EWG.com who’s motto is “Know Your Environment, Protect Your Health” is a trusted source and has a complete and comprehensive list of sunscreen reviews.
This post, inspired by them is a list of do’s and don’t’s this summer.
- Avoid spray sunscreens! Although super-convenient, they may pose serious risks if inhaled and they make it too easy to apply too little or miss a spot.
- Super-high SPFs (SPF 50 or higher) are not telling the whole story. SPF – sun protection factor – refers only to protection against UVB radiation and has little to do with protecting you from UVA rays – the ones that accelerate skin aging and have been linked to skin cancer.
- Oxybenzone can mimic estrogen. That’s right, estrogen. A number of sunscreens contain the chemical oxybenzone, which penetrates skin, then enters the bloodstream and may act like estrogen in the body, which proceeds to throw off our delicate hormonal balance.
- Retinyl palmitate may harm your skin. On sun-exposed skin, the retinyl palmitate found in some sunscreens has been shown to speed development of skin tumors and lesions.
- Skip sunscreen/bug repellent combos. Studies suggest that in some cases chemicals that filter harmful ultraviolet rays can interact with insect repelling chemicals in ways that decrease sunburn protection. Also, if you apply these products every two hours, you may be overexposed to the repellent chemicals.
- Keep away from sunscreen powders and towelettes. Even the FDA’s weak sunscreen rules bar these products. Their level of protection is quite dubious.
- Seriously – no tanning oils! Tanning oils are just a bad idea. They barely – if at all – protect you from the sun.
