Swimming time is almost here!

Swimming time is almost here folks.  I plan to be in the pool by Tuesday.  That means it's time to stock back up on sunscreen.  I know the best sunscreen is to stay out of the sun during "peak" hours, but that's not always avoidable, so we wear our swimshirts and this year will be trying out some safer sunscreens.

I knew last year based on data from EWG's Sunscreen Guide that the spray on sunscreens that are OH SO CONVENIENT, but OH SO BAD for you and we stopped using them.  I still had some Aveeno Active Naturals, SPF 85 and some Aveeno Baby, SPF 55 left over from last year.  Unfortunately, the Active Naturals rates a "7" on the toxicity scale.  The Aveeno Baby is also rated a "7"  It is listed on the site in the "Hall of Shame"

Basically, if your sunscreen has Oxybenzone in it, don't use it!

OXYBENZONE active ingredient 6%

Data: Fair

Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Endocrine disruption, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Enhanced skin absorption, Biochemical or cellular level changes, Use restrictions(meets restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data)

The most common ingredients in non-mineral sunscreens are oxybenzone, octisalate, octinoxate, and avobenzone found in 65, 58, 57, and 56 percent of all non-mineral sunscreens on the market, respectively. The most common, oxybenzone, can trigger allergic reactions, is a potential hormone disruptor and penetrates the skin in relatively large amounts. Some experts caution that it should not be used on children.




Today, I bought some Blue Lizard Baby sunscreen to use on our family.  It's rated a "2" on the toxicity scale.  There are other brands like Badger and California Baby that we could use too, but the Blue Lizard is less expensive (but still 2-3 X more expensive than the chemicals we had been using)  After we've used it for a while, I'll let you know what I think.  Does anybody else have safe sunscreen recommendations?!?