Recently, my poor grandbaby was severely sunburned after being in the sun for only a couple of hours, while wearing sunscreen. My first question to his mom was “was the sunscreen out of date?” She then realized that yes, it was – although she had just bought it this year. This caused me to begin thinking about sunscreen and its ingredients. My daughter, Beth, is very conscientious and tries to only buy natural products so I wondered WHAT is in that sunscreen that would allow such a bad burn when it was out of date. This sent me straight down a rabbit hole of research.
GRASE
The first thing I found out was that although the FDA has approved the use of the ingredients in sunscreens, they DO NOT GENERALLY RECOGNIZE THEM AS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE. What in the world? Why would the FDA approve harmful ingredients for us to use on a daily basis that are not safe? $$$$$$$$$$ is the only conclusion I have come to!
There are only two ingredients that are deemed safe for use in sunscreens: titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Other ingredients found in sunscreens such as oxybenzone, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and avobenzone contain toxic traits. Some have been banned in other countries due to damage to coral reefs. Studies have found that some of these ingredients are hormone disruptors, cause allergic skin reactions, and can be absorbed through the skin and found in breast milk, urine, and blood plasma samples. Sunscreen’s harmful ingredients should not be absorbed through your skin and have a negative effect on other areas of your body. They certainly shouldn’t be given to your baby through his or her milk!
After reading all of this material, I reviewed the ingredients of the sunscreen Beth had used on Axle. The active ingredient was only zinc oxide….which is good!!! However, there were 27 other inactive ingredients, of which only 4 made sense. So why did it matter that the sunscreen was out of date? Apparently, while sunscreens are supposed to remain effective for three years, the ingredients begin to break down and lose their effectiveness as time passes.
The best protection against sun burn is to effectively cover your skin in clothing. When you are out, try to limit the amount of time you are in the sun in one sitting, If you do choose to use a sun screen, find a natural sun screen with only a few ingredients. The more ingredients, the more likely it is that the sunscreen can be harmful to your skin and body. Make sure you research the ingredients before using! Always check expiration dates! This summer, I will be making a sunscreen for my girls and their babies out of coconut oils, shea butter and zinc oxide.
References:
https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/