Why are nanoparticles in a sunscreen and is that bad? Episode 271

Perry Romanowski (0:00)

Hi, I'm Perry, and you're listening to The Beauty Brains.

Hello and welcome to The Beauty Brains, a show where real cosmetic chemists answer your beauty product questions and give you an insider's look at the cosmetic industry. This is episode 271 I'm your host, Perry Romanowski, and it's going to be a solo show as Valerie is swamped with work at the moment. But so you don't just hear my voice drone on and on, I thought I'd cover a bunch of audio questions that have been recently sent in. So on today's show, we're going to cover questions, including how much does zinc oxide really affect SPF values? Is non-nano sunscreen really safer? Is it bad for skin if you try different products? And are there things left behind from rinseable hair care products? I know typically I do a little chit chat, but you know, that's just a guy talking to himself, so I'm not going to do that today.

But, there is a, I will combine features today, because there was a significant beauty science news and a combination of a recall. A recall.

It turns out, J&J said last on Wednesday that it will be recalling five of its sunscreen products after they were found to contain levels of benzene. Now, if you recall from previous shows, a lab, an independent lab had went through and checked a bunch of different sunscreens, and some of the sunscreen brands that J&J makes were found to have detectable levels of benzene. And so J&J went the extra step of being extra cautious, and they issued a recall for a number of products from both their Neutrogena brand and their Aveeno brand.

And you can go to their websites to see exactly which ones, but let's see, four Neutrogena ones, the Beach Defense Aerosol Sunscreen, the Cool Dry Sport Aerosol Sunscreen, the Invisible Daily Defense Sunscreen, and the Ultra Share Aerosol Sunscreen. And the one for Aveeno was the Aveeno Protect Refresh Aerosol Sunscreen. It looks like the thing that all of these had in common were that they were aerosols. And so now they don't know exactly how any kind of benzene ended up in there. It's something obviously in the contract manufacturer or the co-packer who packs these things for them. But Johnson & Johnson is recalling them from the shelves, and they're encouraging people to contact J&J to get refunds, I guess, and get rid of the product. Now, I will say this is, from my view, being just an abundance of caution, and it probably also has something to do with J&J getting a lawsuit put up against them for this problem. And so this is probably to help, I don't know, look better in the legal eyes or something like that. So anyway, but as far as you're concerned, if you had a can of this stuff from them, you know, do you want to get rid of it, or should you use it?

Personally, I don't think there's any evidence that using it would be detrimental to your health. The amount of benzene that you're going to be exposed to if you use this sunscreen is very low. And in fact, according to one report, one biochemist opinion on the subject, the levels that you get in a use of this product is lower than the levels you get in a typical day living in the city. So we're talking about very low levels. Now, some people might be concerned about that. And if you are concerned, certainly don't use the product. Get your refund for your recalls. But I personally wouldn't have a problem using it. Although I do prefer the creams, quite frankly, because I'm a little skeptical that those sunscreen sprays actually are doing the job. But mostly I just try to stay covered up and minimize my sunscreen use to only exposed skin. Anyway, that is going on. So if you are concerned about it, and if you're just following the news, and you see benzene and cancer causing, and it's in this product, and then the company's recalling it, I can understand how you might come to the conclusion that there's something to be concerned about. I personally wouldn't be concerned about it, but if you are, feel free to stop using the products.

All right, let's move on to some of the Beauty questions that were sent in.

Janelle (5:25)

Hey, Beauty Brains. This is Janelle from New Jersey, and my question is, what is the difference between nano and non-nano zinc sunscreen? I normally see it marketed that non-nano sunscreen is better and safer, but I'm not sure if that is baloney marketing or if there is some truth to that.

Let me know what you think.