For years we have been singing the praises of sunscreen and the necessity of using it to fight the harmful premature aging and negative health effects of the sun. Virtually every beauty article written includes a strong pitch for using sunscreen all day every day. Have we been wrong all along? A study published in Free Radical Biology & Medicine has caused some to question the safety of sunscreen overall. But before you throw away your sunscreen, keep reading.

The study was conducted in 2006 by researchers at the University of California, Riverside and showed that some sunscreen ingredients may actually cause more free radicals to form in your skin than no sunscreen at all. In case you missed advanced biology in college, here’s a quick rundown on how the sun affects your skin:

Ultraviolet light (UVA and UVB rays) can cause molecules in your skin to become unstable and release what are called free radicals. Free radicals are missing an electron and are perpetually in search of it. What ensues is akin to a night of speed dating gone wrong – terribly wrong. Imagine the free radical searching for that elusive mate and, instead of simply accepting the fact that other molecules just aren’t that into her, she decides to beat them senseless and leave a trail of carnage like a Carrie Underwood video on steroids. The damage caused by these free radicals shows up as everything from fine lines and wrinkles to skin cancer.

We have known for decades that the sun sets these free radicals loose, but we didn’t know that the sunscreen that we use to protect ourselves from sun exposure may be producing free radicals of its own. The University of California study showed that when skin is covered in sunscreen and exposed to the sun, the ingredients in the sunscreen – benzophenone-3 (also known as oxybenzone), octyl methoxycinnamate and octocrylene in particular – were shown to generate free radicals. These sunscreen filters work by absorbing energy from the sun. Unfortunately, as this study shows, that energy becomes free radicals.

The obvious missing piece to the puzzle is a study that compares the numbers of free radicals released by the sun alone. Such a study has not been conducted nor has the University of California study been duplicated. Where that leaves us is in a place of uncertainty regarding our sunscreen. However, many dermatologists are suggesting a good alternative – using an antioxidant lotion with your sunscreen or a just buying a sunscreen with antioxidants listed high on the list of ingredients. Antioxidants help the free radicals find that elusive mate and help put an end to the damage they cause in your skin. Many of the major sunscreen manufacturers offer sunscreens that include antioxidants.

So as we await the findings of future studies, the best advice is to avoid prolonged sun exposure – of course this is nothing new – and to read your sunscreen labels carefully (look for antioxidants and always use spf 30 or above). Vitamins C and E are effective antioxidants, so your favorite lotion may already be giving you that added layer of protection.

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