The Sunscreen Filter

Sun care products have evolved extensively during the past four decades. In the 1970s and 1980s, an effective sunscreen was one that blocked burning UVB rays and permitted socalled healthy UVA rays to go through the skin. The emphasis was on protection from the then-perceived harmful UVB rays. In fact, UVA rays were termed friendly and beneficial tanning rays. A tan was considered healthy and a sign of wealth and wellbeing. This misperception resulted in increased damage to the skin since we now know that a tan represents an injury to the skin. More importantly, sunscreens gave sunbathers a false sense of security and allowed them to stay longer in the sun without the uncomfortable sensation of burning. The outcome was more damaging UVA rays were penetrating the skin! In the 1990s and the 2000s, products focused on protection from the nowdocumented harmful UVA rays. These rays penetrate the skin much more deeply and are still sufficiently energetic to cause major damage to cellular material. Products created during this period resulted in a major increase in the use of UVA filters with more claims of broadspectrum protection. While more documentation was presented regarding the damage caused by UVA rays from tanning booths, the practice continued unabated. The recent statistic from the 2012 Mayo Clinic study revealed that the rate of skin cancer among young female adults has increased an eightfold in the past two decades.1 This increase may have a number of causes, yet it clearly implicates the unchecked use of the tanning parlors by young women seeking a tan. This leads to the question, “Why are skin cancer rates still rising dramatically despite the improvement of sun care products with more efficient filters that provide protection from both the UVA and UVB rays?” The answer, of course, is not simple or satisfactory. The emphasis here is neither to describe past efforts nor to address the regulations, or lack thereof in the field of broad spectrum and is definitely not to address the efficacy and stability of UVA filters. Rather, it is to emphasize that contributing factors for this skin cancer epidemic may be in play. Suggestions that other factors are the main culprit for this epidemic are obviously premature, as new research on the mechanism of damage to the skin and human wellbeing is emerging. Future protocols for protection will undoubtedly be introduced, and ultimately we will prevail in significantly reducing the incidence of skin cancer worldwide.