What's in *your* sunscreen?

When Melinda was about 9 months old, I took her to the pool for the first time. This momentous occasion was also the first time I ever put sunscreen on my child. I used my standard for the time - Coppertone WaterBabies brand. It's probably what I used most of my life, too. But what happened with Melinda made me look more closely into what exactly I was slathering onto her (our?) skin. See all that red splotchy area around her eye and temple, and also her forehead? That was from the sunscreen on her face. It actually made the white of her eye red, too. I thought it might be the pool water, until I used the sunscreen a second time and she ended up looking exactly the same, no pool water involved.

After some reading around, I ended up purchasing a new brand of sunscreen, California Baby. It's not exactly cheap, but I feel so much better using it. And no more scary skin reactions!

I'm sharing this story with you because of another blog post I read today. It linked to an Environmental Working Group article, which I'd like to quote just a bit:

A new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that 97% of Americans are contaminated with a widely-used sunscreen ingredient called oxybenzone that has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage. A companion study published just one day earlier revealed that this chemical is linked to low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Oxybenzone is also a penetration enhancer, a chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin.
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The Food and Drug Administration has failed miserably in its duty to protect the public from toxic chemicals like oxybenzone in personal care products. At the request of industry lobbyists, including Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who represented the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association, the agency has delayed final sunscreen safety standards for nearly 30 years.
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Among common sunscreen chemicals, oxybenzone is most likely to be associated with allergic reactions triggered by sun exposure. In a study of 82 patients with photoallergic contact dermatitis, over one quarter showed photoallergic reactions to oxybenzone
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Sunlight also causes oxybenzone to form free radical chemicals that may be linked to cell damage, according to 2 of 3 studies.

I strongly recommend that you read the full EWG article, as well as this fantastic and informative blog post at Skimbaco: Is your sunscreen safe? 86% in the market are not! I'm happy to say that my pick of California Baby is on the "Best" list as given at this blog. As Skimbaco notes,

"And interestingly, as sunscreen sales have risen, so has the rate of skin cancers."
What? Shouldn't sunscreen protect us from skin cancer?

I definitely think it should. So read up, and protect your family this summer!