Sunscreen for your kids?

[spencersmommy]

OK, so I am educating myself about the best lotions, body wash, and suncreen stuff out there for kids...regarding the checmicals used...and it's confusing! I used the website www.cosmeticsdatabase.com, they have rated sunscreens. They seem to like the California Baby Sunsticks (but how hard are they to put on large areas like arms and backs, etc) and Mustela Bebe (but the ingredients contain the parabens, a no-no chemical)...I am also getting info from Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano...and now I am just confused by all the choices out there!
Is there anyone who has done the research and tried the products and can recommend a suncreen for my kiddos that is safe and uses hardly any chemicals and is easy to apply?
And what research has anyone found that they would want to share! I am new to all of this...since finding out about BPA, I have been very interested in what else is in the stuff we use everyday!
thanks!

[brittone2]

I've researched this quite a bit and for us, we are comfortable using California Baby unscented lotion and stick, and I just picked up some UV Naturals brand (baby and then sport for DH for cycling). The EWG site rates these both highly for ingredients and protection against UVA and UVB.

I'm not sure what you are interested in terms of reading, but if you are interested in the hormone-disrupting properties of BPA, you might want to look into PBDEs (flame retardants), phthalates, parabens, pesticides, etc. (all hormone disrupting and they are synergistic, so the combo of exposure to multiple hormone disruptors is far worse than adding the exposure to one plus the exposure to another. They interact in ways that are only just starting to be researched (the Newsweek article below touches on the interaction between low levels of phthalates combined w/ pesticides. IMO this is something that needs far more research because the "safe" doses of varying individual exposures isn't reflective of real life. We're exposed to multiple hormone-disrupting chemicals daily and they interact with one another in ways that we don't yet understand)

The Green Guide (part of National Geographic) site online is helpful, as is the EWG.org site (and their Skin Deep database).

A relatively recent article that in my opinion is a good starting point is this one from Newsweek for getting an idea about additional things you may want to consider:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/105588

[spencersmommy]

thanks for the article...very interesting! I don't want to be too neurotic about things, as DH thinks I am becoming...LOL...but want to be informed, especially about things affecting my children!

[hillview]

We are all 100% California Baby (diaper cream, soap, sun cream). I did research at one point about 2 years ago and honestly cannot remember why I picked CB but I am sticking with it ;). One issue with CB is it is SUPER expensive and once I started to use it I couldn't deal with anything else. Target carries some items which helps some. Drugstore.com sometimes has 10% off sales.

I will troll this thread!
/hillary

[calv]

haven't had a chance to look it up but how about blue lizzard?

[lil_acorn]

that's what we use too. I just looked up blue lizard and the baby 30SPF is good (rating 1 on hazard) but the regular sport is not so good at moderate hazard

[calv]

stupid ?, please don't laugh. What exactly are parabens and what names/hidden names do I have to be on the lookout/concerned about?

I noticed the baby blue lizzard has some parabens in it.

[LarsMal]

stupid ?, please don't laugh. What exactly are parabens and what names/hidden names do I have to be on the lookout/concerned about?

I noticed the baby blue lizzard has some parabens in it.

You can probably get a more educated response, but I believe parabens are preservatives.

If you look at the ingredients on your lotions/hair care products you'll see things like "methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, etc".

Does anyone know how Vanicream SPF ranks? It is free of parabens, formaldehyde, etc, but does have some chemicals in it.

CB doesn't seem to be working on my kids. I've been using a chemical sunscreen for now, until I can find a better option. Any info on Vanicream?

Thanks!

[brittone2]

You can probably get a more educated response, but I believe parabens are preservatives.

If you look at the ingredients on your lotions/hair care products you'll see things like "methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, etc".

Does anyone know how Vanicream SPF ranks? It is free of parabens, formaldehyde, etc, but does have some chemicals in it.

CB doesn't seem to be working on my kids. I've been using a chemical sunscreen for now, until I can find a better option. Any info on Vanicream?

Thanks!


Yep, parabens are estrogen-mimickers. They've been found in breast cancer tumors but haven't officially been linked to breast cancer; however, because they mimic estrogen and estrogen fuels breast cancer, it is suspicious to some. They are in a huge portion of lotions, soaps, makeup, and personal care products.

Vanicream rated well the last time I checked, but not all formulations rated the same if I remember right? (that's true of a lot of different sunscreens on the Skin Deep site). DH, my mom and I use that one on occasion.

Oh, one thing I noticed w/ UV Naturals is that it has Macademia Seed oil in the ingredients, so not everyone would feel comfortable using that on a child not yet exposed to nuts or in a setting where kids may have nut allergies.

I saw this recent article on the toxicity of oxybenzone (which is in almost 85% of sunscreens)
http://www.ewg.org/node/26217