PHOENIX — There's an "anti-sunscreen" movement online, where people are claiming the chemicals in sunscreen are more likely to give you cancer than the sun itself.
ABC15 took that concern to our health insider, Dr. Shad Marvasti.
"I would say that's inaccurate," Dr. Shad said. "I think there are definitely some versions of sunscreen that have some chemicals that have been implicated with different conditions, and there may be some risks associated with that but that's not all sunscreens."
Dr. Shad says there are two different kinds of sunscreen, mineral based and chemical based.
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"There's not really a lot of data that shows specifically what level of risk," he said. "When you compare the potential benefit of the sunscreen in terms of preventing skin cancer, than it's really a slam dunk that you want to use the sunscreen."
Dr. Shad says if you are concerned about chemical-based sunscreen, mineral-based is a good way to go.
May is Melanoma Awareness Month and data from the Skin Cancer Foundation shows more than 200,000 people could be diagnosed with skin cancer this year.
The environmental working group rated more than 1,700 sunscreens and found one in four met their standard for adequate sun protection and avoiding ingredients linked to known health harms. You can look up your sunscreen here.