Mission & Charity

It is our mission to reduce the incidence of skin cancer through the increased use of quality sunscreen together with better education and awareness.

  • Most common of all cancers
  • Divided into melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC)
  • Basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) – usually slow growing – most commonly on head and neck. Almost never spread. Can be cured by surgery.
  • Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) – develop on sun exposed areas; can be cured if treated early (usually surgically). May spread if high risk type.
  • Melanoma is a potentially dangerous type; often develop on areas with intermittent sun exposure that have been sunburnt (e.g. men’s backs). Can be cured if caught early. New research is offering hope to those with metastatic disease.

 
Risks for skin cancer

  • Chronic ultraviolet radiation exposure
  • Pale skin
  • Skin cancer in the family 
  • Multiple/ unusual moles
  • Severe sunburn
  • Weakened immune system


Sunscreen

  • Prevents UV radiation reaching the skin
  • UVB (ultraviolet radiation) causes sunburn (and also enables vitamin D production)
  • UVA causes wrinkles, brown spots (photoageing)
  • Both UVB and UVA can contribute to the development of skin cancer


    SPF     = Sun Protection Factor (the number of times longer you can stay in the sun before burning compared to wearing no sunscreen) indicates UVB protection

    The amount of UVB radiation that is filtered out varies with different SPFs:

    • SPF15 blocks 93% of UBB.
    • SPF30 blocks 96.7% of UVB.
    • SPF50 blocks 98.3% of UVB.

       

       

      CHARITY

      Altruist supports charities that help children with albinism in Tanzania and the rest of Africa.  We believe everybody should have an equal opportunity to be protected from the sun.


      Donations
      Together with partners, Altruist has been able to donate over 865K GBP (1 million EUR) in products since the launch of the brand in 2016. 
      We couldn’t do any of this without you, thank you!
      In September 2020, Altruist co-founder David traveled to Tanzania to deliver the sunscreen in person. He helped teach kids how to apply it and spent time listening to their stories.


      How can you help
      By buying Altruist, you can help albino children in Africa! Since the launch of Altruist in 2015, 10p from each tube sold has been donated to charitable causes. Altruist supports charities including Under The Same Sun & Stichting Afrikaanse Albino’s. 

       

       

      Why is having albinism such an issue?

      In Tanzania, and many parts of Africa, having albinism is a sentence to harsh life and early death.  Albinism is a genetic condition, more prevalent in Africa. It results in a person looking white due to a lack of pigmentation in the hair, skin and eyes. People with albinism are visually impaired and highly vulnerable to sun exposure resulting in high rates of skin cancer. 

      Societal ignorance about the condition, as well as long-standing beliefs associated with witchcraft, lead to the dehumanization of people with albinism. It is widely believed that the body parts of people with albinism, used by witch doctors in magical charms and potions, bring wealth, health and good luck. This leads to brutal attacks resulting in maiming, death and the black market trafficking of albino body parts. Since 2006, more than 300 attacks have been recorded in 25 countries, and likely many more have gone unrecorded.