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I’m Siel, an environmental writer and activist who lives in West Hollywood, Calif. I’m BlogHer's Green Section Editor, and I write green LA girl. a p...
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Safely sunscreened: A good guide for summer sunscreens

June 22, 2007 12:05 am by greenlagirl in Career
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Just in time for summer: a new Sunscreen Database's launched by the Environmental Working Group. This database gives you safety and effectiveness ratings for 700+ sunscreens, evaluated for UVA and UVB protection, safety of ingredients, and product stability.

Our sunscreens in the US aren't as good as the stuff in Europe, because the FDA doesn't effectively regulate sunscreens on the shelf. "What we found was actually pretty bad news – only 16% of the products studied were rated both safe & effective," says Amanda at EWG.

But the glass 16% full side of me says that now I can use the database to figure out which sunscreens are best.

My current sunscreen's Alba Hawaiian Sunscreen, Green Tea (SPF 30) -- which as a rating of 3: moderate hazard. I'm almost out, so am off to Co-opportunity to see if I can find a better one like California Baby and also to buy wine --

EWG's Skin Deep also gives you safety info for cosmetics, shampoos, and other personal care products --

BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com.

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julieartz
julieartz 5 pts

Although I haven't tried their sunscreen yet, I do use California Baby shampoo & conditioner for my children, who have very sensitive skin, and I love it! I also highly recommend wearing hats & shirts made of UV-protective fabrics--no need to reapply and it's a lot easier to keep a hat on a toddler than it is to get him to stop long enough to smear on sunscreen, IMO :)

I just posted ( http://www.blogher.com/confessions-former-lancome-... ) about some other natural skincare products I like too!

Thanks for the great info!

:) Julie

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MC Milker
MC Milker 5 pts

I just did some research and wrote a Link Text ( http://notquitecrunchyparent.blogspot.com/2007/06/... )lengthy post about sunscreen recently on my blog, so this post was of interest to me. I found much the same thing regarding ingredients and have now linked to you and to the sunscreen evaluator you found – thanks.

One point that it seems many folks don’t know is that “SPF” refers to effectiveness not longevity. Regardless of the SPF and the ingredients, all sunscreens need to be re-applied every two hours.

This key point is ignored by many people. In particular, school and camp administrators seem to be oblivious to this fact, encouraging parents to liberally apply sunscreen before sending their child off to school/camp but neglecting to strenuously remind children to reapply it later in the day.

I’ve taken to covering my DS as much as possible, while remaining mindful of the heat, and packing a sunscreen ‘stick” in his pocket for reapplication. Though, how much I can depend on him remembering is in question.

MC Milker - The Not-Quite-Crunchy Parent ( http://notquitecrunchyparent.blogspot.com/ )

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