Do a quick Google search for homemade sunscreen recipes and you’ll find hundreds of thousands of results. Many people claim to be opting for homemade sunscreen for various reasons : some want to know exactly what they are applying to their skin; Others want to skip “toxic” chemicals and go a more natural route; others skip sunscreen entirely and choose other forms of sun protection … but homemade sun creams don’t provide a good solution for anyone.
And it is that in recent years we have seen an increase in personal care products, from deodorant to soap and homemade toothpaste. Homemade sunscreen recipes are some of the most popular with social media users. However, a new study cautions that homemade sunscreen may not offer protection against UV rays.
Its apparent advantages
The appeal of homemade suntan lotion lies in multiple factors , including potentially lower costs and the belief that a natural cream made with hand-selected ingredients is healthier than a suntan lotion with an ingredient list that contains chemicals with illegible names. However, a new study warns that we should not trust the recipes for sunscreen that we find online.
The study comes from a team of researchers from the Center for Injury Policy and Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus and Brooks College of Health at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, USA.
“ The Internet is a great place for families looking for recipes for inspiration and art projects and crafts, but not necessarily to make products related to security , ” says co – author of the study Lara McKenzie, in the journal Health Communication published study .
Making sunscreen at home is risky
Since social media is a major source around the world when it comes to DIY products, the researchers turned their attention to one of these social networks: Pinterest, a social platform that allows users to display digital collections of similar interests on the mood panels.
Rise of social media
In the current study, researchers looked at how Pinterest users described and rated various recipes for homemade sunscreen. According to experts, this is the first study to look at the representation of homemade sun creams through Pinterest.
They found that the majority (95.2%, to be exact) of the saved posts regarding homemade sun protection suggested that homemade products were effective , despite not ensuring adequate protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation. ).
In addition, the team observed that a third of the publications featuring recipes for homemade sunscreen stated that the specific sun protection factor, presented on commercial packaging as “ SPF,” could be rated anywhere between SPF 2 and 50.
However, the researchers caution that such claims can be misleading, as the ingredients featured in those recipes actually offer minimal protection against UV radiation. But many people seem to show great interest in these Pinterest-posted recipes, with users saving each of these pins, on average, up to 808 times. Specifically, a homemade sunscreen recipe pin was saved more than 21,700 times.
In their study paper, the researchers write that “social media has become a powerful tool for sharing health information, but it becomes dangerous when the information that is shared is not accurate or complete .” Specialists do not test such products and for this reason they may not provide any protection against UV rays.
“Homemade sunscreen products are very risky because they’re not regulated or tested for effectiveness like commercial sunscreens. When you make it yourself, you don’t know if it’s safe or effective,” says Lara McKenzie.
Warnings
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that having “a history of sunburn, especially at an early age,” can increase your risk of developing skin cancer . Therefore, it is important to use sunscreen that has been tested and shown to be effective, from infancy onward, as long as we are exposed to strong sun.
Sun protection SPF 30 or higher and that is water resistant is recommended. In addition, we must apply the cream every two hours if we continue in the sun and more frequently if we swim or sweat.
Referencia: Pinterest Homemade Sunscreens: A Recipe for Sunburn. Julie Williams Merten, Kristi J. Roberts, Jessica L. King & Lara B. McKenzie. Published online: 21 May 2019. HEALTH COMMUNICATION. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2019.1616442
