One of the world’s top supermodels has stirred up a storm in the cosmetic dermatology and pharmaceutical world by publicly calling sunscreen ‘poison’ and saying that she does not use it. “I cannot put this poison on my skin,” Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen told the London Daily Mail this week. “I do not use anything synthetic.”
Bundchen’s comments reflect concerns the independent Environmental Working Group has raised about sunscreen — which contains toxins but which is not subject to legitimate product safety testing, according to the group.
A prominent dermatologist in Brazil, Dr. Doliyal Loao, responded immediately to Bundchen’s comments, telling the Daily Mail, “Sunscreen prevents damage to the skin and is of fundamental importance for the prevention of cancer. …This is not any poison, when a public person makes a statement like this, it creates confusion.”
In fact, dermatology and spokespeople like Loao are the ones creating the confusion. Sunscreen does contain toxins and suspected photo-carcinogens, and dermatology — in encouraging daily use of a product that in the United States can only properly be marketed for sunburn prevention on an occasional-use basis — is what’s confusing.
Smart Tan encourages sunscreen usage only when sunburn is possible. Smart Tan
