In a startling new uncovering, or perhaps something that was known or suspected but buried to general knowledge for a long time, it has been found that many sunscreens may actually contribute to, or speed up the development of, skin cancer. That means that in addition to the many chemicals that are linked to cancer in sunscreens, like parabens and other toxic chemicals, the commonly used Vitamin A derivatives are also thought to accelerate the growth of deadly skin cancers as well.
What I found really alarming about this news on Vitamin A as well was the fact that many of us use vitamin and it’s derivatives to help reduce the signs of aging in our skin. Most notably, one of my personal favorites, retinol is even implicated!
However, what I’ve read doesn’t make it clear whether or not it’s the combination of vitamin A products AND the sun that cause the increased risk, or if just merely putting these products on your skin at night (like they do recommend for retinol products anyways) is going to increase your odds of skin cancer.
The dangerous ingredients to avoid, thus far, and this does not include parabens and other common chemicals put into skin care products like lotions, deodorants and other toiletries and beauty products, are retinol (during the day at least, as far as we know), retinyl palmitate (a derivative of vitamin A), and oxybenzone, which is thought to also promote cancer and also may interrupt the proper hormone balance of the body.
