Is Retinyl Palmitate Toxic?

Is Vitamin A bad for you? Well, if it’s a form of vitamin A known as retinyl palmitate, it just might be. It seems that retinyl palmitate, an antioxidant that’s been shown to have anti-aging properties, may speed up the development of tumors and lesions.

Alexandra Spunt, co-author of No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products, says: "While dermatologists love talking about vitamin A as a stellar anti-ager, a study by the FDA cited by the Environmental Working Group is now showing that in combination with the sun, retinyl palmitate actually increases skin cancer risk - at least in rats. That doesn't bode well for us, and leading experts are right when they say this is extremely disconcerting," she says.

Retinyl palmitate is commonly used in creams and lotions as well as sunscreens, and has been proven fine for indoor application. But when applied outside, the FDA found that "retinyl palmitate breaks down in sunlight to photomutagenic compounds" and "forms free radicals in the presence of UVA and UVB radiation." During a one year study by the FDA, tumors and lesions formed around 20 percent faster on lab animals coated with vitamin A-enhanced cream, than those that did not.

Around 40 percent of all sunscreens contains contain retinyl palmitate, so it’s critical that consumers pay attention to labels, and choose a retinyl palmitate-free sunscreen.

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