Skin Care Facts
Lifetime UV Exposure in the United States
Ages	Average Accumulated Exposure*
0-18	22.73 Percent
19-40	46.53 Percent
41-59	73.3 Percent
60-78	100 Percent
* Based on a 78 year lifespan

Skin Cancer Facts (non-melanoma)

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. and more than one million new cases are diagnosed annually.
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than combined incidence of cancer of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
• About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancer is attributable to UV exposure from the sun.

Skin Cancer Facts (melanoma)

• The incidence of many common cancers is falling, but the incidence of melanoma continues to rise significantly, at a rate faster than that of any of the seven most common cancers.
• Approximately 62,480 melanomas will be diagnosed this year, with nearly 8,420 resulting in death.
• Melanoma accounts for about 3 percent of skin cancer cases, but it causes more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths.
• One person dies of melanoma every 62 minutes in the U.S.
• One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.

Source: Skin Cancer Foundation

Chemical UV Filters

Chemical sunscreens are complex molecules that are synthesized (man-made) to chemically react with the ultraviolet light from the sun. When applied they are absorbed by the skin and prevent UV light from penetrating. Free radicals are known by-products of these reactions, however, and can cause skin damage at the cellular level. These synthetic chemicals are also known to have estrogenic effects which can disrupt the normal hormonal activity of the body.

Some of the commonly used chemical sunscreens include: oxybenzone (a suspected photocarcinogen), PABA, avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octinoxate, octocrylene and octyl methoxycinnamate. This, of course, is not an exhaustive list.

Mineral-based Sunscreens

Mineral-based sunscreens are inorganic (metal oxides) molecules that occur naturally in the earth's surface. When applied these molecules set on top of the skin (rather than being absorbed) and reflect UV light, preventing penetration into the skin. Because there is no photochemical reaction with the UV light, there are no free radicals or other chemical by-products produced that can have adverse effects on the body. The mineral-based sunscreens are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

UVA & UVB Rays

Most sunscreen products primarily use chemical UV filters and have historically protected only against UVB rays because this is the wavelength responsible for causing sunburn. Sunscreen use from the 1940’s until the 1990's was ineffective protecting against UVA rays which penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin causing cellular damage and skin cancer. This has caused a lot of recent controversy with sunscreen as people thought they were protecting themselves, but were actually still unprotected from the most dangerous UVA rays. Newer chemicals were introduced into the market in the 1990’s that protected against both UVA and UVB, but these products have a host of negative effects on the body. Mineral-based filters (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) protect against both UVA and UVB radiation.