Community Corner
The Sunscreen War: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The sunscreen this Patch mom has had in agonizing fights to apply on her kids is actually doing more harm than good.
I remember a day last summer, towards the end, when a bunch of us moms were sitting around the kiddie pool at , fighting with our kids over applying sunscreen. We all agreed that we couldn't wait for school to start and the sunscreen fights to end.
Applying sunscreen on my kids is comparable to taking them to the doctors every day for a vaccine shot. I know some parents have kids who actually stay still, don't giggle as the cream is applied under their necks and don't run away or cry–I am not one of those parents.
As miserable a job as it is, it has to be done–so I grin and bear it, and then feel free to go outside for a few hours, enjoy the sun and swim knowing my sunscreen is waterproof. As you know, this job isn't a once a day thing either. I have to reapply a couple of times most days.
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We go through sunscreen pretty fast in our house. I really cover the boys head to toe, and make it thick thinking that if I can see the sunscreen, it must be working even better. It's an expensive addition to our summer budget, as bottles are usually around $10.
The good news: I am a. I have started a small stockpile of sunscreen already consisting of Banana Boat, Aveeno, and Neutrogena, all of which I got on sale with a coupon.
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The bad news: my sunscreens could actually be hurting my children. That wipes out my good news completely.
My husband shared a link with me the other day to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) website. Most of my hard-won sunscreen bargains were in their hall of shame. Their best sunscreens were ones I had never heard of before.
According to the EWG, the FDA has never legally set final regulations for sunscreen. The FDA started developing regulations in 1978, in which they then put forward sunscreen regulations in 1999 and making revisions in 2007, although they were never put in to effect.
Legally, the sunscreen makers can do whatever they want in terms of ingredients and what they advertise on their bottles.
The EWG even calls out the Skin Cancer Foundation who has applied their seal to more than five hundred sunscreens, yet only 60 of these meet their UVA specifications.
I'm not a scientist, I'm just a mom who is always trying to do right by my kids. According to the EWG website, my Banana Boat, Aveeno, and Neutrogena sunblocks are all considered high risk to my kid's skin, containing vitamin A or a serious lack of UVA protection, which in the long run could do more damage than good.
Honestly, if I haven't mentioned it a thousand times before, I'll say it again: being a parent is hard.
I did pick up some invaluable information from the EWG:
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Sunscreen doesn't necessarily prevent skin cancer, in fact–it might be contributing to skin cancer.
The best sunscreen is how we dress, staying in the shade, and watching the clock.
It's good to be in the sun without sunscreen for a very short amount of time each day.
Higher SPFs like my 85+ from Neutrogena don't mean anything.
When it comes to sunscreen, steer clear of vitamin A. There have been tests showing that vitamin A in sunscreens can cause skin tumors and lesions.
Like most things when it comes to parenting, this is scary stuff. As an over-protective mother, I am actually failing my children by applying these sunscreens to their skin.
The good news is that the EWG website does list the best sunscreens to use as well, and has links to purchase them. I looked at several top-rated sunscreens and found their prices to be comparable to what I am paying now for my useless, dangerous sunscreens.
Regardless of whether the sunscreen is better or not, I will still be sitting by the pool this summer, fighting with my kids over the application process. It's just part of being a parent.
