It's summer! I was just sitting here at the kitchen counter and had just finished my lunch and I thought, I need to do a podcast on safe sunscreen. We are just after Memorial Day and it may not be officially summer yet, but it's coming soon. I don't know about you, but I'm spending a lot more time outside. It’s great! I remember growing up in California and heading to the beach with my Coppertone. You know that cute little girl with the dog pulling down her bikini bottoms? Coppertone is what I grew up with. It has that incredible smell. Well, Coppertone or the traditional sunscreen is a chemical sunscreen. Now unfortunately, those chemicals have some pretty negative health impacts and also impacts to the animals and the reefs in the water. We need to protect our skin from the sun. But we also want to be careful about those ingredients so we can protect ourselves from the harmful toxic chemicals that are commonly found in sunscreen. Safe Sunscreen - Protect Your Skin from the Sun and Your Health from Harmful Toxic Chemicals Commonly Found in Sunscreen get weekly toxin-free tips Why do you need sunscreen everyday? First of all, if you are spending good money on anti-aging products and you're not wearing a daily sunscreen, this is your wake up call! The sun's rays are very damaging and can cause fine lines and wrinkles. The sun is related to so much of our aging on our face and our hands. Hello, we're all getting older, we need to take care of our skin. It’s so much better to prevent aging instead of trying to reverse the signs of aging through skincare. So yes, for our face, definitely for our hands, but also on our bodies, right? But I only need sunscreen if I’m going to the beach or doing yard work, not everyday. Not true! We need to protect our skin from the UV rays that impact us whenever we are outside OR near a window. We are soaking in those rays when we're in the car and even inside at home. Chemical Sunscreen vs. Physical Barrier Sunscreen So like the Coppertone that I grew up with or whatever your mom forced onto you while you tried to run to the water; those are chemical sunscreens. It works because the chemicals in it get absorbed into your skin. And that is what makes it so you don't get burned. There are some nasty chemicals to watch out for: Oxybenzone- affects breast development, infant birth weight and sperm function. Banned in Hawaii for the potential damage it can cause to coral reefs. Avobenzone- hormone disruption, skin allergy concerns Octocrylene- skin penetration and skin allergy concerns Homosalate- causes hormone disruption, enhances absorption of pesticides Octisalate- skin penetration concerns Octinoxate- causes hormone disruption, reproductive toxicity and is toxic to coral reefs (also banned in Hawaii) The FDA did a study on all these ingredients and found that these chemicals entered the bloodstream after the first day of use and were still found up to 3 weeks after! So it’s banned in Hawaii but not on my skin? No thanks! When I first learned about this years ago, I switched to a mineral sunscreen which create a physical barrier. That's why they often are that white color and can be hard to rub in. I remember my friend brought a spray-on mineral sunscreen and that stuff did not rub in! She ended up having like white speckles all over her body. And that's not fun. And if it's not rubbing in the way you want it to, let's be honest, you're probably not going to use it as much or you're gonna get frustrated. There are great mineral sunscreen options out there! Most importantly, you want a non-nano sunscreen. Non-nano zinc molecules are a little larger so they won’t absorb into your skin and will sit up off the skin instead. And don’t forget to read those labels and check for things like fragrance. We don’t want to get greenwashed by our sunscreen. My favorite brands for body are: All Good- rubs in the best. You can find it here at my shop!) Badger Thinksport For your face, of course I love the newly reformulated Crunchi Sunlight SPF 30! It rubs in like you wouldn't believe, it feels so lightweight. It's like just a traditional daytime moisturizer. It's completely invisible. You can get your Crunchi Sunlight here! Further reading: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/spotlight-cder-science-new-fda-study-shines-light-sunscreen-absorption
