Man Bursts Into Flames After Applying Sunscreen

Sunscreen is supposed to protect us from getting burnt. But a Massachusetts man got a terrible surprise when he applied his Banana Boat sunscreen before heading outdoors to grill and burst into flames. The result was second-degree burns to his chest, ear and back and he still suffers the effects ten days after the incident.

The aerosol Banana Boat sunscreen does come with a warning on the bottle that the spray is flammable and to not use it near flame, heat or while burning anything. However, the warning label says nothing about standing near a flame after applying the spray. The Banana Boat company says that they plan to investigate the incident and that they are very sorry for the man's plight. Some experts speculate that the sunscreen may not have entirely absorbed into the man's skin before he stood near a flame or that there was still aerosol spray in the air that caused a reaction from the charcoal in his grill to latch onto the droplets of spray to an area of largest concentration of the spray–in this case, the man's body. The man does not plan to seek legal action, but has shared his story and photos of his burns to bring awareness to the dangers of spray sunscreen.