Wearing sunscreen is a good thing — right? Not always. While many products offer some protection, preventing sun damaged skin and skin cancer, not all are effective. In fact, many sunscreen lotions only offer partial protection despite high SPF ratings, and are potentially hazardous because of harmful chemical ingredients. These chemicals are absorbed into the skin and introduced into the environment.
Choosing a natural sunblock is a way to circumvent the negative impact of chemical-based products. Despite the assumption of many consumers, a chemical-free sunscreen is also more likely to actually protect the skin from UVA and UVB radiation.
Does Your Sunscreen Lotion Prevent Sun Damaged Skin?
It is important to protect the skin from the sun's harmful rays. UVB radiation can cause skin damage and sun burns. UVA radiation may be even more dangerous, increasing the risk of skin cancer, suppressing the immune system, and aging skin cells. There are a number of biodegradable, natural sunblock options on the market which guard the skin from both UVA and UVB rays. They do not introduce toxins into the environment, nor into the body. This is the good news. The bad news is that the products that most consumers use, and that most stores stock on their shelves, are actually not the best for skin health or for the environment.
The non-profit, Washington D.C. based research organization, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) investigated the effectiveness and potential hazard of thousands of sunscreens. They found that the majority of products are deceivingly ineffective, and may be dangerous.
Many sunscreen lotions guard against UVB rays, offering no protection from the dangerous UVA rays. Some of the chemical ingredients frequently used are unstable, breaking down when exposed to sunlight, making the product only minimally effective. Other chemicals are absorbed into the bloodstream and body tissue. One example, oxybenzone is known to disrupt the endocrine system and to speed the progress of skin cancer by increasing free radical damage. Other chemicals are also hazardous, disrupting hormone activity, causing allergic reactions, damaging cells, and accumulating in both body tissue and the environment.
The Power of Chemical-Free Sunscreen
An eco-friendly sunscreen is the healthy, environmentally safe solution. According to the EWG, the top five products are all natural sunblock. They use either zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or both to filter out harmful UVA rays. (Zinc and titanium dioxide are two of four FDA approved UVA filters. The other two are avobenzone and mexoryl). All ingredients are plant or mineral-based. Many of these chemical-free suncreens are made with nutritional oils, beeswax, and essential oils. This is good for the body, as well as the environment. Nothing is synthetic or toxic, instead ingredients are beneficial and biodegradable.
The top five products in terms of effectiveness and safety are:
- Goddess Garden Kids Natural Sunscreen
- Loving Naturals Sunscreen
- Heiko Kids
- California Baby Sunblock
- Badger Sunscreen
It is necessary to wear sunscreen when out in the sun. It is also important to use products that are truly effective, non-toxic to the human body, and eco-friendly. As a consumer, expecting a safe and natural sunblock is a step in the right direction towards chemical-free products, and a safer, healthier environment for everyone.
Brenna Coleman - Brenna is a freelance writer focusing on natural health and beauty. She has written hundreds of articles, helping readers find ways to ...
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