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Saturday, July 14, 2007

The suncreen debate

On my list of things to do this summer was more research into sunscreens. It's one of those topics that drives me nuts: increasing reports of how much radiation we are exposed to and the increasing rates of skin cancer, more awareness on my part of highly toxic ingrediants in skin care products, reading about all these highly-effective chemicals allowed in sunscreens in Europe, but not here (but not knowing if there are BOTH effective and safe), etc., etc., etc...all the while slathering the entire surface area of myself and my kids every day.

I was delighted by a recent posting by the Environmental Working Group (my heroes!) with in-depth research on hundreds of sunscreens, rated by both effectiveness and saftey. Some of the things I thought I was doing well, like buying Alba's organics lavendar suncreen for kids, didn't test well at all. Many surprises. I am going to buy their top-rated choice, UV Natural Sport SPF 30+ , as soon as I find it and will report on how it fares on the wearability quotient...greasy and obnoxious vs. well-absorbed.

Complete list at: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens/summary.php

1 comment:

Christine said...

I tried the UV Natural Sport sunscreen and almost returned it immediately because of its sandalwood scent.

But I got used to the smell and have been wearing it. Like most zinc-based sunscreens, it's kind of a chore to apply, since it's thick and doesn't rub in easily, but generally it's been just fine. I spent a day in the sun and didn't come home disfigured by sunburn, and it is very nice to think that this is a product that does more good than harm and does less harm than other similar products attempting to do good.