Sunscreen has never been better. But Americans are paying to tan.
The FDA just approved its first new active sunscreen ingredient in 20 years. Instead of using it, many Americans are tanmaxxing.
Why it matters: Even as SPF products now promise better coverage than ever, people are deliberately chasing tans. That's not only unsafe but also at odds with the culture's anti-aging skin care obsession.
What they're saying: "There's no 'healthy tan,'" Philadelphia-based dermatologist Nazanin Saedi tells Axios. "A tan is a sign of sun damage," she says.
"You can use all the retinol you want," says Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist and Mohs surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "No amount of retinol is going to counteract your lack of sunscreen."Threat level: Too much UV doesn't just age your skin — it can cause cancer, as Rossi knows firsthand.
A '90s tanning bed user, he tells Axios he developed skin cancer himself. And he's watching a new generation make the same mistake and use tanning beds again.Now, he says, "I'm cutting off more and more skin cancers" from patients in their teens, 20s and 30s.By the numbers: New invasive melanoma diagnoses rose about 47% over the past decade, per the Skin Cancer Foundation — though Rossi cautions some of that reflects more aggressive screening, not just more disease.
Meanwhile, tanning bed use is tied to nearly triple the risk of melanoma, according to new research. But Rossi and Saedi find it's not the cancer risk that gets young people to cover up — it's the wrinkles.State of play: There's been "a resurgence of tanning culture and sunscreen phobia," largely due to sunscreen misinformation shared on social media, Rossi says.
Case in point: One-third of Gen Z respondents flunked a new American Academy of Dermatology sun safety quiz — even as most rated their own habits "good" or "excellent."
And 64% said they'd encountered sunscreen misinformation online, per AAD.The latest: Active sunscreen ingredient bemotrizinol — popular in Europe and Asia — was just approved for use in the U.S.
The ingredient has been celebrated by dermatologists because it offers strong UV protection and is easy to wear. "It just feels so nice, smooth and elegant — it doesn't feel as sticky or have such a white cast, like so many of the sunscreens we have available," Saedi says.It comes after other recent sunscreen innovations: New mineral sunscreens now come in a range of shades and could blend better.Yes, but: Sunscreen is only effective if people use it.
Reality check: A "natural" skin care movement is pushing people to make their own sunscreens with ingredients like beef tallow — or skip applying altogether. Dermatologists don't approve.
"The whole DIY thing always boggles my mind," says Rossi, who formulates his own sunscreen and notes a real one takes chemistry and precise specs. You shouldn't DIY something meant to prevent disease, he says.Beef tallow, he adds, has "at most maybe an SPF of 2 — not even enough to stop a burn." He says it's "basically putting baby oil on your skin" that clogs pores and causes acne."If you want to be 'natural,'" Saedi says, "let's find you a mineral sunscreen."Between the lines: The sun does offer real health benefits, but you don't need to skip sunscreen to get them.
For example, the argument that you have to tan to make vitamin D "is not that kosher," Rossi says. "There have been good studies to show that even if you use sunscreen every day, you don't become vitamin D deficient."The bottom line: "Sunscreen is safe. We have more options now. And just get into the habit of wearing it every day," Saedi says.
