The season of summer means hot and humid climate, dealing with the scorching sun and trying to protect your skin from sun damage and sun burn. Sunscreens are used for that sole purpose. They are designed specifically to protect your precious skin from the harsh sun rays causing tan lines, sun burn, skin damage and skin cancer.
Studies say that a regular use of sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, can reduce the risk of developing Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) by 40% and reduce the risk of Melanoma damage by 50%. Choosing the right sunscreen for yourself can, not only help you prevent skin cancer but also maintain that healthy glow on your body. But people forget the harmful chemicals used in sunscreens and their effect on sunburned skin.
Also Read: Sunburn: Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment
Your skin needs a lot of breathe to heal itself and some chemicals might be in the way of your skin’s natural healing process. This article will focus on ingredients which you should never apply on sunburn.
But before we go on to the ingredients, we must first know how our skin can get sunburned due to the harmful rays of the sun.
Ultra violet Rays of the Sun
UV rays can be categorized into UVA, UVB AND UVC Rays. UVC is stopped by Earth’s atmospheric layer before it even can touch your skin.
UVA Rays: These rays can travel deep into the thickest layers of the skin (also known as the dermis layer), and can cause wrinkles and aging.
UVB Rays: These rays have shorter wavelengths, so they only affect the surface of your skin, causing burn like symptoms leading to sunburns and are one of the biggest causes for skin cancer.
There are many ways to take care of your sunburn and many people have many different remedies to treat harsh sunburn, but some might not know the things to avoid while you have sunburn.
Here is a list of things to avoid if you get sunburn and some ingredients you should never apply to your body right after sunburn.
If you think that the sunburn is more severe and the skin is not healing, you should immediately consult with a skin doctor and get it check out. Sunburn on skin can sometimes lead to skin cancer, so a thorough check up might be the savior for your skin troubles.
Although food is really important when it comes to your skin’s health, but some food items are not always the best choice when you experience sunburned skin. Fruits with a lot of water content are very essential in hydrating your skin and improving its health but here is a list of food ingredients you should avoid while your skin is healing from nasty sunburn.
List of food ingredients you should avoid
- Coffee
- Salt
- Lime
- Celery
- Parsley
- Carrots
- Figs
- Parsnips
- Mango peel
We know there are lots of sunscreens and other skincare products which are favorable for sunburned have lots of chemicals and additives in them.
Before you know about the chemicals in a sunscreen, you must understand the types of sunscreens used by people all around the world.
Sunscreens can be categorized into two types
- Chemical Sunscreens and
- Physical Sunscreens
- Chemical Sunscreens– Chemical sunscreens are nothing but a mixture of many chemicals made into existence to fight off UVA and UVB rays. These ingredients deactivate the sunlight that falls onto the skin and create a chemical reaction that can transform UV rays into a form of heat, which gets released by the skin.
- Physical Sunscreens– These are made of natural ingredients that are usually effective on the surface layer of skin. They deflect and absorb UV rays that try to reach the surface of the skin. The most common types of physical sunscreens contain Zinc Oxide and or Titanium Dioxide.
But these chemicals might not always be the best option when it comes to your skin’s health. Here is a list of ingredients you should definitely avoid if they are present in any moisturizer or sun protecting cream.
Ingredients you should definitely avoid
- Sunscreen with Vitamin A – Any kind of sunscreen promising to have Vitamin A is a big no for your skin. The creams with Vitamin A can cause tumors and lesions. You should avoid any cream with Vitamin A or retinol or Retinyl palmitate.
- Oxybenzone– It is a synthetic estrogen that can get absorbed into skin and disrupt hormone system.
- Petroleum Jelly– Like coconut oil, petroleum jelly can also clog your skin’s pores and decrease the healing proper of your own skin.
- Avonbenzone– Like oxybenzone, avobenzone should also be avoided in sunscreens. Avobenzone can cause irritation in high amounts.
- Octinoxate– This chemical if present in sunscreen can cause skin allergy.
- Octisalate– It is a stabilizer often mixed with avonbenzone. Octisalate is said to have shown moderate signs or toxicity.
- Formaldehyde
- Homosalate
- Parabens- Like Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Benzyl-parahydroxybenzoate (p-hydroxybenzoate), Methyl-parahydroxybenzoate (p-hydroxybenzate), Ethyl-parahydroxybenzoate (p-hydroxybenzoate), Propyl-parahydroxybenzoate (p-hydroxybenzoate), Butyl-parahydroxybenzoate (p-hydroxybenzoate), Parahydroxybenzoate (p-hydroxybenzoate)
- Sodium lauryl
- Octocrylene
- Methylisothiazolinone
- Diazolidinyl urea
Try to buy toxin free sunscreen and moisturizer and give your skin time to heal naturally. Remember to eat healthy and consult your Dermatologist in case of any problems regarding your sunburned skin.