on May 7, 2018
To lather or not to lather… or rather, to spray or stick or what? sunscreen….
We want to protect ourselves in the best way possible. No one wants skin cancer.
Question: What do you do when there are articles out that say conflicting things: wear spf 50 at all times vs get your Vitamin D from the sun.
Answer: In my opinion…
- make sure not to get burnt!
- wear protective clothing or hats
- wear sunscreen when out all day, reapplying as necessary
- wear sunscreen when out in the harshest times (usually between 10 and 4pm, but definitely noon – 2pm.)
- Do NOT use chemical sunscreens – there is some information in this article here and this is direct link to study report here
- Make sure your sunscreen is safer (non nano zinc, no parabens, no phthalates, no oxybenzone)
Why safer is better? Is it really??
If you are still unsure about what all the fuss is about, this article here (which includes link to actual studies) spells out how the levels of these damaging chemicals decrease after switching to safer products. Wait, they decrease, what are they doing in the body in the first place?!?!?! Let’s get them out of our skin care products!!!! <<phthalates, parabens, triclosan, and oxybenzone to name a few>>
“After just a three-day trial with the girls using only the lower-chemical products, urine samples showed a significant drop in the level of chemicals in the body. Methyl and propyl parabens, commonly used as preservatives in cosmetics, dropped 44% and 45%, respectively, metabolites of diethyl phthalate, used often in perfumes, dropped by 27%, and both triclosan and benzophenone-3 fell 36%. The authors of the study were surprised to see an increase in two lesser common parabens, but, being minor, could easily have been caused by accidental contamination or a substitute not listed on the labels.” article: here
Coral Reefs?
In Hawaii, they are working to get a bill passed regarding certain chemicals in sunscreens (just awaiting Governor approval now). These chemicals are oxybenzone and octinoxate. They have been shown to damage coral reefs in several awful ways AND are an endocrine disruptor which can cause problems for coral to reproduce. Now, these same effects are possible for humans too 🙁 See relevant article/more details: here
So what to do?
Choose wisely! My favorite is 
I’ve seen these other brands recommended but I haven’t used them yet so I’m not sure how well they go on. Mineral based options: Badger (I think this might be rather thick…), SunBum (baby or face mineral based NOT original!), youngliving, mercola, Rubber Ducky, Devita Solar Protection.
What about natural things or what we eat?
What we eat absolutely impacts the health of our skin and our tendency to burn!! I’ve seen many stories of people who went on a nutrient rich diet say that after a time, their tendency to burn went away: adults and kids. Like they would burn in 15 minutes and then after healing, they didn’t burn. AMAZING!!!!
These are the main factors: vitamin A, vitamin D, cholesterol, calcium and efa (essential fatty acid) supplementation/consumption. Think good fats, good mineral consumption. Bad fats vs Good fats : good fats blog Our skin is made up of fats and years of bad fats (fast fried foods) can cause major problems.
If you have an issue with significant burning you may want to try/investigate one of these products below in addition to a nutrient rich diet and balancing minerals.
Hawaiian Astaxanthin at Costco or Amazon
Heliocare: This is a product that has been used to reduce burning as well – Heliocare : HELIOCARE™ harnesses the natural and powerful antioxidants in Polypodium leucotomos extract to help preserve your skin’s ability to protect against sun-related effects and aging.*