Top Rated Sunscreens

If you are looking to replace your more toxic sunscreens with safer ones, it is not very difficult. That is what is so wonderful about America – there are so many products to choose from. We just need to keep out eyes open and make better choices.

The Environmental Working Group’s top 7 safest and most effective sunscreens are a place to start:

• Badger (Found at Whole Foods)
• California Baby (Found at Whole Foods and Target)
• Loving Naturals (Mostly on-line orders)
• Purple Prairie (Mostly on-line orders)
• Soleo (Found at Whole Foods)
• Think Baby/Think Sport (Found at It’s Only Natural, 407 West Gregory Blvd)
• UV Natural (Mostly on-line orders)

Remember, while these are rated #1, there are many other sunscreen options out there that are excellent, like these.

You can also go to Environmental Working Groups website and search for your favorite brands and see how they stack up.

What makes these sunscreens different from, say, Coppertone Spot Spray? First, they are not sprays, which must contain chemicals that help them disseminate. Second, they avoid the more toxic sunscreen chemicals like Oxybenzone and use safer materials such as Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide. Last, they avoid additives like fragrances, colors, parabens, etc.

Don’t be surprised if you start hearing about Titanium Dioxide either! While no studies have shown anything except its innocuous safty (except a study in rats that when inhaling it in dust form, but that doesn’t really apply) it hasn’t stayed clear of some criticism. In its typical form, Titanium Dioxide is a reflector and sits on the skin. New technology has enabled it to be broken down into “nano-particles” so that you don’t have that white color that doesn’t absorb. Currently, these particles are still too big to enter the cell wall, but the concern is that as technology progresses, we will have to watch out the particles don’t get too small.

Weather you order your sunscreen on-line, make a trip to Whole Foods, or just want to pick the best sunscreen at your local Pharmacy, there are better choices everywhere. On a trip to my local Osco, I found a few “natural” choices that, while rated a 3, are better than my previous choices, which were rated a 7! Remember, don’t make it hard for yourself, or you will tend not to do it at all.

Read Full Post »

Is your Sunscreen Safe?

I have been resurrecting last year’s sunscreen sticks and sprays. Last year I switched to all sprays that I could purchase at Costco, since they are so expensive seemed to evaporate after 2 days of use.

Oh, but my ever evolving chemical infatuation has now made it to sunscreens. Bare with me, I’m not going to tell you to throw out your stock. Like I said, I still have a few stray cans I plan on using until they are gone. But, I also plan on replacing them with safer products. Why? Because there has been a disturbing trend. Melanoma is higher in sunscreen users AND even though we use more sun protection, incidents of melanoma has increased 20 fold in the US since 1935.

No one really knows why. They suspect a few things. Maybe it is the chemicals in the sunscreens. Possibly we are not getting enough UVA protection (it is actually the UVB rays that cause sunburn, but UVA rays are suspected to cause cancer). And then there is the Vitamin D deficiency debate. It is probably a combination of all theories, so lets control what we can, and today we are trying to control CHEMICALS.

What is in some of these common sunscreens? Here is a look into the ingredients of a few I have invested hundreds of dollars in over the years:

1. Banana Boat [Environmental Working Group (EWG) Score: 7 (1 safest- 10 most hazardous)]

• Oxybenzone
• Octinoxate
• Vitamin A
• Parabens
• Isobutane

2. Coppertone [EWG Score 7]

• Oxybenzone
• Parabens
• Benzyl Alcohol
• Fragrance

3. Neutrogena [EWG Score 7]

• Oxybenzone
• Isobutane
• Vitamin A
• Fragrance

The big headliners of today are oxybenzone, Vitamin A, parabens and fragrances. I’m sure I’ll be able to write this article again in 5 years and will be talking about a totally different set of chemicals and concerns, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?

Oxybenzone
Works by absorbing UVA and UVB rays (other products work by deflecting it). The concern with this product is that it is absorbed into the system (one random blood sample study detected it in 95% of the samples), it can bioaccumulate, and it has the potential to cause DNA damage. Since it works by absorbing the sun’s rays the energy must be converted to another form. This process can cause free radicals, and that has the potential to cause damage. The other side of the argument is that UVA/UVB rays cause free radicals, and we don’t yet know which is worse.

Vitamin A
An FDA study found that it has the potential to actually increase cancerous tumors when used on the skin and exposed to sunlight. In lab animals, the ones given the Vitamin A cream had 21% increase in tumors.

Parabens
Are used at a preservative in cosmetics and have come into hot water after a breast cancer study revealed parabens were actually found in the tumors. Parabens are endocrine disruptors –they can mimic estrogen in our system, which has shown to cause problems in boys too.

Fragrances
The fragrance industry uses up to 3000 ingredients, predominantly synthetic, and of which about 900 are identified as toxic. However, the industry is not required to disclose ingredients of fragrances and perfumes on their labels due to trade secrecy. Fragrances are also often coupled with DEP, a know endocrine disruptor, to help the scent “linger.”

Hence, the most common, go-to sunscreens and sprays are helping protect us from the sun, but are also full of a bunch of junk. Knowing that our skin is our largest organ, we cannot take lightly what we put on it. There are plenty of good products out there. Unfortunately, not in a misty spray form (sad, I know) but the extra elbow grease may be worth it!

Read Full Post »