A Massachusetts man claims spray-on sunscreen led to burns on his body. Brett Sigworth says he sprayed Bannana Boat sunscreen on and then walked near his grill. He suffered burns on his chest and stomach, which has many people wondering if aerosol sunscreen is dangerous?
Flammable materials
Dr. Darrell Rigel, a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University told the NY Times that he has never heard of such a thing happening, but he says it is possible.
“Most of the sunscreen sprays have some kind of alcohol in them,” he said, “and the alcohol vapors are probably what caused the fire.”
“He was most likely surrounded by alcohol vapors,” Dr. Rigel said. “If you do that with hairspray, the same thing would happen. I suspect even if you sprayed yourself and then lit up a cigarette right away, the match might be a trigger, or the red-hot cigarette might do it too.”
The safety factor
While Bannana Boat says they are looking into the claim, there is a small warning on the cans saying the spray contains flammable liquid. Doctors say the Massachusetts case is a freak occurrence, but the threat of skin cancer is real. While spray-on sunscreen has become more popular in the last few years, there are other options if people are concerned. Rigel encourages everyone to use sunscreen while in the sun, and doesn’t see this incident as a cause for concern.
“People shouldn’t be worried that if they spray sunscreen on they’re going to explode,” Dr. Rigel said.
Dr. Karthik Krishnamurthy, a dermatologist at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care in New York says, “The only real risk is with aerosolized spray cans, and it’s only when the spray is being discharged, just like with hairspray. I would encourage people to take it with a grain of salt.”
