|
 Finding a Safe Sunscreen might prove a bit discouraging and infuriating, as most sunscreen chemicals are far from innocuous. According to the EWG [1], 84 % of the 785 sunscreens they tested offer inadequate protection from the sun's harmful rays, or contain ingredients with safety concerns.
4 out of 5 contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don't adequately protect the skin from the sun's damaging rays. The most well-known brands on the market are also some of the worst offenders, such as Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena. Â
What are the health concerns posed by most sunscreens?
They lack UVA protection, they (ironically) break down in the sun and they can absorb into the blood. Moreover, the chemicals they contain can cause high allergic reactions, and hormonal disruption because they have strong estrogenic actions which can interfere with normal sexual development and cause reproductive problems. Another serious concern is cancers. Â
How can this be?
The FDA started drafting a list of meaningful, comprehensive sunscreen safety standards 30 years ago, and it still hasn’t finalized it. Also, the FDA does not require that sunscreens guard against UVA radiation, the skin-ageing, cancer-causing UV in the sun-rays. So sunscreen manufacturers can do pretty much what they want and use misleading and untruthful terms on their bottles such as “chemical-free," "non-chemical", "all day protection,", "help prevent skin damage," or even "sunblock," or "blocks all harmful rays". All of those terms are untrue.
What Are The Safe Ingredients?
It seems that it comes down to just a handful (in the USA at least- the EU and Japan have authorized other chemicals to be safely used in sunscreens but the FDA is lagging behind). The two most common ingredients are zinc oxide (a mineral) and titanium dioxide. They are deemed safe because they do not absorb through the skin, or very little, and they provide stable UVA protection relative to other ingredients. However, you should stay away from spray or powder sunscreens that contain zinc because inhalation of zinc and titanium particles is a concern.
Two other safe ingredients are menthyl anthranilate and methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol, which are not easy to remember. The best way to find your next sunscreen is to do a search on line, starting with EWG’s recommended products. They have selected 168 products that offer very good sun protection and which are made of ingredients that present minimal health risks to users. Among them is California Baby sunscreen, suitable for babies, kids and adults and wich we have personally tested and adopted. To view their top 10 products (and more), click here.
What Are The Harmful Ingredients?
The list is very long:Â diethanolamine, triethanolamine (DEA, TEA), padimate-o, octyl dimethyl PABA, benzophenone, oxybenzone, homosalate, octyl-methoxycinnamate (octinoxate or OMC for short), salicylates, formaldehyde, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS), sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), ammonium laureth sulfate (ALES), FD&C color pigments. A few of those chemicals are reviewed below for deeper understanding.
Benzophenone and oxybenzone are two effective protectors against both UVA and UVB rays, but the problem is that they generate free radicals that can initiate a reaction that may ultimately lead to melanoma and other skin cancers.
FD&C color pigments are synthetic colors made of coal tar that deposit toxins onto the skin. These toxins can cause skin irritation, and animal studies have shown that almost all of these pigments are carcinogenic.
TEA can combine with nitrite (a preservative that can be used in your sunscreen without it being labeled) and cause the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines.
Conclusion Keep in mind though that there is no sunscreen that is 100% safe. Your best protection is a long-sleeve tee-shirt made of a natural fabric, a large brim hat, and limited sun exposure. When shopping for a safe sunscreen product, look for a sun protective factor (SPF) of at least 15 (beware: all SPF designations greater than 50 are untrue, misleading terms inducing a false sense of security). Your new safe sunscreen will very likely NOT be a major brand, even the ones that claim to be “greenâ€: EWG did not recommend any sunscreen made by Aubrey Organics, Aveeno, Banana Boat, Biotherm, Burt's Bees, Coppertone, Garnier, Hawaiian Tropic, Lancome, Nivea or The Body Shop, to list only a few. Dare to use a new brand.
Check your current sunscreen. If it contains any of those harmful ingredients, you should stop applying it onto your skin. JustLiveGreener has contacted EWG to ask them how these products should be safely disposed of but has not received any response yet. In the meantime, put your product aside, away from children’s reach; JustLiveGreener will inform you as soon as a satisfactory answer has been found.
Â
[1] Their “assessment is based on a detailed review of hundreds of scientific studies, industry models of sunscreen efficacy, and toxicity and regulatory information housed in nearly 60 government, academic, and industry databases.â€
Further Reading and Resources:
http://www.healthychild.com/first-aid/sunburn-prevention-are-sunscreens-safe/
http://www.healthhype.com/harmful-sunscreen-ingredients.html
|
