A sun tan, cancer protecting cream

I read about this new cream, currently being tested to give the wearer a tan without the need for sun. It works by triggering the body's natural melanin response to sun. It is said that it may help to prevent skin cancer.
Skin cancer is said to be dramatically rising in recent times.

Is this a good way of combating skin cancer while getting a tan?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40260029

So why is skin cancer on the rise all of a sudden? The sun has been with us since the birth of time, surely we have evolved with it?

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Originally Posted by Louise

So why is skin cancer on the rise all of a sudden? The sun has been with us since the birth of time, surely we have evolved with it?

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I read that is was due to the increase in people using sun beds.

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Originally Posted by cherry

I read that is was due to the increase in people using sun beds.

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What! I think that was way back in the 90's, but who uses a sun bed now? I'm not sure I believe those statistics.

Is it possible the increase of suntan cream use is a possible factor? After all it is a chemical.

It would be interesting to see if the trend of increasing skin cancer mirrors the use of sunscreen.

I found this from the institute of natural healing.

The first tanning lotions were introduced around 1930. The goal was to allow you to stay in the sun longer without burning. A few years later, the melanoma rate began to rise. By the 1960s there were dozens of tanning lotions on the market. Melanoma rates continued to rise.
As the rates of skin cancer increased, it became news. And the makers of tanning lotions saw an opportunity. They repositioned their products as “sunscreen.” After that, the sales of sunscreen continued to climb… along with the rates of melanoma.1 In fact, the per capita melanoma rate has increased 1,800 percent since the first commercial sunscreens were introduced.

Could it be that the use of sun cream has resulted in people allowing themselves to be exposed to the sun for longer than they would had there been no protection?

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Originally Posted by Jake

I found this from the institute of natural healing.

The first tanning lotions were introduced around 1930. The goal was to allow you to stay in the sun longer without burning. A few years later, the melanoma rate began to rise. By the 1960s there were dozens of tanning lotions on the market. Melanoma rates continued to rise.
As the rates of skin cancer increased, it became news. And the makers of tanning lotions saw an opportunity. They repositioned their products as “sunscreen.” After that, the sales of sunscreen continued to climb… along with the rates of melanoma.1 In fact, the per capita melanoma rate has increased 1,800 percent since the first commercial sunscreens were introduced.

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Thanks Jake, that's very interesting and fits in with something I have read before.

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Originally Posted by Esme

Could it be that the use of sun cream has resulted in people allowing themselves to be exposed to the sun for longer than they would had there been no protection?

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There is that, but isn't the cream supposed to protect you form the damaging effects of rays?

Most people don't actually follow the recommendations of how much cream should be applied, people put it on quite thinly, but it is supposed to be put on quite thick.

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Originally Posted by J-jay

Most people don't actually follow the recommendations of how much cream should be applied, people put it on quite thinly, but it is supposed to be put on quite thick.

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Maybe this is why cancer is on the rise, because you are not actually fully protected due to misuse of the cream

Slathering your skin in toxic chemicals and then heating them up in the sun....what can go wrong?

I don't use cream for this very reason, I prefer to expose my skin to the sun naturally, not lie in it, but move around in it. You are less likely to get burnt and you won't over expose yourself when you have no cream on.

Plus, humans evolved outdoors, our bodies built in a natural protector in the form of melanin. I think there is more to the skin cancer rise than we are led to believe.

It is a difficult one to call, because the sudden increase in skin cancer came at a time when sun screen became available and popular. But as a result of the availability of the cream people spent more time exposing their skin in the suns rays.

Thought this was interesting....

FACT: Sunscreen takes about an hour to really absorb into your skin. While it will still make a large difference, you won’t have total protection until it has been absorbed. Slathering it on one an hour, while in the sun, is highly recommended. One application won’t give you infinite protection, as anyone who has received a bad burn even with sunscreen will tell you. Make sure to choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen, especially if you have fair skin. SPF only rates protection against UVB rays but UVA rays are also harmful. A broad-spectrum protection in your sunscreen protects against both types.

I think people have become scared of the sun and cover their children up so much that they are at risk of becoming deficient in vitamin D

Surely if UV rays were that bad we would be burdened by skin cancer on our face and hands. These areas are constantly exposed to daylight, yet somehow our skin copes! I think there may be an element of scaremongering going on.