Our ancestors didn't need sunscreen because they evolved in environments with lower levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure. Additionally, they likely had protective adaptations in their skin, such as increased melanin production, to help shield them from the sun's harmful rays.
Clothing, scarves, and shade were early methods of protecting skin from the sun. However, applying products to the skin for additional protection also started thousands of years ago. Early civilizations used a variety of plant products to help protect the skin from sun damage.
Other cultures have tried their luck at sun protection with varying success. The ancient Greeks used olive oil. Some Native American tribes used Tsuga canadensis, a type of pine needle, which was is also effective in soothing sunburns.
What did people do before sunscreen? History tells us that ancient cultures used anything from mud, to rice bran, to olive oil, to zinc oxide. That's right: the active ingredient used in physical sunscreens (like SunButter!) has been used as sunblock for thousands of years.
From the Egyptians to the Greeks and Romans, ancient societies used plant extracts and other natural ingredients such as rice bran, jasmine, and olive oil to block the sun's rays.
Jesus didn't do anything wrong (1 Peter 2:22). Back to the original question: what about suntan lotion? Sunscreen in its current form didn't exist until the 1920s or 30s, so Jesus wouldn't have used this, but he may have used olive oil or a plant product like the ancient Greeks and Egyptians apparently did.
1500 AD: OCHRE IN THE AFRICAN MIDDLE STONE AGE
Early civilizations used ochre as sunscreen, adhesive, insect repellent, and leather preservative, developing the human mind through their innate inquisitiveness of and creative experimentation with the natural world.
For example, some Aboriginal groups used traditional ochre pigments as a form of sun protection. These pigments were applied to the skin in intricate designs for ceremonial and cultural purposes, but they also served to reflect the sun's rays and provide a degree of sun protection.
Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide Are the Only Natural Sunscreen Active Ingredients. As we mentioned before, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the only ingredients approved by the FDA to give your sunscreen a natural SPF. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are minerals, naturally found in the earth.
There are records of Egyptians, Ancient Greeks and Native Americans all using some form of sun protection. While the ancient cultures did not understand the science behind UV rays and sun damage, they did understand tanning and sunburns.
Nearly 1 of 10 Native Americans (NAs) believe that Native peoples do not develop skin cancer, and nearly 9 of 10 have been sunburned at least once.
No one is immune to sunburn. Understanding your risk and taking the appropriate preventive strategies from sunburn can help prevent future skin problems.
Evidence shows that using sunscreen every day helps slow down the skin's aging process. According to one groundbreaking study, people who use broad-spectrum sunscreen on a daily basis experience 24 percent less skin aging than those who use sunscreen only intermittently.
Premature Aging
If you don't apply sunscreen, the UV radiation can damage the collagen and connective tissue in your skin. This, in turn, leads to loss of elasticity in your skin, causing wrinkles, saggy and aged skin to appear in younger people.
Another important fact about avocado oil is it has a natural SPF.
Oils Often Have Low SPF Values
But according to recommendations from health organizations, the SPF levels of most oils aren't high enough to adequately protect against harmful UV radiation. For reference, here are some of the higher SPF values of oils according to a particular study: Coconut Oil: 8. Olive Oil: 8.
Hippos. Hippos secrete a pinkish colored oil that helps keep their skin moist in the hot sun and acts like a sunscreen to protect their skin from sunburn.
How so? “Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, so the Australian government has the strictest requirements for sunscreen,” explains Wong, who hails from Sydney. “It's regulated as a therapeutic good (ergo a drug), which means the manufacturing requirements are higher.
Followed by the first sunscreen, invented in Australia by chemist H.A. Milton Blake, in 1932 formulating with the UV filter 'salol' (Phenyl salicylate) at a concentration of 10%.
The Egyptians were known to use rice bran extracts, jasmine and lupine extracts as a sunscreen because they realized these ingredients had the ability to absorb the sun's very strong rays. These chemicals are still used today in some of the modern sunscreen products.
Before effective sunscreens were available, people avoided sunburn by applying red or yellow pastes to their skin, which were thought to absorb ultraviolet light from the sun. Alternately, people applied colorless paste and wore veils of different colors to absorb different wavelengths of light.
To that end, Victorian ladies regularly employed parasols and bonnets to shield their faces from the sun. When that wasn't enough to protect them from sunburn, freckling, and pigmentation, there were a wealth of topical treatments they might try—from the mildest creams to the harshest patent lotions.
Sunscreen has evolved over the years starting out as a lotion with a SPF 2. Back when sunscreen was invented it was a red thick, sticky formula similar to petroleum jelly and far cry from the lightweight, hydrating formulas we have today.