A Sunscreen Ingredient To Avoid

It's kind of weird that I didn't blog about this earlier. I definitley knew about this controversy, but I didn't form a final verdict on it because of the conflicting studies. Being an advocate for safe skin lightening, I think it's always better to be safe than sorry, so I am going to roll with what many other skin care gurus are recommending and that is to avoid the sunscreen ingredient, oxybenzone.

We've all seen this ingredient before in numerous sunscreens. It's been around for decades. Particularily in US brand sunscreens, which 90% of the time feature this chemical filter. The problem with oxybenzone (also known as Benzophenone-3) is that, during the last decade or so, many dermatologists have criticized and re-evaluated the safety of this sunscreen ingredient. The original studies released to the public proving its safety were done in the 70s!

It all began with people complaining about excess (and I emphasize excess, like extreme) irritation and flushing from using sunscreens that had oxybenzone. Now, a lot of chemical filters can potentially irritate the skin, but oxybenzone is a different case. Studies have shown that oxybenzone can trigger allergies in people, be toxic to cells, and act as an endochrine disruptor (hormonal imbalance).

What is worse is that oxybenzone is very easily absorbed in the bloodstream. Most sunscreen ingredients get absorbed as well (but not as rapidly or in such significant amounts as oxybenzone), but oxybenzone has dangerous elements to it (which other filters do not have).

It can definitley hinder the process of skin lightening. Studies show that oxybenzone contributes to cell damage. This is done through free radical attraction. The forming of free radicals not only age the skin and damage the entire function of the skin, but many times can trigger excess melanin production and contribute to oxidation (the 'dull' or 'dark' look that comes as the day progresses).

There is also the issue of oxybenzone being a an endochrine disruptor. Never mind the fact that disrupting the balance of hormones has extreme effects on the body as a whole, but can be particularily bad for melasma sufferers. A large percentage of people who have melasma have some hormonal imbalance (through pregnancy, medication, age). Using oxybenzone can definitley worsen melasma patches and discolorations.

I should also emphasize that pregnant women should avoid oxybenzone just as much as they should avoid an rx retinoid (vitamin A) and hydroquinone. There have reports proving that women who used oxybenzone based sunscreens throughout their pregnancy gave birth to babies with abnormalities and low birth weight. There are some studies that dispell this claim, stating that 'normal' amounts of oxybenzone (such as, using an oxybenzone based sunscreen just on your face and neck, not your whole body) cannot cause any harm to a pregnant woman or her child. But, personally I would avoid it.

Now, you're probably wondering why companies put oxybenzone in their sunscreens anyway. Well, there are many reasons. The most obvious being that the FDA did approved it back in the 70s as a safe sunscreen ingredient. Also, it is a good sunscreen ingredient in the sense that it can help stabilize avobenzone (to a degree) and allow for better absorption (or forming of the protective coating) of other chemicals.

This is very similar to the whole unstable sunscreen issue. Many sunscreens that have unstable ingredients are bad for your skin. They break down when exposed to the sun, accelerate the aging process, and contribute to free radical damage. That is why it is important to look for certain sunscreen ingredient combinations. I outlined them in Sunscreen Etiquette.

Generally avobenzone is the culprit (which is why I avoid it). Oxybenzone is usually also coupled with avobenzone. Octinoxate should never be in a sunscreen that has avobenzone. Also never use titanium dioxide or zinc oxide with an avobenzone based sunscreen (unfortunatley a lot of foundations/powders have these uncoated minerals so makeup with a sunscreen with avobenzone is not a good idea).

Here are two links outlining the oxybenzone controversy:

CDC: Americans Carry Body Burden of Toxic Sunscreen Chemical

Concentrations of the Sunscreen Agent Benzophenone-3 in Residents of the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2004