Over 2,300 people die from skin cancer each year in the UK, which is more than in Australia, even though Australia has more cases of the disease.Exposure to tanning beds before age 35 increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.
Up to 6,000 tonnes of suntan lotion is approximately released into the world's oceans each year.
It's easy to ignore the stats when the sun isn't shining in the UK but protecting ourselves from the harsh UV rays of the great golden ball or the beauty salon sunbed is something we must consider before browning our bods this summer.
Beyond covering up and avoiding the sun completely sunscreens can help protect you from those meanie melanomas and it doesn't have to be a chemical exercise.
Organic and natural sunscreens are better for a number of reasons:
- They are as effective as traditional chemical sunscreens, protecting from broad-spectrum UVA and UVB, but use minerals rather than synthetic sun filters.
- They are free of synthetic chemicals and parabens
- They are gentler on the skin, often containing antioxidants like natural vitamin E, beta carotene and botanical extracts to protect the skin from premature aging
- They are often scented with essential oils rather than synthetic fragrance so you don't have to walk about smelling like... well sunscreen
- Natural ingredients will do less harm to our ocean life than the UV bleaching chemicals of synthetic based creams which are killing our coral
As the largest organ of the body we really don't want to be slathering our skin with these nasty chemicals so when it comes to using sunscreen to avoid skin damage this summer organic is the way.
