Can Lip Gloss Cause Skin Cancer?
Recent discussion among dermatologist is raising the issue of women's number one cosmetic, lip gloss. Most women claim they simply will not leave home without it. It is a cosmetic, it moisturizes and lubricates your lips, it gives them a nice shine and a little bit of sheer color. Few cosmetics do so many tasks in one. The concern about connecting skin cancer with lip gloss has nothing to do with ingredients contained in the thousands of brands of lip gloss available. However, a wise consumer will pay attention to ingredients and avoid things like lead and parabens. The problem with lip gloss is the fact that the vast majority of them have no sun protection factors built into them.
Some dermatologists consider lip gloss to be the equivalent of protecting your skin by sunbathing after lathering yourself with nothing but baby oil. By now most people know that you must protect yourself against the UV rays of the sun. Using baby oil merely concentrates the rays of the sun you're much more likely to suffer from burned skin. Lip gloss may give you a similar problem on your lips.
Most consumers admit that they do not like the taste of sunscreen, so while they may be very careful to cover every square inch of exposed skin, most of them balk at putting sunscreen on their lips. Your lips are skin. They need to be protected. Without adequate protection from the harsh ultra-violet rays of the sun, your lips are at greater risk of developing skin cancers.
People who spend a great deal of time out in the sun, farmers, sailors, etc, often develop lesions on their lips that are called actinic cheilitis, lesions specific to the skin of the lips. These lesions are very similar to actinic keratosis that appear on the rest of your skin. Actinic cheilitis is the result of cumulative exposure to the sun without adequate protection. The symptoms include chronically dry, cracked, or chapped lips.
What do we do when our lips are dry, cracked, or chapped? We apply lip gloss. And we perpetuate the problem. Some dermatologists also feel that the shiny nature of the lip gloss attracts the rays of the sun, gathering them and focusing them onto the lips in the same manner a magnifying glass will.
How do you protect your lips? Do you have to throw out all your lip gloss collection? No. But what you will have to do is to either wear lipstick underneath your gloss, which serves as a sunblock. Or, you can use a lip balm with an SPF of at least 30 underneath your lip gloss. Some companies are even producing lip balms with SPF 50 for greater protection. Every time you go outside you remember to use sunscreen. Add one more item to your sun-protectant arsenal, SPF 30 - 50 lip balm. In fact, have a number of these in readily accessible places like your purse, gym bag, locker, desk drawer, kitchen drawer, anywhere you'll know it's there ready to keep your lips moist and beautiful.
