When you use sunscreen a lot, tiny amounts of its chemicals can get into your bloodstream — but that doesn’t mean it’s dangerous. Scientists just need to study more to figure out if it matters for your health, so keep using sunscreen to protect your skin.

34

Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

34

Community contributions welcome

34

Effect of Sunscreen Application Under Maximal Use Conditions on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2019 Jun 4

This study found that sunscreen chemicals can get into the bloodstream when used heavily, but it also says this doesn’t mean you should stop using sunscreen — which is exactly what the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Effect of Sunscreen Application Under Maximal Use Conditions on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Score: 34

DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.5586

Similar Assertions

When you apply sunscreen all over your body as recommended, your body absorbs some of the chemicals in it so much that they show up in your blood within a day — more than what the FDA considers a safety concern level.

35

0

78%

When people used sunscreen as much as possible in a study, almost 1 in 3 of them got a rash — more than any other side effect.

35

0

74%

When you put on sunscreen with chemicals like oxybenzone or avobenzone, your body absorbs more of those chemicals into your bloodstream than the FDA thinks is safe — even if you just use it normally on your skin.

35

0

74%

When people use sunscreen heavily—covering most of their skin and reapplying it four times a day for four days—chemicals in the sunscreen get into their bloodstream at levels higher than what the FDA says should trigger safety checks.

34

0

71%