The HighWire@HighWireTalk
A 2024 study of over 470,000 people found that frequent sunscreen users had 292% higher rates of melanoma than those who rarely or never used it. Skin cancer rates have been climbing steadily since the mid-1970s, precisely when high-SPF chemical sunscreens went mainstream.
An unnamed former formulation chemist at a major sunscreen company says the internal absorption data existed years before it became public, and the decision not to switch to mineral alternatives was purely financial.
Chemical formulations are cheap to produce and the margins are huge. Meanwhile, four of the most common UV-filtering chemicals were found in 2019 to enter the bloodstream after a single day of use at concentrations exceeding the FDA's own safety threshold, and the FDA has let every product stay on the shelf.
@ChelleWards and @tracybeanz trace how we got here, what's actually being blocked, and why 15 minutes of midday sun does something no supplement can replicate.
Full article linked below 👇
bit.ly/Sunscreen-FDA