What’s in my sunscreen after all?
For some of us, summer is beginning to peer it’s warm and bright head, for others, it’s just around the corner. Getting ready for long, sunny days means pulling out your swimsuit and sunscreen to ensure you’ve got everything you need for a summer to remember.
As it happens every year, the warnings and announcements of the importance of wearing sunscreen are popping up everywhere. We hear it on our morning news show, commercials on our favorite music apps and online in emails, blogs and news articles. We’d like to think that everyone must have gotten the message by now but unfortunately, with the alarming rise of skin cancers, it seems we still have to work hard to remind and educate people about the importance of protecting their skin. This summer we are being forced to ask ourselves another question, is sunscreen toxic?
According to this new study by the Federal Drug Administration (warning enough as the FDA generally doesn’t take on studies on their own), there is reason to be concerned that there are toxic ingredients in sunscreens that travel through the skin building up in your bloodstream, in harmful levels. That’s right, sunscreens which we have long regarded as a protective agent against the sun’s damaging rays may potentially be harmful to us.
The good news is that if you were already accustomed to using sunscreen then switching to an all natural sunscreen should be simple. There are various natural ingredients that mother nature has provided for us although it is important to keep in mind that some of these ingredients have a lower SPF and therefore require more frequent application and mindfulness when using.
The best toxic free sunscreen ingredients for sun protection:
- Almond Oil- SPF rating is around 5
- Coconut Oil– SPF 4-6
- Zinc Oxide SPF 2-20 depending on how much is used
- Red Raspberry Seed Oil SPF 25-50
- Carrot Seed Oil – SPF 35-40
- Shea Butter – SPF 4-6
You can find natural and organic sunscreens on the market that use Zinc Oxide as their main ingredient, providing the most SPF available, but ultimately it can be very difficult to ensure you are getting full sun protection. Thankfully, there is one method that works above all else.garments Covering your body in sun protective swimwear like HydroChic which provides maximum protection against the sun’s harmful rays, wearing a hat and utilizing the shade is ultimately the best possible way to protect your skin from the mischievous sun’s rays.
When you wear a garment like HydroChic’s Swimwear, you never have to worry about applying or reapplying sunscreen on covered areas. You can spend those long, hot days at the beach with only your exposed skin to be concerned about, minimizing the risk of poorly applying lotion or losing track of time and forgetting to schmear on another layer.
So this year, instead of waiting for the FDA to confirm the dangers of sunscreen, take skin safety into your own hands and protect yourself with a proper shield that is SPF 50+.
