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Fluttershy comments on Open Thread - Aug 24 - Aug 30 - Less Wrong Discussion

7 Post author: Elo 24 August 2015 08:14AM

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Comment author: Fluttershy 24 August 2015 07:30:42PM 2 points [-]

I've always been annoyed by how icky traditional sunscreen makes me feel, so I was happy to find out that there's a roll-on sunscreen that works reasonably well. I've used it a couple of times now, and while I wasn't outside for long enough that I would have burned when I used it in either case-- and therefore can't comment on the effectiveness of a single layer of the stuff-- I would say that applying it was much quicker and easier than applying traditional sunscreen. While applying sunscreen isn't the lowest hanging fruit in health interventions out there, it's still useful for reducing one's risk of death from melanoma (yay for living longer!).

Comment author: Elo 24 August 2015 11:24:52PM 7 points [-]

Basic sunscreen is zinc. To get that into an applicable form it is usually put into an oil suspension. As mentioned you don't like the oil. You can also get alcohol based suspension sunscreens that feel a lot nicer; and sunscreen in spray form. The benefit of oil is that it doesn't wash off so easily. But there's no point being stuck with oil based sunscreen if they make you feel that uncomfortable

This link might help: http://www.skinacea.com/sunscreen/physical-vs-chemical-sunscreen.html#.VdunDbKqqko as should https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen

Comment author: Alicorn 24 August 2015 09:38:51PM 3 points [-]

I was told a while ago that Asian sunscreen is different and less greasy and I bought some Japanese sunscreen from the internet. It feels much better than the regular American stuff.

Comment author: Lumifer 24 August 2015 07:46:16PM 1 point [-]

Have you tried spray-on sunscreen?

Comment author: D_Malik 25 August 2015 04:08:43PM 0 points [-]

Sunlight increases risk of melanoma but decreases risk of other, more deadly cancers. If you're going to get, say, 3 times your usual daily sunlight exposure, then sunscreen is probably a good idea, but otherwise it's healthier to go without. I'd guess a good heuristic is to get as much sunlight as your ancestors from 1000 years ago would have gotten.

Comment author: Tem42 26 August 2015 11:37:45PM 1 point [-]

I've got your citations.. right here

Among Caucasians in the United States, cancer mortality for several prominent cancers, including cancer of the breast, prostate, and colon, shows a striking latitudinal gradient, with increased mortality rates among individuals residing in the northern states compared with individuals residing the southern states.

Devesa SS, Grauman MA, Blot, WJ, Pennello GA. Hoover RN, Fraumeni JF. Atlas of cancer mortality in the United States: 1950 to 1994. NIH Publication No. 99–4564, 1999.

This whole article is worth reading, and has a number of counter-intuitive findings.

Comment author: [deleted] 26 August 2015 04:54:41AM 0 points [-]

I've seen so many claims about the benefit or lack thereof of sunscreen. Do you have a citation?

Comment author: Fluttershy 25 August 2015 08:22:23PM *  0 points [-]

This is something I'd eventually like to look into. Do you know which cancers sunlight protects against? Might sun exposure after one has applied sunscreen provide some protection against these cancers?