700 nm, and zinc dioxide shields from rays ranging from 290 to 700 nm.
Cosmetic chemists often combine mineral UV filters with DNA-repairing agents, offering better
protection from photoaging. Throughout history, people have used avocado, olive, nut, and seed oils
for skin protection. Natural oils contain essential fatty acids that can restore the pliability and
elasticity to coarse, sun-drenched skin and thus partially offset harmful effects of excessive sun
exposure, but they cannot reverse photoaging and protect you from skin cancer.
To avoid layering two products every morning, opt for a tinted moisturizer with built-in sunscreen.
“SPF-containing tinted moisturizers have multiple benefits in one,” says Karen Behnke, the founder of
Juice Beauty. “They offer SPF15 or even SPF30 coverage, they are the ultimate moisturizers rich in
antioxidants such as pomegranate juice, and they are mineral tinted for light coverage.” Karen uses
only organic juices in her formulations because organic juices are richer in antioxidants, and
nutritional science supports her beliefs. In a 2004 study of organic and conventionally grown
tomatoes, Alyson Mitchell, a food chemist at University of California at Davis, found that organic
tomatoes had higher levels of vitamin C, while significantly higher levels of the cancer-protective
flavonoids were found in organic broccoli.
Sunblocks should become part of multilayered sun protection that includes lightweight, tightly
woven clothes made of cotton or linen, wide-brimmed hats, and an antioxidant-rich diet. Cover up
more diligently if you have fair skin, red or blond hair, or lots of freckles.
What About Tanning Oils?
Tanning oils or creams are slowly but steadily going out of fashion. In terms of sun protection,
tanning oils are a joke. Favored by sun worshippers who prefer to coat their skin in some exotic oil
instead of sunscreen because they like the softness and possible (more often, imaginary) anti-aging
benefits, tanning oils rarely deliver on their promises. I believe that avid tanners like oils for their
alluring glow on skin. “A tan protects me from the sun,” my perennially tanned mom used to say, until
last year, when she sheepishly asked me to choose a few strong sunscreens because she “developed a
sun allergy.”Most likely, her skin, exhausted by decades of relentless baking, just couldn’t take any
more. Now my mom gets her moles checked yearly and slathers on sunscreen diligently, rain or shine.
Often tanning oils contain beta-carotene, a naturally occurring form of vitaminA that offers
antiaging benefits and in high doses adds a yellowish tint to the skin (and stains clothes and towels
like crazy). Another popular additive to tanning oil is tyrosine, an amino acid found in large quantities
in milk protein. Tyrosine is the precursor to the pigment melanin, and many makers of tanning oils,
tanning accelerators, and tanning pills believe that tyrosine can stimulate melanocytes to produce
more pigment. At this moment, there are no studies that can support this notion, and I believe that
scientists can find much better ways to spend their grants than finding out whether or not tyrosine
tanning oil helps some reckless tanners achieve their chocolate goals sooner.
Sun in a Bottle: Not Too Safe Either
Self-tanning products have been around in one form or another since the invention of cosmetics. In
1960, Coppertone introduced its first sunless tanning product, Quick Tanning Lotion, which was so
orange it instantly became a joke. Today’s sunless tanning products produce much more realistic-
looking results. Sunless spray tanning or self-tanning lotions and sprays can imitate a subtle bronze
glow or a deep, dark tan. Self-tanners are the choice of many top models who are too blond and too