First They Saved Your Health, Now Your Skin!:
You might remember our previous post on the EWG’s great work on produce safety and pesticides.
If you don’t, The Dirty Dozen with Garrick Dee Tan’s infographics is a good & worthwhile read.
Especially for the addition of The Clean 15, and The Hazardous 3.
Well just in-time for sunny weather, the EWG is at it again for Sunscreens. And their results are pretty surprising…
When you buy something as important as sunscreen, you expect it to work; especially given all the risks.
And You Would Be Wrong:
And after the EWG tested 750 sunscreens, they found some disturbing results.
75% of them were deemed problemmatic in one way or another.
-Whether that’s containing unsavory ingredients like the hormone-disruptor Oxybenzone, or amounts of Retinyl Palmitate (vitamin A) sufficient enough to hurt your skin, or being just plain lacking in the overall protection department.
As Usual, The EUros Do It Better:
They further go on to stipulate that at least 50% of US-sold sunscreens wouldn’t even pass our western-counterparts’ blockage-standards over in the EU for similar products because they’re so lacking.
And their advice is especially-apt, as sun-related serious skin problems are on the rise.
The Good Developments:
On the good side of things, mineral-based protection like titanium and zinc is on the rise, especially since they provide a good balance of protection.
Also good is the fact that all the products they tested had some form of UV-A protection in it. And that’s a big increase from only a few years ago.
Unfortunately, the FDA standards for that type of protection are too lax according to the EWG, and really should follow the European model of rising in-proportion to the toal SPF number quoted; -because that’s what you’d imagine they’re supposed to do anyway.
The Really Needs-Work Developments:
Also poorly-received is the fact that Sprays are still in production. They were considered not only a mild inhalation-hazard, but also worse in protection, because their coverage can be so uneven and thin, giving people almost a false sense of security.
Protection against UV-A could also have been better, particularly because it penetrates further into the skin and may be more associated with tissue-damage than just pure sunburn.
The Problem With High SPF Sunscreens:
In-addition, High SPF products were cited as posing their own risks:
1) People tend to use less of them, and may actually be under-protecting themselves.
2) They may not re-apply them as frequently as necessary. (every 2 hours)
3) High SPF sunscreens, like the stuff rated at over 50, may not actually provide that much more protection.
4) As-previous, they may not protect you against UV-A that well.
5) There may be higher-concentrations of the previously-cited harmful ingredients, so your exposure will be higher.
EWG’s Helpful Suggestions Other Than Specific Products:
So before the list, the EWG has a few suggestions to help you stay a little safer in the sunny weather:
1) Wear clothes instead of just sunscreen and a bathing suit. Normal clothes may reduce the sun’s rays as much as 27%.
1a) There are also specially-treated UV-resistant clothes that even improve this protection.
2) Plan your day around the sunniest times and stay out of it during them; -usually between 10AM-4PM.
3) Keep yourself in the shade with a tree, an umbrella, or some type of canopy. -Those trees lining the streets in Spain aren’t just for decoration, you know.
4) Do whatever you can to keep yourself from getting burned, especially a burn with blisters.
5) You need to protect your eyes just as much as your skin. Sunglasses aren’t just for looking cool; even though you do look really cool in them, btw.
6) Check the UV-Index on News/Weather sites on days you intend to go out and try to stay inside when it’s particularly high.
And now the List:
Here are the brands the EWG reviewed that passed their tests for all the important factors.
As for the individual products from each, you should head on over to them at the EWG in the Links below:
3LAB (1 products)
Adorable Baby (2 products)
Alba Botanica (6 products)
All Good (5 products)
All Terrain (5 products)
AMH Adult Male Human (1 products)
Attitude (2 products)
Aveeno (1 products)
Babo Botanicals (4 products)
Babyganics (2 products)
babyhampton (2 products)
Babytime! by Episencial (1 products)
Badger (10 products)
Bare Belly Organics (6 products)
Beauty Without Cruelty (1 products)
Beautycounter (2 products)
Belly Buttons & Babies (1 products)
Beyond Coastal (5 products)
Biosolis (4 products)
Block Island Organics (1 products)
Blue Lizard (3 products)
Bull Frog (1 products)
BurnOut (3 products)
Burt’s Bees (1 products)
Butterbean (3 products)
California Baby (8 products)
California Kids (1 products)
Caribbean Solutions (2 products)
Celadon Road (3 products)
Celtic Complexion (1 products)
CeraVe (1 products)
COOLA (1 products)
Coral Safe (2 products)
CoTZ (3 products)
Earth’s Best (1 products)
EltaMD (1 products)
Goddess Garden (6 products)
Hampton Sun (1 products)
HeadHunter (1 products)
JASON (1 products)
Jersey Kids (2 products)
Jersey Shore Cosmetics (2 products)
Juice Beauty (1 products)
Kabana Organic Skincare (8 products)
KINeSYS (1 products)
Kiss My Face (4 products)
Lemongrass Spa (3 products)
Loving Naturals (3 products)
Maui Natural Organics (2 products)
MDSolarSciences (4 products)
Mineral Fusion (1 products)
Mustela (1 products)
MyChelle (2 products)
Nature’s Gate (6 products)
Nurture My Body (2 products)
Ocean Potion (1 products)
On Hand Lotions (2 products)
Raw Elements USA (3 products)
Relevé Organic Skincare (1 products)
Rubber Ducky (3 products)
Solbar (1 products)
Star Naturals (2 products)
Substance (3 products)
Sun Bum (2 products)
Sunology (3 products)
Suntegrity Skincare (2 products)
sunumbra (5 products)
The Honest Company (2 products)
thinkbaby (1 products)
thinksport (2 products)
Tropical Sands (5 products)
TruBaby (2 products)
True Natural (6 products)
TruKid (5 products)
Vanicream (3 products)
Yes To Cucumbers (1 products)
Photo Credits: “Untitled”, by Micah Camara
Links:
• Source: EWG’s 2016 Sunscreen Notice
• More Coverage: Sunscreens That Pass The EWG’s Tests | EWG’s Sunscreen Home Page | What Exactly Is In Your Sunscreen? | EWG’s Amazon Sunscreen Store
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