The Truth About Sunblock Chemicals

Listen to my podcast, The Checkup with Doctor Mike, here:

Help us continue the fight against medical misinformation and change the world through charity by becoming a Doctor Mike Resident on Patreon where every month I donate 100% of the proceeds to the charity, organization, or cause of your choice! Residents get access to bonus content, an exclusive discord community, and many other perks for just $10 a month. Become a Resident today:

Let’s connect:

Executive Producer: Doctor Mike
Production Director and Editor: Dan Owens
Managing Editor and Producer: Sam Bowers
Editor and Designer: Caroline Weigum
Editor: Juan Carlos Zuniga

* Select photos/videos provided by Getty Images *

** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **

[NewKitchenGun]

My Aunt died at 38 of melanoma. She was always very careful about sun protection and always wore sunscreen and a hat, but living in Australia is brutal. The fact that some people have the audacity to say that sunscreen does more harm than good baffles me.

[el__dostor]

Its incredible to study 8-12 years, and during that process, you study how to study studies, while also studying how those studies were studied, and how to critically analyze those studies, only to realize that those studies were done correctly, and how diverse studies from different scientists from around the world always come to the same conclusion. "Sunblock prevents cancer". Only for some guys with the cientific research of a 30 second video on tik tok are like: "Nuh-uh"

[mare]

I live and work a manual labor job in El Paso. The sun here is a death ray. None of my co-workers wear sunscreen. They say "sunscreen is for bitches" im the only one by the end of the day that isnt burnt red. I dont see how protecting yourself from cancer is bad.

[pegendary]

As an Australian these claims have always felt insane to me - especially the idea of being better without sunscreen. 70% of Aussies will get skin cancer, so the idea of the sun being preventative in any way is ludicrous!!

[cosmos]

I would rather take my chances with sunscreen than skin cancer.

[eibyild]

I wish you'd also say that a lot of influencers that are afraid of chemical sunscreens also show how to diy "non-toxic" sunscreen. They don't work and give false sense of security, so please! don't do it yourself, guys
But thank you for the video!

[Syunnnnnnn]

As an Australian i find it dumb that people think sunscreen is bad 2/3 australians develop skin cancer in their lifetime because we do not wear enough sunscreen, Veritasium did a wonderful video about UV and sunscreen about 6 years ago and it is worth a watch

[Lusac]

We need to make more people aware that tanning is actually damaging your skin even if it makes you look “healthy”

[belindaweber]

As a Western Australian - thank you for clearing this up. I'm of German and Irish and Scottish heritage and burn after only 5-8mins in the sun on any given day. I'm always waiting to be told by my Skincheck Dr that the big C has finally got me. Growing up in the 80's sunscreen wasn't seen as important as it is now *sigh.

[sburton]

I think the idea that mineral filters reflect the rays rather than absorbing them is a common misconception that's actually inaccurate, only about 5% of their effect in the UV band is via reflection and the rest is via absorption, the same as chemical filters. Michelle Wong covered this in one of her videos.

[carolea]

❤❤❤ *THANK YOU! ITS LIKE SAYING WEARING A SEAT BELT COULD CAUSE INJURY DURING A CAR CRASH SO ID RATHER NOT USE IT* 🙄

[ghaznavid]

On hikes, I always prioritize covering up to minimize sun exposure. I've been using SPF50 for everything else. It baffles me that people think that getting sunburned is good for their health.

[tranquility]

This is why I have so much respect for Doctor Mike. He never makes you feel like an idiot for entertaining a contrarian idea. He always addresses health claims calmly and presents us with a ton of knowledge along the way.

Thank you for your hard work Doctor Mike, both in the office and here on YouTube. We need more healthcare professionals like you.

[SeaBlueJay]

I love seeing so many Aussies in the comments. We've had sun protection drilled into us since suncreen was created.

Please. Take it from the country with one of the highest cases of skin cancer in the world; if you don't want skin cancer:

Slip on protective clothing
Slop on the sunscreen
Slap on a hat
Seek shade
Slide on your UV protective sunnies

Stay safe ❤

Side note: I'm surprised this isn't higher on your truth or scare scale. It should be a 10 imo, the rates of skin cancer in young adult aussies has increased significantly because of claims like "sunscreen is dangerous" or "sunscreen blocks the suns health benefits"

Aussie young adults and teens are not wearing enough sunscreen or covering up enough because of these claims. This is super dangerous and has led to the government making multiple advertisements addressing the issue.

[pamelamays]

I am so tired of influencers and celebrities medical advice, acting like they're smarter than doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

[kamo]

4:05 a common lack of understand ding about skin protection is that sunscreen is prioritised highly, when actually the first defense is cover up, not cream

[dael]

Taking a common misconception/public medical discussion, investigating the science behind it, and discussing both for and against is a really nice format. I would love to see more videos like these! 🙏🏼

[mrgrumpy]

People who claim that sunscreen does more harm than good have not been on summer holidays in Greece.

[RabbidTribble]

I would love to see you do a video on fluoride. There has been a huge increase in people buying bottled water/toothpaste labelled “fluoride-free.”

There’s a huge scary narrative about how we’ve been poisoning ourselves by adding it to the drinking water and using it in toothpaste. As the granddaughter of a dentist, I’m horrified that parents are deliberately giving their kids fluoride-free toothpaste. Would love to see you comment on it.

[zendoka]

Anyone remember "you are not a chicken in a pot!" I love how Doctor mike addresses these issues/claims. it has such a nice flow and its really easy to understand and formulate opinions on the subject.

edit: I wonder if the lack of exposure to the sun even if it is in small amounts eventually creates a greater sensitivity to it... kind of like how if we are more exposed to the environment as kids we build a greater base immunity in a way.