Find Another Reason To Hate Gisele

You mortals with your sunburns and your skin cancer.

She's right about the sunscreen thing. Kinda.

Gisele was recently quoted saying she doesn't use regular old sunscreen because, "I cannot put this poison on my skin....I do not use anything synthetic."  And the Internet self-righteously gasped itself into apoplexy.  Again.  (Hey Tiger Mom, you can relax, your streak of being the Internet's Most Sniped At Person is over!)  But just like that study that found that beautiful people are actually smarter, I gotta side with the supermodel on this one.

Now, disclosure: my skin is so pale I'm practically translucent, so yes, I use sunscreen.  ALOT of it.  Like, fancy Australian stuff that's twice as expensive and is so thick I'm disgustingly slimy all day.  An yes, it's important that people not read that and think that not wearing Coppertone is going to make then look like Gisele.  The kerfuffle here is because everyone spontaneously forgot to read the word "synthetic," and the fact that The Internet seems to have a very short memory on this.

Every year the Environmental Working Group publishes its report on sunscreen brands, rating them from "green light: recommend" to "red light: avoid."  Not because they're a bunch of socialists who secretly work for Acorn and/or the Tides foundation, but because (via HuffingtonPost):

The EWG found many products misleading in their claims, lacking in adequate protection from all types of ultraviolet radiation, and containing many potentially hazardous chemicals.

And according to the same article, even after years and years of slathering our collective selves with sunscreen, skin cancer is on the rise.  Why?  

• The type of Vitamin A used in sunscreen can actually accelerate the growth of tumors.  Like, 20% faster.  Sunscreen also blocks your absorption of vitamin D, which we get from the sun and reduces the risk of cancer and strengthens our immune system and bones.
• Does your sunscreen have oxybenzone in it?  Probably, it's the most common active ingredient.  Because it easily penetrates the skin into the bloodstream, the FDA warns against using it on children because it can cause allergic reactions and hormone disruptions.

So yes, that sunscreen?  Probably poison.  Should we stop using it in the summer?  Not entirely.  Should we be smarter about the science and maybe try to find some products that are lower in the SYNTHETIC ingredients that might be doing us more harm than good?  Bingo.

But the best news is, you don't even have to let go of that pent-up rage you feel towards Gisele, who in the end is only saying that to promote the launch of her own all-natural skincare line. Why not redirect it towards the FDA, who toyed with the idea of regulating sunscreen, started drafting regulations, and then just never got around to it.  Why?  Gee, dunno, maybe they worked on it for two years or so and got distracted.