Over the last hundred years, skin cancer risk rates have increased by a factor of 10. Many have linked this to the use of sunscreen rather than increased exposure to the sun.
The blame has mostly been placed on a bunch of nasty sounding chemicals like: oxybenzone, retinyl palmitate, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. But lot of evidence has debunked this myth.
Oxybenzone is the most controversial chemical. This substance, along with some derivatives, has been found to cause an allergic skin reaction. Some lab studies have found it to mimic human hormones and be absorbed quite dramatically by the skin; however it is quickly excreted. No studies have linked it to cancer when tested on humans.
Sunscreens can also have nanoparticles like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. The claims that these might be responsible for the rising skin cancer rates are even shoddier. These chemicals are not adsorbed by the body and block out both UVA and UVB. Check that sunscreens block out both types of radiation.
Another argument is that Vitamin D is good enough to protect yourself from sun exposure. Vitamin D is first produced by light, then broken down by excessive exposure. Clearly our natural defences cannot cope.
An Australian study was carried out on over 1,600 people. They measured skin cancer rates by comparing people who regularly wore sun screen against those who did not, but had similar lifestyles. Those who wore SPF 15+ sunscreen had a 50 to 73 per cent decrease in the number of cancers. Protecting against UV rays known to cause mutations in DNA that lead to cancer is an effective measure.
So remember: wear sunscreen.