My Sunscreen Has WHAT in it?

This was my reaction several months ago as I was reading the ingredients on the label of my favorite sunscreen. The one that doesn’t feel heavy and gooey on my skin and doesn’t run into my eyes faster than I can run to the corner and back. The one I slather on almost daily. The one that has parabens in it.

Oh, #$&*. It wasn’t until recently I learned the reason behind the “no parabens” claim on a variety of skin care products. Parabens are used in personal care items (certain cosmetics, sunscreen, and toothpaste, to name a few) as preservatives to prevent the growth of bacteria, fungus and other organisms. Parabens are under fire for being linked to breast cancer and infertility as they impersonate estrogen and bind with estrogen receptors. If a product contains methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and/or isobutylparaben, then that product contains parabens. [Want more info? Check out this article: www.scientificamerican.com/article/should-people-be-concerned-about-parabens-in-beauty-products/]

And having used several “no paraben” products that last me for months on end, and haven’t ever turned rancid and icky, I’ve made “no parabens” a criteria when I chose anything I put on my kids or my husband or myself.

As we spring into spring break and warmer weather, and our kids head outside to play or participate in outdoor sports, it’s time to stock up on SPF. And since sunscreen is an absolute must for frolicking out-of-doors, and we use it on every square inch of sun-exposed skin, it’s a product we need to choose wisely, finding a product that is not only effective but free from potentially harmful chemicals. Here are some tips for finding that greener, cleaner sunscreen:

• Remember that less is more. The first step to choosing a quality SPF (SPF 30 or higher, with protection from both UVA and UVB) is selecting one with fewer ingredients. There are options that contain a veritable War and Peace of unpronounceable chemicals; in my research the highest number of ingredients I found in a sunscreen was 48, including both active and inactive ingredients. Ouch. You don’t have to have a half-century’s worth of chemicals to stay protected from the sun’s harmful rays: for example, try Simply Protect Sport from Banana Boat. It comes in both lotion and spray and contains a quarter fewer ingredients than competitors (10 total in the spray-on version; 20 in the cream). This sunscreen is also made without parabens, oxybenzone and added fragrance (more on the last two chemicals below…). Want to go “au natural“? Try a sunscreen with only a single ingredient (yes, they do exist) like a product with only zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, for example. Even better is investing in long-sleeve rash guards for the whole family that will keep you stylin’ and protected from sunburn without slathering on sunscreen from head to toe. And wearing rash guards will make the sunscreen you do use last longer because you and your kids will not be using in on your arms and back.

• Avoid oxybenzone and retinyl palmate? A newer kid on the cell block of sunblocks is oxybenzone and apparently its accomplice is retinyl palmate, a vitamin A derivative also found in certain sunscreens. You may have heard that oxybenzone has been linked to harming coral reefs. It has also been tied to creating hormonal havoc, much like parabens. And both oxybenzone and retinyl palmate in sunscreen may put users at risk, ironically, for developing skin cancer. Government-funded studies have not been conclusive in finding these two chemicals to be a health hazard in humans (or in mice) and both are FDA-approved and have been used for years in sunscreen. So, it’s basically the consumer’s call whether to use products containing oxybenzone and retinyl palmate. Know, though, that according to the 2012 Sunscreen Guide * released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) about 200 of 800 tested sunscreens are effective as sunscreen protection with using possibly harmful chemicals as ingredients.
• And then there were three… Octinoxate, also used as an active ingredient in sunscreens, has raised similar concerns as both oxybenzone and retinyl palmate. However, there are fewer studies into these claims regarding octinoxate. But again, keep in mind that alternative sunscreens that contain zinc oxide and titanium oxide are considered to be safe to use on both children and adults alike. Worried about the pasty pale look they impart? Look for micronized versions that keep the chalky look to a minimum.
• If it smells like a coconut, and walks like a coconut… Ok, disappointing that coconuts don’t ambulate. However, if you can’t see for the blinding, white-sand-beach sun, you may not notice it’s not a coconut grove nearby (and really should be wearing sunglasses), but instead it’s a crowd of fellow beach-goers using fragrance-d sunscreen. In Does it Matter What We Put On Our Skin? I mentioned how the word “fragrance” in an ingredients list can be a catchall for chemicals that the product manufacturer doesn’t want consumers to know about and may be harmful to our health. So opt for sunscreen sans added fragrance. (Note: naturally-derived fragrances have the green light, however, so go ahead and slather on that naturally-scented SPF.).

We all know that section of the drugstore with the wall of sunscreen. It’s intimidating when you are looking beyond the SPF value to find a safe sunscreen to put on your kids and yourself. But it’s worth the effort to feel confident in using a sunscreen that not only protects from the sun’s harmful rays but is safe to apply again and again.

Want to read more about sunscreen use? Check out this link to a 2016 post from Pulseonparenting.com.

*view an updated, 2018 sunscreen guide from the EWG here.