HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!
With people out and about with covid restrictions waning, we are faced with the yearly…what do I do about sunscreen and what is best to keep myself and my family healthy?
This post will provide a few details to help you in making your decision.
1 – Best type of sunscreen: if you are going with less chemicals, you are looking at mineral not chemical-based sunscreens. Both are effective, they use different mechanisms to block UV rays and one thing to note that many miss, chemical based sunscreens require about 15-20 min to ‘activate’. If you apply and then immediately lay in the sun, you could burn. Mineral sunscreens are immediately active so no worries there so win-win on less chemicals and immediate action.
2 – What you put on your skin goes into your body just like food or medicine and if you put a lot of toxic sunscreen on your skin, your body has to process that. There have been many studies now of sunscreen chemicals showing up in breast milk, endometrial tissue, etc. and the amount of known toxic chemicals like oxybenzone in over the counter sunscreens has been linked to low sperm quality and toxicity in certain marine life. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29086472/
3 – Minerals in mineral sunscreens have tested much cleaner than chemical sunscreens (if you pick one with low toxicity).
4 – Lotions are better for your health than sprays and better for your kids too as you don’t inhale them so respiratory issues aren’t prevalent.
5 – Best/ healthiest way to block the sun, coverage meaning clothing, umbrellas, etc. and/or staying out of the sun at peak periods.
6 – Sun doesn’t always = vitamin D and sunscreens do block vitamin D absorption so please ensure you keep your healthy vitamin D levels other ways if needed.
7 – EWG.org has a sunscreen database that walks you through chemicals/minerals and helps you find one that meets your needs. Sunscreen guide: https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/
8 – Always test the sunscreen on the back of your hand or somewhere for 1 hour and ensure you don’t have a skin reaction before applying to your entire body and PLEASE do this for your kids too who can react strongly.
9 – Not every sunscreen works the same on everyone so don’t expect that if your sunscreen works on you it will work on your kids or your partner. I know it doesn’t make cognitive sense why one SPF 30 doesn’t work for one person and works for someone else. I wish someone could explain exactly how that works for me too and in the meantime, it’s important to know and the first time you use a new sunscreen to check yourself after 30 min to ensure you aren’t burning.
Hope this helps! In Good Health and enjoy the outdoors! Satya
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