-->Choose Sunscreen Wisely
One New Year’s resolution I was able to keep was eliminating products containing petroleum or PABA from touching my skin. There was a bit of trial and error as I tried out shampoos, conditioners, and makeup but I came up with a combination that works for me. Did you know the average woman leaves the house after applying up to 100 different chemicals to her skin? After I read that statistic I had to change my ways and I’m glad I did.
Except for sunscreen.
There are hundreds of sunscreens on the market but they pretty much come down to two types: barrier methods which primarily use zinc oxide, and chemical methods which create a block by reacting with your skin to prevent burns. I really hated the idea of pouring chemicals on my body, and especially my son’s, but I’m about as pasty white as you can get and I have to have something.
Check How Good Your Sunscreen Is
I was very happy to discover this article on the Environmental Working Group’s page about which sunscreens to try. One of the big “a-ha” moments was reading about the hormone disruptors often present in sunscreens and the frequently over-inflated SPF claims.
A Tip: buy the highest SPF you can find; almost everyone uses too little so the number on the box is likely NOT the number you’re applying to your skin. It’s supposed to take 2 Tablespoons to cover your entire body.
The government is working on this and new guidelines are coming out in a year or two, but for now you’re pretty much on your own, staring at the jungle of lotions and potions at your local pharmacy, SPF numbers calling out to you. The new guidelines won’t result in new products until the summer of 2012 most likely.
The Best Ones to Try
The Environmental Working Group has a great chart where you can check the sunscreen you’re already using for safety. And they also have a list of healthier options to try (they tested over 1,400 products). Here are a few:
- Alba Botanical
- Blue Lizard
- California Baby
- Cliniderm
- Dr. T’s Supergoop
- Jason Natural Sunbrella
- La Roche-Posay
- thinkbaby / thinksport
Two more quick tips. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before you go out and put sunscreen on naked. That way you won’t have to worry about “missing” a spot because you were working around your clothes.
What have you been using? Do you think this will make you switch to a safer brand? What do you think about federal guidelines coming out to help us choose wisely?
Lisa
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I bought California baby after hearing about the oxybenzone in Sunscreen. Its a physical sunscreen with zinc oxide.
Its expensive as all California Baby products are, but I like that it rubs in without looking to streaking. You like a little whiter, but consistently so. I think target usually sells it, but I had to get mine through their website.
Also, a good shampoo to try is Trader Joe’s Spa Shampoo. No laurel sulfates, etc. No PABA.
Lauren, thanks for the suggestions, I used to use the California baby but then the local store I went to stop carring it and I’ve been using the LaRoche-Pussay (sp?) that they carry at CVS. It’s got one of the European ingredients that’s better but isn’t widely available in the US yet.
The article I read said the US is only allowing 3 of the “safer” ingredients now and Europe has access to 7.
Thanks for the tip on the shampoo!
I am about to confuse your readers even more than they are already by all the hype out there. Organic isn’t always better…
The EWG, for now, does not rank a product based on whether or not it contains nano-particles. Nano-particles are proving to be potentially harmful to the body and the environment. Despite consumer outrage, the FDA has been slow to respond. And they are present in 1000′s of consumer products with NO labeling or other requirements!
“EWG’s rating of zinc and titanium-based products as among the safest and most effective sunscreens available in the U.S. today should not be interpreted as an endorsement of nano-materials in general. We remain deeply concerned about the overall safety and oversight of nanotechnology as well as impacts to workers and the environment.”
Fair enough, for now.
The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics and Friends Of The Environment are against nano-technology, but they do cite the EWG list a reasonable one to work with. Because there are no labeling requirements in the US, so you really can’t know if the nanos are in what you are purchasing.
I really love the work that EWG does. But…
Are there other alternatives for those wishing to avoid nanoparticles? YES!
According to Friends Of The Environment, “Consumers need to know that manufactured nanoscale zinc and titanium oxides are not necessarily the most effective or safest choice for effective sun protection. They are also not the only option. Besides several different carbon-based active ingredients, consumers can also look for larger-scale, more opaque metal-oxide based sunscreens (e.g. titanium dioxide or zinc oxide which are ‘inorganic’ and do not contain carbon atoms), although without mandatory labeling these may be very hard to find (at least in the U.S.)”
Who woulda guessed that an “INORGANIC” product would be the best choice?
Bridget you rock! thanks so much for contributing to this. Can you recommend any specific brands? Readers wanna know!
Thanks,
Lisa