Let's Talk Sunscreen

Summer is quickly approaching, which thankfully, means warm weather and sunshine!  My kids and I spend a LOT of time outdoors in the summer - we swim almost daily and love to visit splashparks when we're not in the pool.  That means I also use a lot of sunscreen!

A few years ago, I started wondering what makes a "good" sunscreen and what makes a "bad" one.  I researched a lot and tried a bunch of different brands (seriously...I had about 8 different bottles at one point) and FINALLY found my favorite for kids.  Here are my conclusions:

The two main types of sunscreen that you can buy in the US are chemical sunscreens, using any of these common ingredients (from this article):

Octylcrylene Avobenzone Octinoxate Octisalate Oxybenzone Homosalate Helioplex 4-MBC Mexoryl SX and XL Tinosorb S and M Uvinul T 150 Uvinul A Plus

or mineral sunscreens, using these ingredients:

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) Zinc oxide (ZnO)

Chemical sunscreens sometimes have more UVA protection, but the concern is that they are unstable - meaning they act as hormone disruptors when absorbed by the skin and they also create free radicals (that can cause skin irritation, aging and worst of all, cell damage that can lead to cancer).  Oxybenzone is the chemical that people seem to be most concerned about, with retinyl palmitate coming in as a close second.

The mineral sunscreens are considered much safer, BUT they are also really goopy and give a nice white pasty look when applied :).

I was also concerned with SPF - I had heard that you should find a "broad spectrum" sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays, but most sunscreens on the market have horrible UVA protection.  I liked this blurb from this article:

Numbers game

The Environmental Working Group said consumers should not purchase sunscreens with SPF greater than 50. SPF (sun protection factor) works by absorbing, reflecting or scattering the sun's rays on the skin.

"It is very misleading to put high SPF numbers on labels because it gives consumers a false sense of security and doesn't offer a lot more protection," Leiba said.

They are right. While SPF 85 may sound like a lot more protection than SPF 30, the higher the number doesn't always give a high return.

Studies show that sunscreen with SPF 15 can block about 93% of all incoming UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97%. SPF 50 blocks 98%.

"The protective factors plateau from there. A product with SPF 100+ blocks about 99.1 percent of the UVB rays," Ostad said. "You don't really need a high number. They end up being expensive and don't offer more protection than SPF 50."

Keep in mind, SPF protects only against UVB rays.

So, I went on the search for a broad spectrum, mineral sunscreen that WASN'T goopy.  As it turned out, it was somewhat hard to find!  My first stop was at the Environmental Working Group site.  They rate sunscreens and put out a report each year (they also rate cosmetics, which I have currently been researching).  Go on and check out the rating for your sunscreen!

This is the rating for our Coppertone sunscreen we used to use:

And here is the rating for the sunscreens we NOW use for the kids:

You can buy it on amazon and - before you freak out about the cost - let me tell you that it lasts a looooong time.  Most chemical sunscreens are really runny and they don't stand up to water/sweat very well, so you have to reapply often.  I love this stuff because it is a mineral sunscreen, but it's NOT goopy and it smells great!  I found that I didn't have to reapply if we were in the sun for less than 4 hours. My kids didn't get burned once all summer!  I bought a larger tube of this on Amazon and there is still some left for this year - did I mention that we were outside in the sun daily!?  $18 is not that bad for a whole summer of fun.

This is one that we are planning to use for ourselves this summer along with the trukid - it's less expensive and Scott prefers the feel of it:

On the EWG website, they also have a ton of good articles about sunscreen and they explain their rating system.  Definitely check out their "best" articles - they have them for sunscreen, makeup and moisturizers.  Love that site!

And if you're using a spray sunscreen, please just...don't!  FDA is currently researching the risks of inhaling those chemicals (EWG says "they are not meant for our lungs").  If those chemicals are causing problems on our skin, I feel like it's probably smart to avoid sprays.  And really, nobody likes inhaling that stuff!  It's nasty!  And, well, you might catch on fire.  Have I convinced you?  Here's a great summary article of sunscreens this year: http://www.ewg.org/2012sunscreen/sunscreens-exposed/executive-summary/