A Toronto doctor is warning against using homemade sunscreen after a TikTok video from a popular creator known for making items from scratch went viral.
German model Nara Smith shot to internet stardom with her home cooking videos, where she is often seen dressed in haute couture in her kitchen, talking in distinct sultry tones about how to make elaborate meals from scratch.
Lately, Smith and her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, have ventured into making homemade toothpaste, bubblegum and even sunscreen. But a Canadian dermatologist strongly advises against hopping on the “from scratch” sun-protection trend.
“It’s wild and unnecessary,” Renée A. Beach, MD FRCPC, dermatologist and founder of DermAtelier on Avenue Road, told Now Toronto in an email statement on Friday.
“Wild because our kitchens are not laboratories meeting any type of standards, nor are we cosmetic chemists with any type of training in formulation of products, let alone one that helps prevent skin cancer. It’s unnecessary because there are now an infinite number of alternatives on the market, for all body types and each skin tone and type,” Beach explained.
Not only that, homemade sunscreen does not work, according to Beach.
“I think it’s about as effective as homemade chest x-ray,” she said.
“Now all jokes and snarkiness aside, I really do not know how the formulation gets tested or vetted as it would in a laboratory.”
Usually sunscreen would be subjected to radiation testing and other types of vetting to ensure it effectively protects against Ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Using homemade sunscreen may also result in irritation, cause a rash or chemical burns and will not provide sun protection, Beach said.
Nonetheless, there are alternative options for sun protection that are safe and proven to work, such as Zinc paste and UV protection clothing.
“Zinc paste is one, it’s the same type of product used on babies’ bums. There has also been the development of UV Protective clothing ’UPF 50+.’. This clothing is even more reliable than sunscreen use as it blocks more than 99% of UVR and it doesn’t need to be reapplied every 2 hours after activity, as sunscreen would. Many retailers now offer this option,” Beach said.
Beach advises wearing sunscreen on a daily basis, and says it should be incorporated into a daily routine.
