Is sun cream bad for you? This 'dangerous' anti-sunscreen TikTok trend could be putting you at risk

Our health specialist Sarah McCann debunks a dangerous TikTok trend.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm health reporter Sarah McCann and today we are going to be looking at the anti-sunscreen

00:05movements on TikTok. It's officially summertime in the UK, with the UK experiencing a lovely

00:11heatwave recently. In fact, temperatures reached 32 Celsius in London. But despite this, some

00:18influencers and wellness influencers on TikTok have been pushing the narrative that sunscreen

00:23is bad for you. There are over 107 million posts on TikTok relating to the anti-sunscreen

00:29movement, with some of the claims made by influencers that sunscreen contains cancer

00:34causing chemicals and that it damages the skin. Whilst Sun Safety Guidance from Cancer Research

00:40UK recommends that you should apply sunscreen 30 minutes before you go outside. They advise

00:45using a sunscreen that is an SPF 30 factor and that has four or five stars on it, just so that

00:51you can get the full protection. They also recommend to reapply the sunscreen throughout the day.

00:56There are a lot of wellness trends on social media, so it's really important that if you

01:01find something that you double check with a medical professional just to be sure.

01:06You can learn more about staying safe in the sun at nhs.uk or on the Cancer Research website.