23. Throwing Shade At Sunscreen?

It’s that time of year again.

That time when we throw off our clothes and head to any patch of grass, sand or poolside to gently toast in the sun.

Or get the most agonizing sunburn, treatable only by yoghurt and several margaritas.

Of course, we could apply sunscreen except they’re worse for you than burning, right?

Clearly, this was something our WTYT? team couldn’t leave unconsidered, so tune in to hear our team discuss the science of UVA and UVB energy from the sun as well as what the research has to say about sunscreens, sunblocks and oh, microparasols!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Here are just a few of the resources that I found useful when considering this topic!

Okay, so what’s the difference between that sunscreen and sunblock?

How do the effects of UVA and UVB on our skin differ?

How does the sun cause skin cancer?

How does melanin protect us?

Want to know about those microparasols?

What is ozone; what’s happening to the levels in our atmosphere and how does this increase our risk of developing skin cancer?

This is a brilliantly straightforward overview of the different types of skin cancer:

How good are chemical sunscreens at reducing skin cancer and how do they compare to sun block?

But yes, chemicals from sunscreens are absorbed, so if you want to use sunblock instead, check out this article:

Remember Tan mom?

The science behind the fake tan?

 Evolutionary loss of skin pigmentation.