view of the news - he told me that the news is a concern...but more study is needed to determine if the absorption is causing us harm. After all, we've applied sunscreen for years with no APPARENT ill effects. However, Dr. Bosley pointed out to me that he's recommended to patients for years that they COVER UP - a hat, long sleeves, etc.
Rather than follow his advice, some folks are making their own sunscreen. Is that a good idea?
According to a new study, the answer is no. Pinterest has several DYI recipes for homemade sun protection, but according to Laura McKenzie, who wrote the study, not one of them offers protection. She stresses that the least that can happen is sunburn and at the worst, skin cancer.
McKenzie and her colleagues examined 189 pins about sunscreen. Most of them touted the positive benefits of homemade sunscreen. Yet 68-percent of them included recipes that provided poor ultraviolet protection. The pins also give SPF factors…. but in fact none provides that.
Essential oils are basically being held up as good sunscreen ingredients, but they also don’t help. The most popular ingredients in homemade sunscreen were coconut oil and apple cider vinegar.
What I'm saying is, pay attention to the science when it comes to sun protection… not Pinterest.