Should You Be Afraid of Vitamin A in Sunscreen?
Making headlines this week: A report from non-profit organization Environmental Working Group saying that a number of sunscreens increase our risk of developing skin cancer (see #5 at the link) because they contain vitamin A.
But before you start tossing your SPFs, here's dermatologist and skin cancer specialist Darrell Rigel's take: there is little merit to the claims. "They're arguing that, because vitamin A thins the skin, it makes us more susceptible to skin cancers, but there is no evidence that even suggests that," says Rigel.
Related: The 9 Biggest Sun-Protection Mistakes
To the contrary, vitamin A and its derivatives are used by dermatologists to effectively treat visible signs of sun damage, as well as cancerous and precancerous skin cells. "Tens of millions of Americans use these sunscreens every weekend, and we have not seen any problems," he says. "This is very disappointing. I'm scared that people are going to go outside this weekend, think sunscreens are dangerous, and not use them."
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Photo Credit: Condé Nast Digital Archive
