As the Florida sun continues to shine brightly here in St. Petersburg, sunscreen remains our frontline defense against harmful UV rays. Wearing sunscreen regularly has become part of our daily lives, but what is one to do when wearing sunscreen causes allergic skin reactions? Can you really be allergic to a sunscreen? What are your options if this happens?

The Good: UV-B rays from the sun hit our skin and enable skin cells to manufacture Vitamin D, which is critically important for bone health. And more recent research links low Vitamin D levels with increased risk of cardiac deaths, uncontrolled asthma, and even diseases like depression. 

The Bad: Sun exposure is clearly linked to sun damage, premature aging, and skin cancers, with melanoma being the most deadly. 

Wearing sunscreen regularly helps prevent premature aging and has been shown to decrease your risk of developing melanoma by 50%. With millions of people wearing sunscreens regularly, we are seeing more reactions to these products. Today, we have thousands of options of products to use but they all basically work by either absorbing or blocking harmful ultraviolet radiation. Some of these chemicals found in sunscreens are known to cause allergic reactions.

Types of Reactions:

Reactions to sunscreens usually are allergic contact dermatitis, irritant dermatitis and/or allergic contact photosensitive dermatitis.  

  • Contact dermatitis: Rash, redness, swelling, itching and/or blisters. 
  • Photosensitive reactions: Only occur after the sun screened skin has been exposed to sunlight. 
  • Irritant reactions: When chemicals damage the outer layer of the skin leading to inflammation. 

What’s Causing the Reaction?

Most sunscreens contain multiple active ingredients and a slew of inactive ingredients. Therefore it’s often difficult to identify what is causing the problem. 

  • Patch testing: Performed by your allergist, to isolate what components of the sunscreen could be problematic for you. 
    • Patch testing is a testing method which can detect delayed sensitivity reactions to chemicals without the use of needles. 
    • The test is placed on your back and is evaluated at 48h, 72h and sometimes even later. 
    • The possibility of having photo-patch testing must be considered as well.

What Can You Do?

  • Changing the product: If you are allergic to a component of the sunscreen you are using it is possible that a different brand of sunscreen or different preparation may not contain the offending agent. We often find that people are able to tolerate mineral, powder sunscreens (containing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) better as they do not require being rubbed into the skin. 

What’s most important to remember is that sunscreen should be like a second skin to you. You should never leave the home without it on. If you have skin reactions with sunscreens, know that an allergist can help you find products that will protect your skin and one that you can tolerate. Be safe this summer and be kind to your skin.