Suncreen Regulations Delayed and a Link up

Most of us have started to spend some serious time in the sun, so it is time for this year’s post about safer sunscreens.  You may have heard the latest sunscreen news, that the new FDA regulations meant to help consumers looking for safer and more effective sunscreen products have been delayed until the end of the year.  This means that many products on shelves right now are making false claims on their labels about being “waterproof,” “sweatproof,” or having “sunblock” properties.  These claims are meaningless because there are no standards to define these qualities.

Even worse, 75% of the products contain ingredients that are toxic, known carcinogens, and/or hormone disrupters.  Seriously, you need to be careful about which sunscreens you buy.  Every year, the Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocacy agency, publishes a guide to sunscreen ingredients, and a list of brands that are deemed the safest as well as those that are labeled “worst offenders.”  

Courtesy of the Environmental Working Group

You can access their sunscreen database here and look up your brand.  By the way, when you search by brand and type of sunscreen, that company’s products are listed in order of best to worst for safety and effectiveness.

Last year, I posted about the new regulations and discussed my choices for safer sunscreen products, as well as information about the toxic ingredients in many cosmetic products, not just sunscreens.  Read last year’s post to learn about these topics and the reasons for my sunscreen choices.

We will begin our summer using the same sunscreen products as last year: two made by W. S.Badger Co. I use Badger SPF 30 Sunscreen For Face & Body 2.9 oz (87 ml) cream and Badger All Natural, All Season Face Stick, Sunscreen, SPF 30, Unscented .65 oz (18.4 g).  These products both rank high in the safety category in the EWG’s database, so when we run out, I’ll look for them again.  If I find something else that is safe and works well, I’ll be sure to let you know about it.

In the meantime, spend your time in the sun safely: cover up and put a safer sunscreen product on your family.

FYI: if you click on the sunscreen links above, or the image in the “Products Mentioned” window in the right sidebar, you will open a window to the Amazon website.

Also, it is time to announce another link up that is part of the Liturgical Calendar Link up Party organized by Xhonané at Familia Católica.  The Immaculate Heart of Mary Link up is hosted by the bloggers at Evangelización Católica.  Please hop over to see what others have posted about this feast.  Yesterday, we bought the materials we need to make a craft of the Immaculate Heart, so check back in a week or so to read about it.

This post is linked to the Catholic BloggersNetwork Round up in their new Random category.  Remember to go visit the other links there and vote with your mouse for this month’s Big Clicks Award.