Kristin Cavallari just got absolutely blasted for her controversial hot take on… sunscreen?! Wait, really??
On a January episode of her podcast, Let’s Be Honest, she sat down with Dr. Ryan Monahan, a holistic medicine practitioner. Yeah. That’s when the Laguna Beach alum opened up about her reasoning for NOT using sunscreen. She revealed:
“I don’t wear sunscreen and any time I do an interview, I get a lot of s**t when I admit that I don’t.”
Cue the controversy!
Related: Tyler Cameron’s Spicy Response To Ex Kristin’s New Boyfriend!
The doc, naturally, was somewhat understanding of her decision, sharing his thoughts:
“It’s a very controversial topic, which is so funny, ’cause it’s the sun. We’ve literally spent our whole existence as humans under the sun all day until the last, like, 100 years. And now we’re shut-ins, [we] spend 93 percent of our lives indoors. … The sun is life-giving and nourishing.”
He suggested folks “work up your base coat in the sun, [so] you can start to tolerate the sun instead of burning” while also relying on supplements that act like “internal sunscreen” to help balance out the negative effects of the sun. Uh huh…
Later, the Uncommon James founder wondered if coconut oil could be a good replacement for sunscreen. The wellness guru thought it could work, though he doesn’t do it himself. He mostly recommended eating it for its anti-inflammatory properties. Hear the clip (below):
@dearmedia Sunscreen or no sunscreen? @Dr. Ryan Monahan shares the health benefits to look out for if you don’t wear SPF ???? Thoughts? #sunscreenbenefits #sunscreenreview #letsbehonest #healthandwellness #podcastclips
As you might imagine, fans and other doctors had some SERIOUS concerns about this hot take! After all, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US, per the American Cancer Society. Reacting to the podcast clip — which just went viral thanks to a new TikTok video on Sunday, board-certified dermatologist Andrea Suarez totally called out the reality star and her guest for spreading misinformation, arguing:
“What these wellness gurus will not tell is you is that our ancestors didn’t get skin cancers because they were somehow immune to DNA damage from ultraviolet radiation, but rather, they died before the average age of onset of skin cancer.”
Snap! That’s a good point!
While you can get skin cancer at most ages, the average age of diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society, is age 66. And of course, go far enough back and who would even have known if our ancestors had melanoma? They’d just write down the cause of death as “feeling poorly.”
Andrea also tackled the “supplement” theory. She explained how having antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in your diet can help the skin repair itself from sun damage — but it’s far from a suitable sunscreen replacement:
“This doesn’t protect your skin from UV Rays. This doesn’t protect the cells of your skin against DNA damage. You want to be careful when it comes to taking antioxidant dietary supplements, there’s not much research…for skin or skin cancer protective effect.”
See the dermatologist’s full defense of sunblock (below):
@drdrayzday Sunscreen and sun protection does not limit your ability to enjoy & benefit from time outdoors. #sunscreenisimportant #protectyourskin #dermatologist #greenscreenvideo @Dear Media
Most fans were on the same page as the doctor… Sorry, the dermatologist telling people to be safe and use sunscreen, we mean. Not the holistic guy. Listener responses included:
“This is insane actually”
“INTERNAL SUNSCREEN I’m crying”
“This pissed me off for realllll”
LOLz! That said, there were some supporters on Kristin’s side, who argued most sunscreens were full of “toxic” chemicals. We’re not sure if any of them were doctors… but we do know they’re listeners of the podcast. So maybe we just go with the expert here?
CLICK HERE to read what the American Academy of Dermatology Association has to say about SPF!
What do YOU think about all this, Perezcious readers??
[Image via Kristin Cavallari/Instagram]
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