As part of our Sense in the Sun campaign we are sharing all our tips and tricks for staying safe out and about during the hot summer days.

Nanotechnology has been used in sunscreens for years, and for just as long people have had concerns about using them.

The Cancer Council carried out an assessment and reported that based on the best available evidence, nanoparticles do not pose a risk as they do not reach live skin cells.

The two common sunscreen components researched and reviewed were titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles. These were found to solely remain on the surface of the skin and in the outer layer of skin, which is made up of non-viable skin cells.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration regularly conducts reviews and in 2014 scientific research was undertaken where human immune cells were exposed to the zinc oxide nanoparticles to see how they would respond. The study reported that the human immune cells effectively absorbed the nanoparticles and broke them down.

In short, you need not be worried about nanoparticles in sunscreen. You are much safer wearing sunscreen than getting sunburnt by harsh UV rays.