Health & Fitness
Not All Sunscreen Is Created Equal
Sunscreen, it's good for you. However, you should be aware of what chemicals you're putting on your body, some are better for you than others and some are more effective than others.
During the past year we have been trying to be more careful about what we put ON our bodies, as well as what we put IN our bodies. The Environmental Working Group website is a great resource for learning about chemicals in topical products and what to watch out for. This week they have once again put out a Sunscreen Guide with a variety of information on what works, what doesn't, what's worth it and what to watch out for.
A few highlights:
- Cover up. Wear clothes. Find shade.
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- Wear sunscreen. It's important
- An SPF over 50 is not necessarily better than a lower SPF and encourage people to stay in the sun for dangerous lengths of time.
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- Avoid products with oxbenzone, Vitamin-A and added inscet repellent
- Look for products with Zinc, titanium dioxide, Avobenzone or Mexoryl SX
For more information read the longer post I wrote last year on Living Healthier Through Sunscreen. After reading this year's Sunscreen guide from EWG, I can say it is still accurate and good advice.
I have found it fairly difficult to remember which sunscreens are the best ones to buy, but the EWG has put their EWG Sunscreen Database out as an iPhone app called "sunscreens" to help you remember. The key facts are to avoid "oxybenzone", "Vitamin A" and "fragrance" as ingredients. Once you've got that down, which brand you actually buy is less important.
