Photo by Herson Rodriguez on Unsplash
Summer may be winding down, but, even so, I am continually reading new information about the benefits, and concerns, facing the American consumer when it comes to sunscreen. And since my goal is to provide quality information to you, my readers, I feel that more exploration on the topic of sunscreen, and more importantly safe sunscreen, is needed.
As I continue to learn more and more about the personal care industry, and it’s products, I am often saddened, and even disgusted, by the lack of transparency we’re afforded as consumers. Growing up, I always thought that we were protected from the use of harmful ingredients. But time and time again, I am reminded that this is not the case.
What I have been reading about sunscreen lately is too much to recap in one blog post. So I will do my best to provide some valuable, but brief “soundbites” of information to you here.
So what do you need to you know about many of the ingredients used in sunscreen? Well, in short…….a lot!
But why? What’s really the problem with the ingredients in sunscreen? Or is there really a problem?
To quote a recent article I read:
“Sunscreen is a unique body care product: consumers are directed to apply a thick coat over large areas of the body and reapply frequently. Thus, ingredients in sunscreen should not be irritating or cause skin allergies, and should be able to withstand powerful UV radiation without losing their effectiveness or forming potentially harmful breakdown products.”
That’s a tall order! And much hard to achieve than you might think. Why, you may ask?
Well, for starters, people can potentially inhale, or ingest, ingredients in sunscreen sprays and lotions or balms that they apply to their lips. So it’s important that the ingredients used are not harmful to the lungs or internal organs.
And consider this, sunscreens commonly include ingredients that serve as “penetration enhancers” which do just what is suggested…….enhance the sunscreen’s ability to penetrate the skin, as well as help the product to stick to the skin.
Because of all of the above, many sunscreen chemicals are absorbed through the skin, and into our bodies, leading to measurable amounts of the chemicals appearing in our blood, urine, and a mother’s breast milk samples.
The reality is that many of the main ingredients in sunscreen have damaging effects on our bodies. And one majorly harmful sunscreen ingredient, oxybenzone, has been routinely detected by the Centers for Disease Control in more than 96% of the American population.
Ok, so if your head is already spinning, and you are thinking to yourself “what am I supposed to use,” you feel like you have no idea where to start to look for a safe sunscreen nor do you have the time to research it, then please contact me by clicking the button below! I would be happy to share with you my go-to brand for safe sunscreen!
As I have mentioned in a previous post on sunscreen, there are 2 major types of sunscreen. One is a chemical filter based sunscreen, and the other is a mineral filter based sunscreen. The most common on the market are chemical filter based sunscreens. And it is these that can generally be considered the most harmful.
That’s because they typically combine two to six of the following active ingredients: oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, and homosalate. More on these later.
Mineral filter based sunscreens use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. And there are a handful of products that combine zinc oxide with chemical filters.
There has been indication by laboratory studies that some chemical filters may mimic hormones. There have also been physicians who have reported sunscreen-related skin allergies.
Of course it is unlikely that the companies who provide sunscreen products have intended for these results, but the reality is that there is evidence that using sunscreen frequently is unintentionally affecting our health in a negative way.
You might think that the FDA would step in to ensure that this doesn’t persist in the future. Unfortunately, the FDA has not reviewed evidence of the potential hazards that sunscreen filters have on our health.
Why? Because it grandfathered in ingredients used in the late 1970s when it started to look at the safety of sunscreen.
I know that all of this can be overwhelming…..at least it was for me when I first started learning about this. So let me say that if there is one ingredient to avoid the most, make it oxybenzone.
I’ve talked about oxybenzone before, but here’s what you really need to know. In studies conducted by the CDC, participants who reported using sunscreen have higher oxybenzone exposures.
This and other studies have shown that exposure to oxybenzone has lead to significantly lower testosterone levels in adolescent boys, shorter pregnancies in women gestating male babies, higher birth weights in baby boys, lower birth weights in daughters, a minor but statistically significant decrease in testosterone in men, and a minor increase in inhibin B (another male sex hormone).
What’s more, investigators at UC Berkeley recently reported a dramatic drop in teen girls’ exposure to oxybenzone when they switched from their usual products and cosmetics to replacements which did not contain this chemical.
There is argument that further research is needed on the effects of oxybenzone as it relates to hormone disruption but it is worth avoiding the chemical altogether if you really want to be safe.
If you would like to hear my go-to brand for safe sunscreen, please contact me by clicking the button below!
Given that your head is probably swimming (I know mine is), I’ll dive deeper into the other major chemicals mentioned earlier in an upcoming post. So be sure to check back soon!
I hope that you have found some value in the information about sunscreen, and safe sunscreen, above and will feel more confident in taking your first (or next) steps in eliminating toxins and achieving true wellness.
If you have found value, please share by clicking on the icons below this article so that I can help your friends and loved ones as well!
Until next time……..
Here’s to achieving true wellness!
P.S – What do you want to know about? Drop me a comment below and let me know what you’d like to learn more about to help you achieve true wellness!
*Legal Disclaimer – All information provided above is for educational purposes only. Information should not be construed as medical or legal advice in any capacity and is not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure disease.