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listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey,

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Shortwavers. Regina Barber here with NPR

0:56

science correspondent Allison Aubrey. Hey, Allison.

0:59

Hey, Regina. Great to be here. OK, so it's

1:01

Memorial Day. This is one of the unofficial queues

1:03

that summer is coming, right? And in my part

1:06

of the world, in Washington DC, the

1:08

temperature is just getting hotter. There's

1:10

more people outside hiking, biking, and

1:12

in the sun. It's wonderful. It's

1:14

fun, right? Yes, it's very

1:16

nice. It's a little humid, but it is nice.

1:19

And when we're outside enjoying that sun, it

1:22

means it's time to revisit a topic we

1:24

do a lot when weather gets warmer, right?

1:26

The science behind sunscreen and the best way

1:28

to protect our skin from that sun.

1:31

Yeah, this one never gets old, Regina.

1:33

I kind of feel that some of

1:35

the most important information to get out

1:37

there is how to apply sunscreen for

1:39

maximum protection. And yet, yet it turns

1:41

out that a lot of people are

1:44

still doing it wrong, making mistakes. That's

1:46

not good, because the dangers of not

1:48

protecting yourself from the sun are serious.

1:51

It helps us protect against skin cancer, right?

1:53

That's exactly right. And every year, over 80,000

1:55

people in the US are

1:57

diagnosed with melanoma, more than 8,000. people

2:00

die from this type of cancer and

2:02

there's millions of cases of basal cell

2:04

and squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed each year

2:07

too and about 90% of these skin

2:09

cancers are linked to the ultraviolet radiation

2:12

from the Sun. Ooh and sunscreen plays

2:14

a key role in protecting the skin

2:16

but you found out recently that a

2:18

lot of people are making mistakes

2:21

when they use it. I mean I hope I'm not

2:23

but I bet I am. Yeah you

2:25

know people seem to put a lot of

2:27

thought into what type of sunscreen they buy,

2:29

how high they want the SPF to

2:32

be, whether they want spray, lotion,

2:34

chemical, mineral but it turns out

2:36

which sunscreen you choose may not

2:38

be nearly as important as avoiding

2:40

six very common mistakes that people

2:42

make when it comes to applying

2:44

sunscreen. Okay so today on the

2:46

show we're going to hear about six common

2:49

mistakes and how to avoid them plus we

2:51

get into which sunscreens may be better than

2:53

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4:06

Okay, I'll send sunscreen. mistake number one.

4:08

What is it? Using old sunscreen

4:10

I've done it myself. about yes, yes

4:12

you know. couple weeks ago I was

4:14

rummaging through like last season's pool bag

4:16

and I found a few bottles of

4:18

half years sunscreen and cigarette. Okay, let's

4:20

sissies. This mean why not? You paid

4:22

ten bucks for it. But then I

4:24

spoke to Eat out a Rainbow she's

4:26

a dermatologist at Baylor College of Medicine

4:29

see persuaded me to toss it out.

4:31

I always tell people that you need

4:33

to look at the expiration date and

4:35

get rid of them and even if

4:37

the have an expired mike kind of

4:39

mantra is. Every spring up by all

4:41

the sunscreen for my household. While she

4:43

says the active ingredients can degrade and

4:46

she says bacteria can get into the

4:48

creams to so several dermatologists told me

4:50

that each season they throughout the old

4:53

by new. It may seem wasteful, but

4:55

the cost of not protecting your skin

4:57

properly is much higher. Okay, so let's

5:00

talk about the active ingredients a bit.

5:02

What are they. You.

5:04

Know there's a whole list and com

5:06

pounds of the Sta cause acceptable active

5:08

ingredients for sunscreen. These include chemicals like

5:11

Oxy Benz own although then zone you

5:13

can go the Ft a website to

5:15

get a complete list and these are

5:17

chemical sunscreens that for a my kind

5:19

of sin protective film on the skin

5:22

that absorbed as easy radiation. If you're

5:24

using one of these sunscreens you need

5:26

to make sure it's marked a broad

5:28

spectrum because there's actually two types of

5:30

Uva radiation that you need. To protect

5:33

yourself from. Uva and you Bb

5:35

and a broad spectrum chemical sunscreen

5:37

will protect you against both and

5:39

most products these days are broad

5:41

spectrum. But. There's also some

5:43

concern that chemicals in the sunscreen might

5:46

be harmful, right? That's right,

5:48

and I would say there's some uncertainty

5:50

about the safety of these chemicals or

5:52

at least some of them. Recent studies

5:54

have shown some of these compounds are

5:56

absorbed into the bloodstream, but be impact

5:58

of absorption isn't really. Well understood.

6:00

A Bf A has been conducting

6:03

a safety review and has asked

6:05

industry for more data for now,

6:07

The Sta has said that there

6:09

is inadequate data to support a

6:12

safety finding for some of the

6:14

chemicals that are common in sunscreen

6:16

like oxy then them. Now there's

6:18

no evidence of harm, so there's

6:21

no can a definitive answer on

6:23

that, and most dermatologist say the

6:25

risks from a sunburn far outweigh

6:27

any potential risk of censoring chemicals.

6:30

But is there an alternative? You

6:32

know if you are concerned about

6:35

these chemicals and sunscreen. There.

6:37

Are alternatives you can choose a

6:39

but they call physical sunscreen were

6:41

also referred to as mineral sunscreen.

6:43

These are typically made from the

6:46

zinc oxide and titanium. dioxide. They

6:48

stay on the surface of the

6:50

skin and and sickly block the

6:52

sun. That's why you can ever

6:54

see that lifeguard effect of the

6:56

white blaze on someone's face. I

6:59

spoke to Doctor Towler where your

7:01

son yes she's a dermatologist the

7:03

Kaiser Permanente in the Baltimore area

7:05

and she recommends this. Type. Of

7:07

sunscreens a lots of or patience.

7:09

I think that zinc oxide as

7:11

I came back side are much

7:13

much safer than chemical sunscreens on

7:15

because they're so ignorant, they're less

7:17

likely to answer the bloodstream. She.

7:20

Also says they're better for people

7:22

with sensitive skin. they might not

7:24

lead to break out you know,

7:26

older versions of these minerals. Sunscreens

7:28

went on as care that sick

7:30

flight paste which some people don't

7:32

like. Now there are some colorful

7:34

versions of bright pink and there's

7:36

also a lot more zinc oxide

7:38

products available. Now the go on.

7:40

Much clearer. And a

7:43

good reason for choosing these minerals

7:45

sunscreens, especially if you're going to

7:47

the ocean, is that the National

7:49

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noaa says

7:52

sunscreens without chemicals are better for

7:54

coral reefs and marine life. Okay

7:56

Allison, so what's another mistake people

7:59

make. Not applying enough, you

8:01

know how much you really need.

8:04

I really don't. I play some to

8:06

my face every day and I hope

8:08

it's enough. Okay, will you know a

8:10

lot of people spend time worrying about

8:12

the Spf? but as sunscreen with an

8:14

Spf and fifteen will block out and

8:17

ninety three percent of the the rays.

8:19

And when you bump it up to

8:21

Spf thirty, you're blocking out about ninety

8:23

seven percent sales. Stucco reassign Yes says

8:25

the sunscreens with the highest sun protection

8:27

factor like the eighties or the hundreds

8:29

aren't necessarily better. Spf. Thirty

8:32

is sufficient. And as because

8:34

Spf there, he is going to

8:36

filter ninety seven percent. Of the

8:38

you we raise our coming through from son. And.

8:41

As we go up and sps spf

8:43

fifty. Spf Seventy Five Fifteen hundred.

8:46

You're really getting a miniscule increase.

8:48

She basically tells her patients lox

8:50

soak as less on the As

8:52

P ass and more on be

8:55

amount of the sunscreen. Here's doctor

8:57

either a rainbow again the dermatologist

8:59

from Baylor University. She says the

9:01

recommended amount is about an hour

9:03

and a half of liquid sunscreen.

9:05

We always say it's like a

9:07

shot glass for sunscreen as for

9:09

the whole body and then about

9:11

a teaspoon for the face. Oh.

9:14

My gosh, I actually do do this in

9:16

the morning else and I feel so good

9:18

And dd the shots! As for the body,

9:20

I do not as. I

9:23

think that. People fall down. and

9:25

when it comes to spray sunscreens

9:27

another a little thing that concert

9:29

people up isn't It can be

9:31

tricky to gauge the amount right?

9:34

I think that spray sunscreens are

9:36

a bit risky because of the

9:38

spray is easy to miss a

9:40

whole area of your body. Nasa

9:43

she says make sure that all

9:45

the parts of your body that

9:47

you need to be covered feel

9:49

were F E spray and that

9:51

brings us to a third. mistake

9:54

hoof what is that assuming that one application

9:56

of censoring the last you all day in

9:58

a many little thing said higher SPF

10:00

last longer, but that's just not

10:02

true. So I spoke to Dr.

10:04

Jennifer Holman. She's a fellow at

10:07

the American Academy of Dermatology. She

10:09

said sunscreens just don't last very

10:11

long, especially when people sweat and

10:13

swim. If you're exposed to

10:15

the water, even with sunscreen labeled as

10:17

water resistant, you're really only getting about

10:19

80 to 90 minutes of

10:21

protection. So she says she really

10:24

just needs to remember to reapply sunscreen every

10:26

couple of hours, even on

10:28

cloudy days. I always forget that. Always.

10:30

Yeah. I mean, dermatologists told me that

10:32

they see some of the worst sunburns

10:35

linked to overcast days because people just

10:37

assume they don't need it. You're still

10:39

getting about 80% of the UV

10:41

rays filtered through those clouds on a cloudy

10:44

day. You absolutely can still, you know, experience

10:46

damage from UV radiation on a cloudy day.

10:49

So that's another common mistake people make. If

10:51

it's cloudy, they just don't think they need

10:53

it. And we're talking about

10:55

everyone, right? Like all humans are at

10:57

risk of skin cancer from sun damage.

10:59

That's right. I mean, sunscreen protection is

11:01

recommended for all groups. I mean, with

11:03

the exception of babies under six months.

11:06

And that's because infants are more susceptible

11:08

to rashes from sunscreen. They're

11:10

also much more likely to get a sunburn.

11:12

So the FDA says, for infants, the best

11:15

thing is just to keep them out of

11:17

the sun entirely, especially during the hours of

11:19

10 to 2, when the sun is

11:21

strongest, or when they are outside, to

11:23

have on lots of protective clothing. So,

11:25

you know, long sleeves, a hat, keep

11:28

them in the shade. For everyone else,

11:30

it doesn't matter how dark or how

11:32

light your skin is. Everyone should protect

11:34

themselves from the sun's radiation. Dermatologists

11:37

say fair-skinned people are at higher risk

11:39

of burns and melanoma, but people with

11:41

dark skin are vulnerable to damage from

11:43

the sun too. I mean, I've cut

11:45

skin cancers off of every skin type

11:48

that I can think of because that

11:50

risk is still there. And Dr.

11:52

Oya Sanya told me that she advises

11:54

people with darker skin who've had a

11:56

lot of sun exposure to be careful

11:58

to check their palms. The soles

12:00

are their feet, their nails, inside their

12:03

mouth, because these are all the areas

12:05

that people can develop skin cancer because

12:07

there's less melanin in those areas. It's

12:10

a little alarming, but okay, I think

12:12

we have one more common mistake to

12:14

cover, right? Yeah, and

12:17

this goes to where you store your

12:19

sunscreen. It should be somewhere that is

12:21

cool and dry. Dr. Oreyasanya says, do

12:24

not keep it in the glove compartment

12:26

of your car. Oh no, oh no.

12:29

I know, it's hard because things need to be

12:31

convenient, but you're sort of trading the convenience of

12:33

keeping it in the car with, uh oh, what

12:35

if these chemicals start to degrade? Now it's not

12:37

going to happen overnight. If you're going on a

12:40

week-long camping trip or something, probably fine, just

12:42

leave it in the car. But

12:44

as a rule of thumb, you want to

12:46

keep the sunscreen in a cool, dry place.

12:48

The sunscreen is actually being degraded by heat,

12:50

and so the components of the sunscreen

12:52

that are supposed to protect you are getting

12:55

broken down slowly over time. One

12:57

thing you can keep in your

12:59

car is clothing or hats to

13:01

shield you from the suns, like

13:03

a baseball cap that will protect

13:06

part of your face. Dermatologists say

13:08

what's better is a three-inch brim

13:10

hat made with tightly woven material

13:12

that will give you more protection from the

13:14

sun's rays. And parasols. Yes,

13:17

umbrellas, perfect. And umbrellas. Okay,

13:21

Allison, thank you so much for bringing us

13:23

this very important information. I've learned a lot.

13:26

Just lather up and enjoy the sunshine. Thanks,

13:28

Regina. This

13:30

episode was produced by Carly Rubin and

13:32

edited by Jane Greenhalsh and Rebecca Ramirez.

13:35

It was fact-checked by Allison and Jane.

13:38

Robert Rodriguez was the audio engineer.

13:41

I'm Regina Barber. Thanks for listening to

13:43

Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

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