I love the smell of Coppertone… brings back fond memories of my childhood. Oooh and baby oil… I’d slather that stuff all over my body in hopes of achieving that deep dark tan. If we only knew! Not only were we damaging our skin but that pleasant smell of Coppertone is a highly toxic synthetic fragrance.
In a recent article, 8 Ingredients You Don’t Want In Your Sunscreen, I detailed the harmful chemicals that most sunscreen brands contain. Because the FDA does not conduct any safety testing on sunscreen, we consumers have to be savvy about what we use. It’s infuriating, we’re trying to protect ourselves from skin cancer but the damn sunscreen itself contains carcinogens. So what the hell are we supposed to do?!
Don’t worry, there are alternatives. There are brands that offer quality sunscreen without the harmful chemicals that get a good rating on the Environmental Working Group sunscreen report. Look for products that have zinc oxide made without nanotechnology. Zinc is a physical barrier against the sun’s rays that does not get absorbed by the skin. The sun’s rays break down chemical sunscreens and you have to reapply them frequently. The physical sunscreens do not break down so they protect your skin from the sun longer.
California Baby and Badger are good but they do leave a white film on the skin (which my 11 year old won’t tolerate!), UV Natural is good but a bit greasy. My newest find, Ava Anderson Non Toxic, is fantastic. No nanoparticles, no cakey white mess just a clean formulation with protection from the sun’s damaging rays. The SPF 15 has a nice consistency for daily protection on the face, neck and hands.
Another one I like when I want higher protection with SPF 30 is Solar Protective Moisturizer by Devita Skin Care. It’s good for us gals because it contains hyaluronic acid which gives a little anti-aging boost. I know sunscreen sprays are convenient and easy to use but they are especially harmful because we inhale the ingredients as well as absorb them.
Protect Your Health, Protect The Environment. Avoiding sunscreen with toxic ingredients is not only important for our health, it’s important for the environment. After we slather ourselves with it, it washes off into the ocean harming sea life. According to a study conducted by Environmental Health Perspectives in 2008, these chemicals are killing the coral reef.
Research shows that octinoxate, oxybenzone, parabens and camphor derivatives kill hard corals which could have a negative impact on biodiversity and reef ecosystems. Help inform your friends – tweet this, share it on Facebook & send it to friends, especially those with kids. No one should use sunscreen with harmful chemicals and with all the safe alternatives, they don’t have to.
