The science says no: sunscreen does not cause cancer, and beef tallow will not protect your skin from ultraviolet damage. That is the blunt verdict News24 delivered in response to claims circulating on social media that question the safety of conventional sunscreens while promoting animal fats as a natural alternative.

The claim has spread widely enough that outlets are now answering it directly. At stake is a familiar trade-off that dermatology clinicians have addressed for years: consumers weigh a theoretical or unproven hazard attributed to sunscreen ingredients against the very well documented hazard of unprotected UV exposure — skin cancer.

What is actually being claimed?

Two assertions anchor the viral narrative. The first is that sunscreen itself is carcinogenic — that the products designed to prevent skin cancer instead cause it. The second is that beef tallow, rendered cow fat marketed heavily in wellness and "ancestral" skincare circles, can serve as an effective sun protectant.

News24's reporting rejects both. The science, the outlet states plainly, does not support a causal link between sunscreen use and cancer. And tallow, whatever its emollient properties, offers no protection against UV radiation.

Why the sunscreen-causes-cancer claim fails

The logic behind the myth generally points at sunscreen's ingredient list — UV filters, some of them chemical compounds — and implies that what is absorbed must be harmful. Regulators have reviewed these ingredients, and the consensus position remains that the benefit of UV protection outweighs the theoretical risks attributed to the formulations.

What the claim omits is the scale of the counterfactual. Ultraviolet radiation is a classified carcinogen, and unprotected exposure is a driver of skin malignancies. A product that blocks that exposure reduces, not raises, cancer risk in the aggregate evidence. Telling patients otherwise risks pushing them toward less protection, not more.

For clinicians, the practical concern is adherence. Patients who absorb the myth may skip sunscreen entirely or substitute unvalidated products — which is precisely where the second half of the story becomes clinically relevant.

Can beef tallow replace sunscreen?

No, according to the reporting. Beef tallow has gained traction in online skincare communities as a "natural" moisturizer and, increasingly, as a sun-care alternative. The fat may function as an occlusive emollient on the skin's surface.

But an emollient is not a UV filter. Tallow carries no demonstrated ability to absorb or scatter ultraviolet radiation in the way that validated sunscreen actives do. Smearing an animal fat on sun-exposed skin provides, at best, a layer of grease — and a false sense of protection that could increase cumulative UV exposure.

The distinction matters for patient counseling. A patient who replaces sunscreen with tallow because of an online video has not simply switched brands; they have removed their UV protection entirely.

How should clinicians respond?

The episode fits a wider pattern in dermatology communication: viral wellness claims move faster than correction. The News24 piece models the right response — address the claim head-on, state the scientific position without hedging into false balance, and name the substitute product as ineffective rather than merely "unproven."

Counseling points that follow from the reporting:

• State clearly that sunscreen use is not linked to causing cancer in the scientific evidence.
• State clearly that beef tallow provides no UV protection and is not a sunscreen substitute.
• Address the underlying motivation — ingredient anxiety — rather than dismissing it, so patients stay in the conversation rather than leaving for unvalidated alternatives.

The internet will keep producing both halves of this myth: the carcinogen accusation against sunscreen and the folk remedy offered in its place. Outlets like News24 rebutting both in a single headline is a useful template, and dermatology communicators will likely need to keep repeating the correction as the tallow trend continues to circulate in skincare spaces.