Best Sunblock for Surfers???

[Roy Stewart]

There's need to get agitated, Gulfsurfer.

If you were to remain clear headed while reading this thread then you would realise that I have not suggested using no sunblock. I merely offer the sunblock recipe which we have been using for the past 8 years in one of the most skin cancer prone areas in the world.

Take it or leave it, it is all the same to me.

Relax !

[gulfsurfer]

Ok kewl, how do u make this stuff?
The crap i use, does not work at all!!
My face is hurting right now.

[Roy Stewart]

Here's another alternative to commercial sunblock. This method is excellent.


<edit dead link>

The Gath visor also helps protect against the effect of the sun on the eyeballs . . not so much when riding the wave, but when paddling or waiting out the back it can be a real relief to lower the visor to just the right height.

[gulfsurfer]

I think i'll pass on that...

[Phil]

im sat here laughing so hard at this how stupid can some one be to argue that sun block causes cancer :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[gulfsurfer]

Roy knows everything......

[PapaW]

ffs everything is carcogenic or bad for you if you have too much of it.. get a grip...

Actually Mr Woolacombe, not everything is carcinogenic.

Some substances are very toxic, while others are beneficial to the body.

You and I both know this, so why tell me to 'get a grip' when I am discussing the matter calmly and politely?

Clearly there are different 'camps' of thought when it comes to health. Is this not a good thing?

Please allow me to point out that I have offered a very nice recipe for a waterproof zinc sunblock.

:D :D :D :D

I'll say again...

ffs everything is carcogenic or bad for you if you have too much of it.. get a grip...

[namino tsume]

now now, be nice.... :D

But Roy, if what your saying is true, that compounds/chemicals in commercial sunblock actually do the opposite as what they're intended on doing then surly this matter would have been tested and retested in labs.

Now i know several people who religiously use sunblock becuase they constantly burn. I know of about a 63 year old man who has to use it everytime he goes out in the sun during the summer, and yet he has no traces of skin cancer. For all the users of sunblock if one just happens to have a reaction to it possibly causing skin cancer, i think it is well worth it to use sunblock.

Also, i would trust a commercial sunblock designed and tested to protect you from UV rays much more then i would trust my own compound which may or may not work. now, if you feel so strongly that these chemicals can cause cancer, why not attempt to test it out, or try to find a friend in a position to test it out. Who knows you could be right, or you could be wrong.

There is evidence that cinnamates cause cancer in rats.

And none whatsoever that it causes cancer in humans. Im not saying it doesnt, but the sun definitely does.

You should really qualify this statement by saying that there is no evidence that you are presently aware of regarding the relationship between cinnamates and cancer. Yes, and as you say, the sun can cause cancer.

But thats exactly right, there is no evidence! and as every science "friendly" person knows or understands, with out evidence you have no case. Your 'hypothesis' if you want to call it that, is based around studies of rats? correct me if im wrong but reading through these post that seems to be the only hard evidence you produced. But what about the years thousands people have been using sunblock. Surely you would have a ton more people with skin cancer, then a decrease in the number.

[Roy Stewart]

im sat here laughing so hard at this how stupid can some one be to argue that sun block causes cancer

I repeat that many of the ingredients in commercially available sunblocks are carcinogenic or otherwise toxic to the body. Some of these ingredients are absorbed into the body via the skin and can cause problems in the liver and kidneys . . not just on the skin.

Go ahead and laugh . .laughing is good for you!

[Roy Stewart]

ffs everything is carcogenic or bad for you if you have too much of it.. get a grip...

[/quote]

This argument is a very poor one. It attempts to suggest that all things are equal in toxicity, and it is just a matter of the size of the dose. Clearly this does not really tell us anything useful at all.

People who use this argument are really saying something like " I don't care if substance X is toxic or not, I am going to use it anyway " This is fair enough. I am not trying to make you stop using Bullfrog or whatever . . that's up to you . .I don't care what you do . .but I am interested in the truth.

[Brent]

I respectfully suggest Roy if the option you offered was truely viable it would have been marketed commercially many years ago...with the trend towards organic compounds in everything from food to make-up...if your organic sunblock was legit...I'd be able to buy it at the corner store right now. It would have been produced by the likes of Pitz-Buin or Coppertone years ago...

Chemical Sunblock is the lesser of two evils Roy.

And for those interested I use Piz-Buin SPF8 when I need to, works a treat, lasts about 2 hours in the water and isn't messy. It's not cheap however (good xxxxx never is)

[Roy Stewart]

Brent,I thank you for you careful answer.

However . . .

You say that if the sunblock which we use was viable it would have been marketed years ago. Well of course zinc sunblocks have been on the market since the seventies . . .and they are still on the market. Our recipe uses a dfferent base, but it is still just a zinc sunblock. Zinc blocks work because they are completely opaque.

[Roy Stewart]

now now, be nice....

But Roy, if what your saying is true, that compounds/chemicals in commercial sunblock actually do the opposite as what they're intended on doing then surly this matter would have been tested and retested in labs.

Namino, Your faith is admirable,however history has shown that many substances which 'They' told us wersafe have proven to be disastrously unsafe. Commercial sunblcks are full of known toxins.

Also, i would trust a commercial sunblock designed and tested to protect you from UV rays much more then i would trust my own compound which may or may not work.

Zinc sunblocks are completely opaque . . they block the sun in the same way that a hat or a shirt does. They are low tech and effective. Clear sunblocks are much more 'high tech'
However, you must do what your own instinct ells you to do!

now, if you feel so strongly that these chemicals can cause cancer, why not attempt to test it out, or try to find a friend in a position to test it out. Who knows you could be right, or you could be wrong.

The toxic chemicals in commercial sunblocks are easily avoided by not using the commercial sunblock. We have a perfectly effective and harmless sunblock already. Why should I spend time running tests on something which I don't use anyway? I am not worried about other people using commercial sunblock . . that's their business.

But thats exactly right, there is no evidence! and as every science "friendly" person knows or understands, with out evidence you have no case.

Actually you are making a big mistake here. The poster 'Drowningbitbybit' said that he wasn't aware of any evidence that cinnamates cause cancer in humans. This does not mean that there is none.
I am perfectly entitled also, to avoid a substance simply because it causes cancer in rats . . . I am cautious about what I ingest or aply to my body. It is not necessary to make a 'case' out of it. . .I simply decline to purchase the stuff.

Your 'hypothesis' if you want to call it that, is based around studies of rats? correct me if im wrong but reading through these post that seems to be the only hard evidence you produced. But what about the years thousands people have been using sunblock. Surely you would have a ton more people with skin cancer, then a decrease in the number.

Actually the rate of skin cancer is increasing dramatically.

Now i know several people who religiously use sunblock becuase they constantly burn. I know of about a 63 year old man who has to use it everytime he goes out in the sun during the summer, and yet he has no traces of skin cancer. For all the users of sunblock if one just happens to have a reaction to it possibly causing skin cancer, i think it is well worth it to use sunblock.

This is not evidence! You seem to require me to find evidence and a watertight case to support my decision to avoid commercial sunblock, and yet you offer this anecdote as evidence that commercial sunblock is safe.


It is a personal decision.


On the subject of sun protection in general, I find that a 2mm flatlocked steamer works wonders for summer surfing.

[Guest]

Um, some would consider a pink 2mm flatlocked steamer with a gaff hat and lycra face cover worn in high-summer to be very high risk......of a beating for being GAY.

[Roy Stewart]

Ha Ha . .

In nature, the male is often the most colourful!

[Guest]

That's true,it's not a crime to be bright!

[globesurfer]

nicely said Guest, nciely said

[PapaW]

ffs everything is carcogenic or bad for you if you have too much of it.. get a grip...

This argument is a very poor one. It attempts to suggest that all things are equal in toxicity, and it is just a matter of the size of the dose. Clearly this does not really tell us anything useful at all.

People who use this argument are really saying something like " I don't care if substance X is toxic or not, I am going to use it anyway " This is fair enough. I am not trying to make you stop using Bullfrog or whatever . . that's up to you . .I don't care what you do . .but I am interested in the truth.

:idea: :arrow:

No your right but it does tell us that this is a pointless argument in the first place...
Sunblock = far far far far far less chance of skin cancer than Sun which = way way way way more.

Can't make that any more stright foward.

[Roy Stewart]

I must point out again that I agree that sunblock lessens the chance of skin cancer caused by the sun . . . .but if a sunblock is full of toxins then it is likely to cause other health problems, including cancers.
A sunblock which does not contain toxins lessens the chance of skin cancer from the sun without adding other health risks into the equation.

I think that this is a useful discussion.

[gulfsurfer]

So how do u make this stuff, im interested to see how good it is?