It’s very important to distinguish between two different pills that are associated with the sun. The first one is an herbal supplement that actually can help protect you from sun damage and that’s good. The second one is a very dangerous pill that’s promoted for sunless tanning and it’s very bad for you. Let me explain. The first of these pills is actually the first oral supplement that I know of that actually can help protect you against ultra violet sun damage, it’s called Heliocare, it’s been available for about 3 years and it’s an herbal supplement that comes from the Golden Serpent Fern and it contains a very, very potent antioxidant called Polypodium Leucotomos. Medical studies have been done and have demonstrated a significant decrease in Ultra Violet B damage and sunburn when people take 500mg of this pill a day. Now, to be perfectly clear, and the manufacturer stresses this, this pill is not a substitute for topical sun protection. It is a supplement to topical sun protection, so this alone is not going to give you adequate sun protection but it is going to increase protection against Ultra Violet B and therefore add to your sun protection program. That’s very, very different from the other pill, which is called Canthaxanthin. This pill is actually a carotenoid which is related to beta-carotene and its promoted to give you a sunless tan but it’s illegal in the United States and the reason that it is, is because it causes liver disease, eye disease and there’s even a case of fatal aplastic anemia that occurred in a patient taking this pill. It works by being absorbed into the body and depositing in the fat and in the fat it causes a peculiar discoloration which transmits through to the skin as a golden orange color and this golden orange color doesn’t look like a natural tan, it’s not safe and it’s not good for you. So bear in mind, Heliocare is good and can help you, protect you from sun damage and Canthaxanthin is very bad and don’t ever consider taking that to try to get a tan.
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Do you know if there are any chem-free sunscreens that are also waterproof/sweatproof? Since I am taking a topical retinoid for my acne, it is impossible for me to be outside without sweating off my chem-free sunscreen(using vanicream), and using any other chem sunscreen is impossible with the amount of redness/insane irritation it causes. Please, any suggestions to this?