– What are you looking for in a sunscreen?
– Well, I’m looking at, for sunscreen, that basically, that it’s non-toxic, so that it doesn’t have any toxic chemicals. You know and, most of the chemicals that you see, are toxic. So, basically what we’re bringing that back to, is zinc oxide.
– Yes.
– There’s zinc oxide, and titanium oxide, are two that show that they’re, they’re not absorbed in, through the skin very well. So, that’s a good thing, cause we want them on the surface, not going underneath. However, there are some products, that people have created, nano-particles. So, they’ve created these zinc oxide and titanium, and created really small particles, because people don’t like the whiteness on, you know, sunscreen. They want the sunscreen to rub in,
– Yes.
– so that they look better.
– [Man In Green] Well, the unfortunately, by creating those nano, those tiny particles, that increases the chance that we are actually gonna absorb those chemicals into our skin. Now, while they haven’t been shown to be dangerous on the surface of our skin, it’s a different story if we absorb that inside, into our body. Now, the UVB is what triggers a sunburn.
– Okay. They specifically interact with cells in a way that it triggers the sunburn. Well, you can think of a sunburn as the body’s actual warning system, that we’ve had enough sun. So, if we’re covering up, you know, just with sunscreen all the time, and we’re not getting, you know, that we’re blocking those UVB rays then, perhaps we’re turning off that signal that hey, it’s time to get out of the sun. And the reason is, is because, we’re always getting the UVA rays as well. The UVA rays penetrate more deeply.
– That’s right, that’s right.
– Yeah, so, some sunscreens only block UVB. Some sunscreens have been shown to block both UVA and UVB. Titanium dioxide only blocks UVB. Zinc oxide seems to block UVB and UVA. So, for all of my patients, I recommend a non-nano zinc oxide sunscreen.
– Non-nano zinc oxide sunscreen. So, that’s what you’re really looking for.