{"id":571251,"date":"2026-01-20T10:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=571251"},"modified":"2026-01-20T10:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:12:11","slug":"the-unwanted-effects-of-sunscreen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/the-unwanted-effects-of-sunscreen\/","title":{"rendered":"The unwanted effects of sunscreen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_571256\" style=\"max-width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-571256 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RPF-notas-protetor-solar-2025-08-800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RPF-notas-protetor-solar-2025-08-800.jpg 800w, https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RPF-notas-protetor-solar-2025-08-800-250x259.jpg 250w, https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RPF-notas-protetor-solar-2025-08-800-700x725.jpg 700w, https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RPF-notas-protetor-solar-2025-08-800-120x124.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"media-credits-inline\">Mykola Sosiukin\u2009\/\u2009Getty Images<\/span>Sunscreen is good for the skin, but delays the decomposition of plastics<span class=\"media-credits\">Mykola Sosiukin\u2009\/\u2009Getty Images<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC), a common ingredient in sunscreens, moisturizers, and other skincare products, absorbs type B ultraviolet rays, the main cause of sunburn, and helps prevent visible signs of premature aging, such as dark spots. According to the University of Stirling in the UK, however, it can also extend the lifespan of plastic packaging that ends up in the ocean. When plastics absorb EHMC, they become more resistant to degradation by sunlight and microorganisms. The chemical hinders the growth of aerobic bacteria, which need oxygen to breathe and help decompose plastics, while favoring the growth of anaerobic bacteria, which do not require oxygen and are more resistant to harsh environmental conditions. Plastics soaked in EHMC showed reduced levels of pollutant-degrading bacteria, such as <em>Marinomonas<\/em>, and an increase of others, such as <em>Pseudomonas<\/em>, which can cause serious infections. The findings highlight the need to consider the impacts of chemical compounds on strategies to combat plastic pollution (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0304389425020199\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Journal of Hazardous Materials<\/em><\/a>, September 5).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Compound used in sunscreen and other cosmetics hinders plastic degradation","protected":false},"author":475,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1651],"tags":[200],"coauthors":[785],"class_list":["post-571251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-notes","tag-environment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/475"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":571264,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571251\/revisions\/571264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571251"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=571251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}