The TRUTH about ‘natural’ and ‘nourishing’ SPFs loved by celebs and influencers – and why it could cost lives

IT has long been a store-cupboard essential, used to make dumplings, pie crusts andChristmaspuddings.

But suet also known as tallow is having a new lease of life in a move that has alarmed dermatologists and cancer experts.

[Sam Faiers at the Pride of Britain Awards.]

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[White bottle of British Broth Company Tallow Sunscreen SPF 30.]

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Moisturisers made from rendered beef fat, mixed with olive oil and essential oils, have been used for millennia. One was found preserved in Roman ruins inLondondating back 2,000 years.

Now, influencers are increasingly claiming that this ancient product could even be used as sun protection.

Videos from social media stars and even celebrities with hundreds of thousands of followers have flooded sites like TikTok and Instagram arguing that the “natural” tallow sunscreens are “deeply nourishing” and free of “harmful” and “toxic” chemicals found in high street suncreams.

Ex-Towie star Samantha Faiers has claimed that she and her family swear by tallow sunscreens when away on holiday.

Brands online boast that their products are formulated without “any chemical filters” typically found in sunscreens and are “natural” and “safe”.

It marks the latest development in a growing anti-sunscreen trend that has sceptics believe the products contain toxic, cancer-causing chemicals and are to blame for rising rates ofskin cancer.

Last week, one survey by Worldpanel by Numerator also found that just 56 per cent of adults in England, Scotland and Wales had bought sunscreen in the last two years.

Experts today advised that there was little evidence to support the effectiveness of tallow sunscreen and that many products advertised online were “highly dangerous” and even “nonsense” for claiming they offer sun protection.

[Screenshot of a social media post about sun safety for children.]

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[A young woman squeezing sunscreen onto her hand with text overlay "the sun doesn't cause cancer sunscreen does !!"]

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At best, they could cause sunburn or premature ageing, they said. Forsaking SPF may also lead to an increased risk of melanoma.

Professor Antony Young, an expert on the skin and suncream at King’s College London, told Sun Health: “SPF testing by an accredited laboratory is a legal requirement for an SPF claim.

“Brands exploit a loophole by calling their product a ‘Sun Balm’ or ‘body cream with zinc oxide’ while explicitly disclaiming it as a sunscreen.

“Without independent laboratory SPF testing, selling this as sun protection is possibly illegal and highly dangerous for the consumer.”

Professor Brian Diffey, a professor of photobiology and member of the the British Association of Dermatologists, also told Sun Health: “Beeftallow, coconut, or botanical oilsdo not protectagainst UV radiationand cannot function as a sunscreen on their own.

“In theory, when combined with recognised UV filters,tallow-based sunscreen could provide adequatesunprotection.

“The final formulation, however, would need to be properly tested using recognised methods to demonstrate its SPF and UVA protection.  

“With small-batch products, it can be difficult to assesshow theyperform over time, during storage, orunder different usage conditionsunless the manufacturer provides relevant test data.

“We encourage the public to be cautious of products that imply they offer sun protection while also stating that they are not sunscreens or while offering no labelled Sun Protection Factor.”  

He added: “Consumers should choose sunscreens with clear SPF and UVA claims that are supported by recognised product testing.

“Conventional sunscreens have a strong evidence base for safety and effectiveness and are subject to UK safety, labelling, and claims requirements.  

“Its worth remembering, natural does not mean safer or more effective. 

“While there are many natural ingredients with useful properties, they can also be ineffective or even harmful.” 

Last year, Samantha hit back after coming under fire for revealing that her kids dont wear sunscreen.

Admitting she is not a medical expert, the reality star, 34, wrote on Instagram that she believes SPF is pretty harmful and full of toxic ingredients and she now uses “Tallow Zinc SPF”.

Samantha, 35, who is mum to Paul, 10, Rosie, 8, and Edward, 4, was asked on Instagram, where she has 2.4million followers, what sunscreen she uses.

[A person in a leopard print bikini top holds up a tube of "Tallow Sunscreen."]

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She replied: So this is always a bit of a controversial one, but honestly, me and my whole family dont actually wear sunscreen.

Over the years, the kids have built up a really good tolerance to being in the sun.

Rather, she says, she takes other steps to protect her children including “SPF swimwear” and staying out of the midday sun.

That said, I do always bring a Tallow Zine SPF with me when I go away, just in case,” she added.

In April, fashion influencer @savannahxraeee also posted a video on TikTok to her 36,000 followers saying: “The sun doesn’t cause cancer, sunscreen does.”

She added: “Organic beef tallow sunscreen for the win. Protect your largest organ and stop using toxic sunscreen.”

In June, lifestyle influencer @findsby.madi then promoted a tallow suncream to her 33,000 TikTok followers and said: “I’m a very fair skinned girl and have to absolutely protect myself from the sun. But I hate the ingredients that I find in literally every sunscreen out there.

“I love that this stuff gives me the coverage and protection I desperately need without the disgustingly harsh ingredients found in other sunscreens.”

Others in the anti-sunscreen movement have pointed to studies suggesting that certain chemicals cause cancer or are absorbed too heavily into the body. 

But, experts cautioned that SPF products sold in the UK must abide by strict safety levels to ensure any compounds or filters are removed.

Professor Young told Sun Health: “Companies that promote products with mineral, i.e. inorganic, sunscreens like to claim they are non-chemical which is nonsense because mineral filters are of course chemicals.

“Many sunscreen formulations contain mix of inorganic and organic – often referred to as chemical – filters.

[A woman holding a tube of Neptune's Tallow Sunscreen with 30 SPF.]

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“Organic filters can enter circulating blood, and this has raised concerns about toxicity, especially hormone disruption.

“Sunscreen filters undergo very stringent tests by regulatory authorities before they can enter the market and their possible toxicity is routinely monitored by these authorities, and some filters have been banned because of this.

“To date there has been no convincing evidence that sunscreen filters show long-term harm but there is evidence that they can prevent skin cancer.

“Many sunscreens add a range of antioxidants. The benefits of these are hard to prove, but they in themselves are not likely to be harmful.”

He added: “Tanning is the skins response to cell damage caused by ultraviolet radiation.

“The protection offered by tanning in white skin is modest and equivalent to an SPF of three to four.

“This is always accompanied with DNA damage that causes the mutations that can lead to skin cancer.”

Professor Dorothy Bennett, a professor of cell biology at City St George’s, University of London, also told Sun Health she believes there is no published research at all on using tallow in sunscreen.

She added: “I strongly recommend using any effective and safety-tested sun-screen you like.

“That should include UVA protection as well as UVB.

“Melanoma is a dangerous cancer, and the lifetime risk is now more than 1 in 40 in the UK. Not to mention non-melanoma skin cancer, which is less dangerous but more common still.

“A tan does not protect you from the sun. We now know that the trigger within the skin that leads to sun-tanning is DNA damage.

[Woman applying sunscreen on her arm at the beach.]

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“So tanned skin is damaged skin. There is no safe tan.”

The NHS encourages everyone to use at least SPF 30 protection.

Regular users of sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher can cut their risk of melanoma the most deadly type of skin cancer in half, studies have also suggested. 

Around 15,000 Brits and 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma each year, the most common form of skin cancer. It is the fifth most common cancer in the UK. 

The incidence in Britain has risen faster than any other common cancer. 

Increased UV exposure from the sun or tanning beds, has been blamed for the increase.

But leading doctors and scientists say huge scientific advances, greater awareness of the symptoms is fuelling better diagnosis, while an ageing population and more people holidaying abroad, are also driving rates up.

Despite huge strides forward in treatment that has seen survival leap from less than 50 per cent to more than 90 per cent in the past decade, it still kills more than2,000 people a year.

Melanoma is often fast growing and can quickly burrow through the skin and into the blood vessels beneath. 

Once the cancer cells get into the bloodstream, the disease can spread throughout the body. 

Around 90 per cent of all visible changes to the skin are caused by photo-aging, the Skin Cancer Foundation advises. 

Responding to comments made by skin health experts, a spokesperson for Samantha Faiers told Sun Health: “Samantha would never encourage unsafe behaviour or advise against sunscreen.

“In an Instagram Story last year, she shared her personal experience as a mum, making clear she is not an expert.

“She protects her children by avoiding peak UV hours, using SPF-rated swimwear and natural products containing zinc oxide, an approved broad-spectrum UV filter.

“She also noted that sunscreen ingredients remain under review.

“PABA, one of the earliest chemical UV filters, was previously widely used but later banned in the EU and prohibited in the US by the FDA following safety concerns.”

The British Broth Company, which sells an SPF30 tallow sunscreen also told Sun Health: “Our finished SPF30 sunscreen has undergone independent in-vivo SPF testing in accordance with recognised international standards, substantiating its SPF30 claim.”