Sunscreen under the microscope
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 5 August 2019
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sunscreen is a multi-billion dollar industry. We’ve long been encouraged to apply it daily, to block out the sun’s rays. But one dermatologist argues some sunlight is necessary and sunscreen could be preventing our skin from carrying out a vital function. Dr Richard Weller explains what happened when he took his findings to sunscreen manufacturers. Also in the programme, Holly Thaggard, founder and chief executive of Supergoop, tells us why US regulators are taking a closer look at common sunscreen ingredients.
PHOTO: Woman applies sunscreen on a man, Copyright: Getty Images
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Business Daily on the BBC World Service. Coming up on today's program with me, Vivienne Nunes, |
| 0:07.6 | sunscreen and why it's more controversial than you might think. This dermatologist says sunshine is vital for skin health. |
| 0:15.9 | So should we think twice before slathering on the sunblock? I'd first presented my work with sunlight at a big dermatology meeting, and a friend of |
| 0:24.4 | mine phoned me up, and he said, Richard, what do I tell my patients? |
| 0:28.3 | And that's a really difficult one. |
| 0:30.2 | Meanwhile, some regulators are asking, what exactly are rubbing into our skin? |
| 0:35.7 | Recently, we've learned that oxybenzone is also the number one most irritating ingredient. |
| 0:40.8 | Business Daily, here on the BBC. |
| 0:45.1 | Sunscreen, to be honest, it's something I never questioned, until now. |
| 0:50.0 | Growing up in Australia, the message was drilled into me. |
| 0:53.2 | Sunscreen prevents skin cancer. |
| 0:55.9 | It's not surprising then that today sunscreen represents a huge industry. According to one |
| 1:02.1 | US market researcher, it'll be worth nearly $25 billion a year by 2025. That figure has gone up and up as awareness has grown around the risks of sun damage. |
| 1:14.7 | And that hasn't been lost on sunscreen producers. |
| 1:17.8 | The marketing of this product over the years tells us a lot about public education |
| 1:21.9 | and how we think about the sun's rays. |
| 1:27.8 | As you can hear from this TV advert from the 1970s, about the sun's rays. For the deep dark color you want, Bende Sollay. |
| 1:28.8 | As you can hear from this TV advert from the 1960s, |
| 1:32.4 | one product called Bende Sollay |
| 1:34.3 | used to tell customers that they could achieve |
| 1:36.8 | the deep dark Santropay tan they deserve. |
| 1:49.5 | Well, this ad from the 1980s tells us in no uncertain terms, |
... |
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