this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2025
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I had no idea that people were spreading a conspiracy that sunscreen itself was causing skin cancer. Of course, how could you possily think it's the giant flaming ball in the sky, which you can literally feel burning your skin from dozens of millions of kilometres away.
In the US, it's a concern: https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/beauty-style/carcinogen-benzene-sunscreen
There have been a few lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson in particular because of the benzene specifically:
thinks back to college chem lab classes and MSDSes why would anyone put benzene in sunscreen
Anyway, for reference here's the paragraph from the article about the harmful substance:
Meanwhile, I've noticed that mineral sunscreens (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) are reportedly considered "reef safe": https://savethereef.org/about-reef-save-sunscreen.html
And they aren't the substances that are cited for toxicity/carcinogenicity. So, based on the available information (correct me if I'm wrong, of course!), it seems that they're the best choice.
Also I've heard that mineral sunscreens work by reflecting sunlight rather than absorbing it and dissipating it as a different form of energy (I forget whether that's heat or chemical change) so that might also be useful in other ways. But I am not an expert.
EDIT: see later replies to this post for more information to consider
Agreed, especially on the mineral sunscreens. Usually when you buy the version of sunscreen for babies (at least in the US) they're only of the mineral variety.
I spend a lot of time in the sun and have a chronic skin condition. During the summer I used to get really deep pimples and cysts that took months to go away. Ever since I switched to mineral sunscreens I haven't had issues. It's a personal anecdote, but I'm happy with the change, even if mineral sunscreens are a bit harder to apply.