It may come as a surprise to many that sunscreens are very damaging to your skin in some regards. Most of us are aware that we all need to have protection from the sun, however many do not realize that the chemical makeup and formulas of sunscreen can actually damage your skin, and even cause cancers. While there are many natural products to choose as alternatives, that are much "cleaner" to use, many consumers are unaware that the sunscreen they use is dangerous. While protecting your skin from UV rays and the free radicals caused by them is of upmost importance, the sunscreens you use may actually be causing the free radical chain reaction based upon the chemical makeup of the product.

For many years, irresponsible or ignorant cosmetic companies have endorsed that chemical sunscreens should be applied each and every time that you step out into the sun. Furthermore, that children should have heavy applications before any exposure to sunlight. They claimed that using sunscreen in this fashion would prevent skin cancer and protect your skin from wrinkles and sunspots. This all happened without any sufficient level of safety testing of these chemicals.

Over the past ten to fifteen years scientists that are studying cancer have come to the exact opposite conclusion. They have found that the use of sunscreen chemicals may be increasing the occurrence of cancer and that sunlight exposure may actually reduce human cancer rates and actually improve your health. Of course moderate exposure being the operative term here.

Many heavily used chemical sunscreens may actually increase cancers by virtue of the fact that they have free radical generating properties. In addition, many commonly used sunscreen chemicals have very strong estrogenic actions that may increase cancer risks as well as cause problems in sexual development and adult sexual function. It is a increasingly common occurrence since people began using chemical sunscreens years ago.

Make no mistake about it, the chemical compounds that are used in sunscreens were never considered benign. Many organic chemists have been aware of the dangers of these compounds since they were first used in sunscreens. These chemicals are widely used to start the free radical reactions during chemical synthesis. These chemicals are so dangerous that scientists are very concerned about keeping them away from their skin while working in a laboratory, and yet they are sold to consumers as protection.

With all that we know about the science of anti aging, we are very concerned about the dangers of free radicals. More and more consumers are purchasing wrinkle creams every day, and even more use sunscreen to avoid free radicals. Anti oxidants are also growing increasingly popular as they are designed to protect against the very free radicals that sunscreens themselves contain. Consumers purchase wrinkle creams to eliminate wrinkles and to wipe away the damage caused by free radicals. But if a consumer is also using sunscreen, which they probably are, they may be literally adding those same free radicals back to their skin and wondering why the creams they buy are not as effective as they hope.

There are organic and natural sunscreens that do not damage or harm your skin in any way, and certainly they should be used by all consumers, especially children. The risks of using a chemical sunscreen are just too great to continue its use. Not all sunscreens are dangerous, but more of them than not are, and you should carefully research or examine yours prior to continuing its use. For those of you who will likely not do that work, going with a natural or organic sunscreen is the best way to protect your skin. That way the wrinkles creams you use are not working against self inflicted damage and will be twice as effective.