Wearing sunglasses causes cancer because blocking sunlight from your eyes stops your body from protecting your skin.
Spread on: Facebook video, UK (a clip Full Fact has checked several times before)
The real story
The clip features a self-described 'medical intuitive' who reportedly died in 2012, and it keeps getting reposted. Melanin, the pigment that helps protect skin, is made by skin cells reacting to UV light, not by light entering your eyes. People who lose their sight can still tan. There is evidence sunglasses may help guard against melanoma of the eye, and the NHS recommends wearing them.
The fact-checker's verdict: “False”. Our label never goes further than theirs.
When a health video says a common safety habit secretly causes the very disease it protects against, check what a cancer charity or health department says before sharing.
The receipts
There's still no evidence that wearing sunglasses causes cancer ↗
Full Fact · 2026-09-29
