The Sunscreen Smokescreen

Monday, July 11th, 2011

It started with a question. It always does. This time, the question was simple: How much sunscreen should I wear?

I’m a pale geek who burns. I wanted to know the optimal. A simple question with a simple answer, right?

Wrong.

This simple question took me on a massive journey through the data, information myths and misinformation that surround our perception of sunscreen. I’m calling it the Sunscreen Smokescreen.

All our data, calculations and references here: http://www.bit.ly/sunscreensmoke

The Sunscreen SmokeScreen - Information Is Beautiful - David McCandless

Buy a instantly-download hi-res printable PDF of this graphic
from our store or via this paypal link: http://pul.ly/b/18601
(n.b. purchased PDFs are emailed to your paypal registered email address)

All our data, calculations and references here:
http://www.bit.ly/sunscreensmoke

Credits —

RESEARCH & DESIGN: David McCandless
RESEARCH: Miriam Quick
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH: James Key, Pearl Doughty-White
ADDITIONAL DESIGN: Piero Zagami, Derek Guo, Joe Swainson
SOURCES: The British Medical Journal, Cancer Research UK, World Health Organisation, PubMed, Norwegian Institute For Air Research, Health Canada, Skin Cancer Foundation, Nature, American Academy Of Dermatology, National Health Service, National Cancer Institute, Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, Journal Of Clinical Oncology, American Journal of Public Health, The Environmental Working Group, New York Times, Wikipedia.
DATA & RESEARCH: see it all here: http://www.bit.ly/sunscreensmoke

http://www.mariuswathne.com Marius

Hello. Good job on this inforgraphics, really simple yet informative.
Andrew Watkins

I’d like to see an additional piece of information on this graphic – the number fo 44-gallon drums full of sunscreen produced each year – that end up in our ecosystem (rivers, ocean).
http://lemondedesetudes.fr Grégoire

Hi,

Great job !

Only one thing bothers me so far (I’ve watch this image only 5 minutes) : the color of “optimal” on “how much sunscreen should I wear ?” is the same as “not enough sunscreen” in “protection time”… It seems odd to me.
bob Rafelson

yikes
Andrew

Image disappeared from yesterday! Tried two different browsers.
Please check.
amy

Am I an idiot? I don’t see an image.
yieks!

where’s the image? i saw it a few days ago and now it’s gone(?)
- miriam
  
  should be back now…
Hans

Hi David,

the Star system seems to be used only in the UK and (limitedly) in the US.

So we in continental Europe (unfortunately) only have the EU UVA sign. (see ) Maybe you can add to the “Protection Times” table, where the UVA sign would need to go. (As I understand, that’s different for different SPFs)

Thanks and by the way: It’s an excellent graphic. Keep up the good work!

Hans
Germany
- http://www.facebook.com/ Sundance
  
  This “free sharing” of ifonramtoin seems too good to be true. Like communism.
Carrot

Nice. But the sun-is-good part is kinda irrelevant. Sun is bad; warmth is good.
- Firedrops
  
  Actually, you do need the sun for Vitamin D – not just warmth. The body relies on ultraviolet light for vitamin D production. If you don’t get enough sun, you should take Vitamin D supplements since your body will be unable to produce it on its own. But too much sun not only damages skin but folate production (a serious issue for pregnant women.) So there needs to be a balance.
Jason

Didn’t this graphic originally have a section on it about the chemicals? I think it was three circles with the names of chemicals in the middle? Did the picture change or was I imagining things?
- miriam
  
  Hi Jason,
  
  Yes it did – you weren’t imagining things! There was a section called ‘Does Sunscreen Cause Cancer?’ We removed it, after a review of the Environmental Working Group’s evidence (pending our conclusion but it looks like junk science). See our change log here, or you can also look at some further references on the ‘errata’ tab in the data sheet for this graphic (NB this is a work in progress!): http://www.bit.ly/sunscreensmoke
  
  Cheers,
  Miriam
  Researcher, Information is Beautiful
  - Sherry
    
    the chemicals themselves cause cancer. Please seriously consider doing as much research on this as you did on the amt of chemicals to lather the skin up with. Junk science you say… if you are a serious researcher you should have included the EWG report on danger of chemicals in the sunscreens and allow the reader to make up their own mind. This type of one-sided writing just infuriates me. Give the reader the choice and let them make up their own mind. Not every one has to believe s you do. There are too many of these people in the world unfortunately!!
    - david
      
      We looked at research for cancer-inducing chemicals in sunscreen, but found most of the evidence to be weak. You can see all our research in the datasheet.
Matthew Spool

Also didn’t address the question of “does any SPF over 30 give you additional protection?”
eXtreme

One more thing is UV can go through yr clothes
Sandi Covell

Thanks for the valuable info. The US apparently does not use the star system for UVA. I have a new bottle of Banana Boat Sport Performance Dry Protect (spf 50) with “AvoTriplex High UVA.” Do you know how AvoTriplex translates to the UVA star system you describe? How does this rate in terms of UVA blocking effectiveness?
Thomas Emmerson

When I forwarded this to my sister she said

‘I’m not convinced that the statement that UVA ages skin while UVB tans/burns is as clear cut as the authors make out – the experiment we did recently was just UVB irradiation and we saw substantial damage to the dermal network of fibres, which is a major contributor to extrinsic skin ageing’

Great work regardless.
http://www.breki.se/ Breki Tomasson

I’d also really like to see something regarding Vitamin D on this picture. The sun is still our best way of getting Vitamin D, and sunscreen blocks that from happening. It’s the most common deficiency in the world right now, with more than half the population of Europe and North America considered deficient. The ‘old wisdom’ of applying the sunscreen 15 minutes after entering the sun is still the best tip if you want to stay healthy. Vitamin D is far more important and prevents more bad things than the tiny risk of getting an easily removable and practically non-lethal skin cancer (1.7% mortality rate, and that’s only due to people not checking it up or having it removed).
- miriam
  
  Hi Breki,
  
  We did another graphic on Vitamin D. You can check it out here: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/vitamin-d/
  
  Cheers,
  Miriam
  Researcher, Information is Beautiful
Carl Nelson

All this nice information, but one thing missing – how about a chart showing “usage of sunscreen”. I’m sure we’d see a nice increase throughout the years, possibly looking about the same as the “melanoma incidents rates” charts.

And maybe an ‘average vitamin D blood level’ can be made, and might show a chart that is inverse to the other two…

Not to say that there is a direct correlation of course, but it’s something to consider!
Taylor

I really like this! It left me with two questions though.

I thought I finally understood SPF, but then I scroll down and see EU SPF VS. US SPF. Now I’m more confused. Is the American system similar? And is the time how long it will protect you after you put it on or once your body starts getting hit by sunlight?

Also, sunscreen advice always seems to be aimed at people going to the beach. As someone who is out in the sun for five to ten minutes at a time repeatedly throughout the day, do I need sunscreen? And if so should I still be applying as much sunscreen and reapplying as often?

Well, I think I have more questions now than the chart answered, but that’s a good thing. It’s inspired me to think more about sunscreen at least.
http://www.phoenixleisure.co.uk Team Building Muggsy

Thiose rising melanoma figures for the UK are scary- i work outside a lot and just try and keep as covered up as possible. Still, even covered in sun cream I still get burnt if I’m working outside from 6 am to 6pm. You just can’t avoid it.
d

old people die during the winter because its cold, not because they don’t get sun
David

I’ll try that again:

Near the end of the article it states:

20 minutes of daily sunlight (without sunscreen) gives you a healthy dose of Vitamin D essential for health.

This is VERY subjective. Where I live, Johannesburg, South Africa, sitting outside at midday in summer for 20 minutes would yield a rather ripe tomato. I don’t wanna be a tomato.
http://www.uvskzinc.om Rhonda Sparks

Thank you for taking the time to create this informative visual. I lost my 32-year-old husband to skin cancer so I know all too well the effects the sun can play on a person’s body. The awareness you are bringing is wonderful.
http://www.hermestock.com kevin

Also didn’t address the question of “does any SPF over 30 give you additional protection?”
http://www.integritytucson.com Phoenix Transportati

The graphs in this article are really useful. I probably need gobs of sun screen. Good post, thanks.
http://www.kindleusb.org Ken Mackle

First, I have to say this site is amazing. You guys are smarter then the average person.

I live in sunny Florida and I am light skined so this study helped me. I now know a little more about SPF.

Thanks
Gorilla

The average of 1/2 and 1/4 is 1/3? I don’t think so…
- common sense
  
  @Gorilla, nice job splitting hairs….ah thank you. it’s pretty much 1/3. Besides it’s an info graphic, not a scientific study. The point is to make people aware, which apparently you missed entirely.
Brettt

If the Obama administration had it’s way, sunscreen use would be mandatory, but sunscreen would become extremely expensive and totally inefficient.
Ariella

This is a great summary. As someone with a consulting/strategy background I really appreciate the visuals and storytelling you’ve weaves together.

If you are planning to edit, I’d like to see the effectiveness of zinc and titanium oxides vs sunblock vs typical sunscreen.

Thanks!!
J. Bill

This is a very helpful tool. One thing to consider adding in the future is information on photostability in sunscreens- how UV rays impact the active ingredients that are protecting your skin. Some actives are photostable, but many, such as Avobenzone, are not and quickly lose their effectiveness once in the sun. Fortunately, there are many photostabilizers in the market that mitigate this problem.

Again, great job!
Sherry

Who pays for your research? or sponsors you?
- david
  
  We are completely independent and pay for research through poster, book sales etc.
Chad Baker

Neglected to mention the carcinogenic chemicals that are put into sunscreen!!

The Sunscreen Smokescreen

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