We are in full sun season! And inevitably the question turns to sunscreen: What’s safe? What DO we want in the sunscreen? What do we NOT want in the sunscreen? I am always concerned about the chemicals we put on our bodies–especially my kids’ bodies. To help us all figure out this conundrum, I contacted New Hope Natural Media/Delicious Living, a magazine that reports on health and wellness, supplements, and many more holistic topics here in Boulder, to ask what they suggest. Below is the response from Jessica Rubino, Senior Associate Editor at New Hope Natural Media.
What To Look For In Your Sunscreen
Ingredients: minerals zinc oxide and titanium dioxide rather than chemicals like oxybenzone. Not only do you avoid potential health risks associated with these chemicals but minerals offer better full-spectrum protection, which protect against UVA and UVB rays.
Protection Ratings: SPFs actually only indicate how much UVB protection you’re getting but not UVA! So make sure the screen tests for UVA protection too (required under FDA’s new regs).
Jessica recommends Badger brand sunscreen. She says it is AWESOME for kids and adults. It uses non-nano minerals. Nanotechnology is another issue because it uses tiny particles to improve consistency of mineral products. But it is unclear the health risks for everyone, but especially kids.
Resources for more research:
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Newhope360: A list of the top ten sunscreens and much more!
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Environmental Working Group: Environmental Working Group (EWG) works to protect kids from toxic chemicals in our food, water, air and the products we use every day
This is always a concern of mine. I try to get the best but by the end of the summer I am tired of rubbing in sunscreen and use the spray. But this year I am going to try hard not to use it. 🙂