Oh boy, sunscreen is a thorny issue with me. I used to think it was a no-brainer. Of course I should use sunscreen! Slather it on! All the time! As long as it’s SPF is high enough, any old sunscreen will do! That was the old me.
Then I read about what actually goes into sunscreen, and it gave me nightmares. I found The Environment Working Group’s database “Skin Deep” listing the contents of each individual commercial sunscreen and it gave me nightmares and daymares. A lot of sunscreens (the big names we all know) either break down in the sun and become ineffective, contain carcinogens, contain other nasties known to cause developmental issues, or contain all 3. Ingredients such as oxybenzone terrify me. Here’s what we know about oxybenzone. It causes developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies, immunotoxicity, bioaccumulation, enhanced skin absorption (of all this toxic shiz!), biochemical or cellular level changes, and more.. Have a look.
Yikes. Somehow I think slathering carcinogens of known absorbency on one’s skin to prevent cancer is somewhat counterproductive. Luckily, there are sunscreens not full of horrific ingredients. They are usually more expensive, harder to find, and far less spreadable. BUT- they work, and won’t mess with your brain, body, or fetus. My favorite is Blue Lizard Baby- it’s pretty much free of nasties, and more spreadable than most in the carcinogen-free family. I used to use Badger, its pretty much just olive oil and titanium dioxide, but it spreads like molasses, so I jumped ship.
The other issue is vitamin D. Loads of studies have come out in recent years extolling the virtues of vitamin D, and warning of the dangers of not getting enough. Many are calling the vitamin D deficiency in American children an epidemic. Lack of vitamin D makes bones weaker and bodies more prone to disease and infection. And all they need, and we need, is around 20 minutes of sun a day to get enough vitamin D. I know that’s not possible year round in many places, but it is here, so we do it. Jungletwins get their sun, and I get mine. I put sunscreen on all of us if were going to be in the sun for a long period, but I always make sure we get at least 20 minutes a day without sunscreen.
“Sensible sun exposure to arms and legs for short periods of time will not increase the risk of serious skin cancer such as melanoma,” according to this article on WedMD. I’ve read several articles on this issue, but this is the most reader friendly, all inclusive article I’ve found.
Of course, it’s a balancing act, and one must be careful. I make sure not to go out during the hottest time of day, and I use myself as a sun guinea pig for my kids. This works because I am much fairer than they are. I grew up with red hair and freckles- very fair indeed. They are not even close to me in pastyness- lucky them!
So far, it’s worked. They, and I, have not once burned. It’s crazy because growing up in New England I used to burn to crisp if I didn’t wear sunscreen, but then again I never thought twice about frolicking at the hottest time of the day. Now I live by “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” True to form, my Englishman does indeed go out in the midday sun, but he’s the least fair of all of us and has managed to get by unscathed.
There are so many individual factors to this issue, I know. Neither myself nor my husband has any family history of skin cancer, but we do vigilantly scan for any signs. I did once have a mole removed, but I kind of lied to get it accomplished. No, I totally lied, not kind of. I had a mole on my leg I thought was ugly. I told my doctor it changed color so he’d remove it. I was an insecure teenager at the time. Yea, I’m naughty. No remorse.
A few years ago I went to see a dermatologist about a mole on my arm. He said it was fairly small and not the least bit suspicious, but since I had to wait ages in the waiting room, he indulged me with a full body mole scan and small talk. The scan turned up nothing, the small talk supplied me with the best ever skin trivia. Are ya ready? Okay, mentally jot down your answers to these questions:
How many moles does the average 1 year old have?
1
How many moles does the average 30 year old have?
30
How many moles does the average 70 year old have?
Hmmmm?
Think its 70? NO! It’s only 4! Wild, huh? You can go ahead and use that one at your next cocktail party with my blessing.
So what are your sunscreen beliefs, realities, or philosophies?
Thanks for the info! I am generally a hat/clothing/umbrella shade kind of girl, due to sunscreen irritating my skin, but I have been using it more and more lately on my boys. I iwll have to check out Blue Lizard Babies.
Wow – as a lifelong redhead with freckles… I’ve always slathered on the sunscreen. (Except of course, for those few years as a teenager when I attempted to ‘tan’. Laughable. Very laughable.) I had no idea you were redheaded and freckled, too!! I should have known by your writing… and I think I love this blog even more now! Call me biased….
I’ve never taken into consideration the harmful ingredients in sunscreens – but after reading this, I’m going to have to do some research to make sure my two little gingers & the ginger-on-the-way (I’m pretty sure this next one will be redheaded, too) aren’t exposed to nasty chemicals. I’m even a little embarrassed that I haven’t worried about this yet! So unlike me… 
It was 105 degrees here in Austin today. I’m all about the sunscreen for the kids (less so myself; I forget) in the summer, whether or not there are clouds. I’m a dark brown (good ol’ South Asian), and I’ve never burned, but the Texas sun still hurts my skin.
Even with SPF Crazy on, my girls get visibly darker after an hour in the pool at 9:30 am. The sunshine, at this time of year, is literally painful so I think sunscreen is a must. I’m far less strict in cooler weather, or northern latitudes.
You have given me pause, though, about choosing a safe sunscreen.
When we are with the boys (at home), we use Blue Lizard. But since we send the boys to school full-time and someone else is responsible for sunscreen application and monitoring, I don’t feel comfortable sending them with a physical block only. Nate is incredibly fair and they spend a good portion of their day outside (generally 3-4 hours) at school, so we weighed the positives versus the negatives. I am fair like Nate and if I spend 30 min in the sun with no sunscreen, I am guaranteed a burn.
This issue is big for me. I grew up in Florida and my parents almost never put sunscreen on me. I got more very bad sunburns that I can count. Now at 35 I have way more than the average 30 moles and 4 of those are getting biopsied soon.
We use sunscreen if we’re gonna be outside for an extended period of time. And even then I notice that the kids still get those farmer tans, no matter how much sunscreen I put on them. I’ll have to check out the brand you mentioned.
I grew up worshipping the sun….I was one of those idiots who slathered on baby oil and then laid on the black asphalt with a tin foil reflector attracting the sun. STUPID. I’ve had plenty of bad sunburns in my life. So now I’m always paranoid whenever I noticed a mole or something wierd on my skin. I’ve had plenty of checks recently and thankfully they’ve all turned up negative.
So I’m extra careful with my kids.