It’s summer time which means your children are out of school and probably playing outside or at the pool. With record high temperatures all over the country, it’s important to use sunscreen especially during the peak hours of the day from 10am to 4pm. Some sun exposure is actually good for your child as it helps the body maintain the necessary levels of Vitamin D. However, too much exposure to the sun’s UVA and UVB rays puts your child at risk for skin cancer. But, you also have to be careful that the sunscreen product you’re using doesn’t put your family at risk for other health problems.
The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organization committed to product safety, reports on the safety of skin care products including sunscreens in their Skin Deep Database. According to their safety studies on sunblock as reported in an article by Gaiam:
In all, 84 percent of the 831 sunscreens EWG tested did not pass health and environmental muster. Many contained potentially harmful chemicals like Benzophenone, homosalate and octyl methoxycinnamate (also called octinoxate), which are known to mimic naturally occurring bodily hormones and can thus throw the body’s systems out of whack. Some also contained Padimate-0 and parsol 1789 (also known as avobenzone), which are suspected of causing DNA damage when exposed to sunlight. Furthermore, EWG found that more than half the sunscreens on the market make questionable product claims about longevity, water resistance and UV protection.
There are safer alternatives to the conventional sunscreens. I encourage you to visit the Skin Deep Database to see where your current product ranks or if you want to find a safer alternative. My favorite: California Baby SPF 30 Sunscreen. California Baby also has a sunblock stick applicator
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