Sunscreen

The weather is getting warmer and the winter layers are coming off. Soon instead of cold, it will be the sun that we will have to protect ourselves against. Like me, my kids are so pale they are almost transparent. I've lost count of the number of blistering sunburns I've had in my life. My daughter has had a few, the most mortifying one occurring when she was just 3 months old and lying under an umbrella. My son has fared a bit better, mostly because by the time he came around, I'd become a freakishly devout sunscreener. In the last little while though, I've wondered what the hell I've been smearing all over everyone.

An email request and the warm weather got me started on some research. As usual, my starting point is the amazing cosmetic safety database of the Environmental Working Group (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com). According to the EWG, your best bet is to avoid sunscreens with oxybenzone (links to cancer, endocrine disruption, and a host of other issues), fragrance (often contains phthalates which are endocrine disruptors), parabens (preservatives linked to cancer), bug repellant (too much absorption of the pesticide), or that come in a spray or powder form (to avoid inhalation). Instead, choose fragrance-free sunscreens in a cream or stick with zinc oxide (at least 7%) or titanium dioxide as their active ingredients.

The EWG recommends California Baby, Badger, and Soleo Organics. They even seem to like Coppertone Babies "Pure and Simple" (though they trash many other Coppertone products). Today I ordered the Soleo Organics online, since their product reviews say it doesn't give people the "ghostly" look of other zinc based sunscreens. My skin can do that all on its own.