(WXYZ) — Your go-to sunscreen may not be the most effective. According to a new study released by the Environmental Working Group, only about 25% of the sunscreens being sold are safe and effective.
See Carli's full story in the video below
With the summer months coming, it's time to stock up on sunscreen, but when you have all the options to choose from, it may be difficult to know which is the best.
Carrie Cox is reminding everyone, "Wear the proper sunscreen."
It's a message she's sharing with as many people as she can as she currently battles stage 4 advanced melanoma, a situation she tells me she never thought she'd be in.
"So, it started as just a mole on your calf and now in two and a half years, you’re sitting here and there are cancer cells all over your body," I said.
"There are tumors everywhere," she said. "It’s a lot. In November, when I found out the stage four diagnosis, I was just in a really dark place for about a week."
Cox said she didn't get her mole checked by a dermatologist until it was too late. She's now pushing the importance of yearly skin checks, as well as wearing sunscreen often.
"If there’s anything I’ve learned, your popular brands that you see all the time, have a lot of endocrine-disrupting ingredients and a lot of ingredients that I feel and that I’ve read up on that might even cause cancer," Cox said.
Hear more from Cox in the video below
According to the report from the Environmental Working Group, only about 25% of sunscreens put out at U.S. stores are safe and effective. They reportedly tested more than 2,200 sunscreens currently being sold.
"We’ve known for a long time that chemical sunscreens have been of more concern than physical sunscreens," board-certified dermatologist Dr. Leonard Kerwin said.
He's seen the report, but told us the information isn't necessarily new.
"Chemical sunscreens, including oxybenzone that are essentially designed to soak into the skin and through this reaction they reflect and bend light. The physical sunscreens, the zinc oxide, the titanium oxide, the mineral sunscreens, those go onto the skin and they reflect or deflect the UVA UBA radiation.”
"I’m going to the store, and I want to get the best sunscreen to keep myself the safest, what am I looking for?” I asked.
"A broad spectrum sunscreen, you’re looking for SPF 30 or above, you’re looking for water resistant or very water resistant and you’re going to make sure you’re applying properly and reapplying it, and I would recommend the mineral blocks," he said.
Learn more about which sunscreens are effective from Dr. Kerwin in the video below
Kerwin also said it's important to make sure you're applying the recommended amount of sunscreen, which is about one ounce, every three to four hours.
“Don’t let these concerns scare you away from sunscreen application," he said.
It's advice Cox said she hopes people take seriously.
"There’s no reason to stay in the sun unprotected for hours on end. The sunburn, the tan is not worth it, at all," Cox said.
