Organic & Whole Living: The Scoop on Sunscreen

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When it comes to sunscreen, I let the experts at the Environmental Working Group guide me to what is safe for my family. 

Sunscreen Guide - EWG's Skin Deep® | 2012 Sunscreen Report

If you don't know, sunscreens are so full of chemicals that many of them have been linked to cancer themselves, which defeats the purpose of the sunscreen in the first place! 

 

A few interesting and important points on sunscreen. 

"Which sunscreens are best and why?

An ideal sunscreen would block both UVA and UVB rays with active ingredients that do not break down in the sun (so that the product remains effective) and would contain active and inactive ingredients that are proven to be safe for both adults and children. Unfortunately, there is no sunscreen on the U.S. market that meets all these criteria, and no simple way for consumers to know how well a given product stacks up on any of these measures. That’s why EWG created this guide to safer and more effective sunscreens. To see how we conducted our analysis and ranked products, read our methodology."  - Environmental Working Group. 

 

"Doesn’t the government ensure that sunscreen protects us?

No. After 34 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year issued sunscreen rules that have the force of law. The FDA will allow American sunscreen makers to claim their products are “broad spectrum,” even though they offer much poorer UVA protection than is provided by sunscreens sold in other countries. Based on the products in our 2012 database, EWG calculates that half of the products that pass muster with the FDA would not be sold in Europe due to inadequate UVA protection. There, manufacturers voluntarily comply with a European Union recommendation that all sunscreens provide meaningful UVA protection in relation to SPF.   And still legal under the new FDA rules are products with sky-high SPFs that prevent sunburn but leave users at risk of UVA-related skin damage. The FDA  still permits powder and spray products that can be harmful when inhaled.  The agency has not approved sunscreen ingredients that are widely available in other countries. The U.S. is decades behind in sunscreen safety."  - Environmental Working Group

 

What can you do? Visit the Environmental Working Group:

 - Download the EWG Sunscreen App

 - Read up on the Best Sunscreens 2012

 - Visit the Hall of Shame and toss the offenders. 

 

Thank you Environmental Working Group for putting this together for consumers! 

 

 - I'm not affiliated with EWG. They don't know me from Eve, I just appreciate this resourceful tool every year for my families health, and I hope you do too!