Why I Don’t Wear Sunscreen (and Never Will)
January 10, 2010 by The Dove
I don’t wear sunscreen and never will.
I stopped using sunblock the moment I stopped being a beauty editor a few years ago. A combination of gut feeling and research told me what I was being told to “protect” my skin with was little more than a poison (and poisonous it is).
You see, the sun is a life-giver. Without it, we’d be on our way out. The amount of sun we can tolerate depends on various factors from skin type to foods we include in our diet. But somewhere along the way, we’ve been told to fear the sun. Cover up and slather up the marketing hype tells us, and we’ll be doing a great job of protecting ourselves from that nasty cancer-causing ball or fire in the sky.
So why, was my question, had the skin cancer rates skyrocketed? Why were we being told to suddenly be scared of the very thing that gives life to the planet and everything on it? Dollars of course. Scare the masses and they’ll buy the product.
Here’s an excerpt from Natural News:
The idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is a myth. It’s a myth promoted by a profit-seeking tag-team effort between the cancer industry and the sunscreen industry. The sunscreen industry makes money by selling lotion products that actually contain cancer-causing chemicals. It then donates a portion of that money to the cancer industry through non-profit groups like the American Cancer Society which, in turn, run heart-breaking public service ads urging people to use sunscreen to “prevent cancer.”
With all of the chemicals that make up the hundreds of sunscreens on the market, it begs the question to be asked. What happens to all of those chemicals when you put them on your body’s largest organ, the skin? Well, not only are we told to put them on our skin, we’re told to wear them in the sun. So effectively, we’re baking ourselves with toxic, cancer-causing chemicals.
Another excerpt from Natural News:
The scientific evidence, however, shows quite clearly that sunscreen actually promotes cancer by blocking the body’s absorption of ultraviolet radiation, which produces vitamin D in the skin. Vitamin D, as recent studies have shown, prevents up to 77 of ALL cancers in women (breast cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, multiple myeloma… you name it). Meanwhile, the toxic chemical ingredients used in most sunscreen products are actually carcinogenic and have never been safety tested or safety approved by the FDA. They get absorbed right through the skin (a porous organ that absorbs most substances it comes into contact with) and enter the bloodstream.
We need the sun. The days of fearing it are long gone for me. So what happens if I’m going to be out in the sun for hours? Sure, I wear sensible clothing and a hat. I also regularly include foods in my diet that prevent sunburn such as spirulina. As per my past post, I apply extra virgin coconut oil to my skin daily which, as a bonus, works as a natural protector if I’m to spend many hours in the sun.
Sunburn only happens due to nutritional deficiencies. Since becoming vegan and eating (mostly raw) plant-based foods I rarely experience sunburn. Pretty neat, I reckon!
I believe you so much. In fact, I had put on so much sunscreen that I feel like I was getting so little vitamin D and sunlight that my skin was disgustingly pale, I had purple circles, and I felt sick and unhealthy. Once I put my natural skin care to the test (honey and olive oil for moisturizing and washing face) and I would go out into the sun for just little bits at a time, my face looked mch healtheir, I felt better, and healthier too.
Just use common sense people, don’t look into the sun for 50 minutes and burn your face off. Sun is good for us, in portions, just like foods, vitamins, and whatnot. Too much of a good thing can be bad, but too little can be fatal.
What I do is wear a sunhat or something and a cardigan if I’ll be in the sun for a long time (mostly during summer)
[...] or foundation. These products will cause your skin to be sticky when you go outside. Consider this: some sun screen lotions don’t work the way they advertise. Be [...]
ive never worn sunscreen since i could say i dont want it, and of course people have always been telling me i should know better,i should wear sun screen if not you could get skin cancer.
anyways its feels pretty good to read that someone else feels the same way i do. i really like when i actually have the time to sit and relax in the sun. but i hate the feeling of sunscreen.
i always tell people that “watch in a few years theirs gona be evidence that all this sunscreen your putting on, is the cause to a grate amount of skin cancers.” well anyway it was really good reading your blog or article whatever it maybe.
This post is pure ignorance, I’d like to see how your face turns out in a decade of senseless sun exposure.
We certainly wouldn’t recommend senseless sun exposure. However, wearing a chemical cream on your skin while in the sun is toxic. Definitely cover up if you plan to be in the sun for a length of time, but sensible doses of sun without a chemical cream is good for your health. Your skin will thank you.
wow, Im so glad I found this article. And now that I come to think of it, it is true that wearing a toxic chemical in the sun is worse than not wearing one at all. I have been researching for a good lotion with spf for men but have not come across such a moisturiser. All the good moisturisers are those that have no spf i.e clinique dramatically different gel or whatever its called. Im going to research more about spf etx and then decide to use a cream with spf or not!
Finally an article that says what I have been saying for years.These people slathering on the sunscreen are the same ones I see smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.Yet they look at me like I am nuts when I say I don’t use sunscreens.
im a golfer and i also like to spend hours surfing and on the beach, i wear a organic sunscreen as im in the sun for hours on end. sun exposure is harmful to skin is you over do it, would you advice using sunscreen in my case as when on beach im topless and when surfing topless too and im golfing the rest of the time.,
i dont use sunscreen either,its funny i cant take that oiliness in my skin,and all those parabens and those allergies its just too much,i use calamine lotion in the hope it might prevent some damage and i use an umbrella when its very hot,else,i just let my skin be like it should be…free of chemicals
i also get teased for not wearing foundation
a guy told me:why do you have spots and why are other girls more beautiful than you?
well may be we should see a few years later
I think you’re awesome! I commend people for living in unconventional ways. The people who ridicule never want to address the chemicals that are used in these products. I wish sunscreen companies would address the use of harsh chemicals as well.
Kudos Green Dove! The sun is essential for life and good healtth, and while we need our daily dose there’s no suggestion here we should be getting burned.
As you say, using sensible clothing, hat and applying APPROPRIATE sun protective product such as extra virgin coconut oil is healthier (and cheaper) than the multitude of toxic and ineffective sunscreens out there. They are ineffective because they work just under the dermis absorbing rays, thereby allowing a degree of UV penetration! The ingredients that go into these sunscreens are irritating, skin blocking and toxic. We advocate using methods that work on the skin surface. The mineral Zinc is another ingredient that works suberbly and provides numerous skincare benfits since it is essential for good health too.
Even many zinc based sunscreens still contain toxic preservatives like parabens, imid or diaz urea, so as we always say – skip the marketing and read the ingredient list.