Sunscreen: more complete UVA protection - physical, chemical, or both the same?

[cellenly]

Are the physical blockers just as good as the chemical blockers for UVA protection? (mexoryl marketing seems to imply that they're better because of the protection for short UVA waves ~320-340nm, but i'm wondering better than what? other traditional chemical blockers or physical blockers as well?)

I've been reading hype about the chemical blockers Mexoryl & helioplex for UVA protection. And then I've been reading about preferences for physical blockers (TiO2/ZnO) over chemical blockers.

I'm confused
if TiO2/ZnO is just as good as Mexoryl/helioplex or
if people are settling for slighly less UVA protection b/c they prefer physical blockers or
if people are just preferring chemical blockers b/c they don't like the white cast of the physical blockers.

It's time for new sunscreen for me & the kids. I'm wondering if I should buy chemcial sunscreen for my face only b/c i'm supposedly getting better uva protection or if i should get the physical sunscreens since I don't mind the white cast & don't have sensative skin. I've looked & looked online & i'm just not getting any answers to my Q.

[AddiesMom]

I can't answer your questions but I can comment on Helioplex. I have a skin conditon called PMLE, where in the spring I get a terrible rash when exposed to the sun. As spring goes on I build my UV tolerance again and it goes away. I have to be super careful of my arms and legs in the spring and during winter vacations when I have lost the tolerance. I have had vacations (and my honeymoon) literally get destroyed by this rash until I was diagnosed. Normal sunscreens would keep my arms from getting sunburn, but I would still get the rash which feels like fire.

When I was diagnosed in 2003, the only thing on the market to help me was Coppertone Spectra 3, but it was really thick. Now it is nearly impossible to find in the US, so I called my doctor this spring. He told me to use the Neutrogena with Helioplex and NO RASH! The only problem is I have had some coverage problems putting it on myself when windy out using the spray version. No burns or rash on arms and legs where I can get it close, but I have gotten some bad burns on my shoulders where I missed or the wind blew it as I was spraying. I love the Helioplex since it is so light, where as the Coppertone Spectra was thick and would have to carry a 2nd sunscreen for my face.

For DD I have been using Coppertone Kids and she has gotten no color at all this summer, and lasts in the water.

[lizajane]

i can only give you ancedotal information-

i may not be the best person to ask, as i am very tan and so are my kids. not on purpose! we are just darker skinned and tan very, very easily.

i have found:
spray sunscreen doesn't work very well and rates poorly on chemical scale

burt's bess spf 15 isn't enough. pricey for ounces you get. kinda pricey since it doesn't work well! spf30 would probably be better, but haven't tried it.

trader joe's spf 30 is great- my super pale nephew didn't get an ounce of color when i covered him in it at the pool for a 2 hour swim (age 1) spreads more easily than burt's bees, but is still thicker than chemical sunscreens. not pricey.

neutrogena with heliplex spf 55 is very effective, but rates poorly on the chemical scale so i won't use it anymore. spreads nicely and works very well, though. average to pricey

SO my recommendation is:
trader joe's spf 30 for $3.99

if you have no trader joe's... then california baby. also great, i just haven't used it for a few years. or just PM me, as i plan to mail some to my sister anyway and can pick some up for you. :)

[supercalifragilous]

Not to confuse you further, but there are downsides to physical sunscreens as well. Apparently, there are issues with micronized nanoparticles of TnO2 and ZnO being absorbed into cells and oxidizing on the skin. Since micronized minerals a relatively new trend, it hasn't been extensively studied. The popularity of mineral makeup (often loose powder) has warranted micronized minerals being inhaled to also be studied, but no one knows the long-term effects yet.

Here's an article someone posted on an older thread that's interesting:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/07/01/sunscreen.study/index.html

There was an article in the LA Times last summer about chemical sunscreens mimicking hormones or being endocrine disruptors. I can believe that, esp. considering how much we're supposed to use, frequency, and daily use.

I've been using the Neutrogena Dry Touch (with Helioplex) for myself for a couple years now, though I hate the smell. I love the way it feels, though - the silicone is really smooth and I can use it under my makeup. But I just got my hands on LeRoche Posay with Mexoryl - the unscented version really has no scent and is not greasy and absorbs well.

For DD, I've experimented with some nonchemical sunscreens, all SPF 20 or 30 with seemingly micronized minerals - Blue Lizard Sensitive & Baby, Badger, and Nature's Gate. Most of them (except for Badger) also have other chemicals and parabens in them, so either way, your child is getting chemicals, just not the active sunscreen ingredients. Badger was the only one where I recognized ALL the ingredients, but it is greasier than all the others. I used CA Baby on DD until she was 3 but always hated how thick and stiff it was.

I just got an e-mail from Mercola - apparently he came out with his own sunscreen without nanoparticles. His preceding article is kind of "out there" (he's "granola" to the extreme) so take it with a grain of salt, but at least his price is competitive or slightly better with everything else.

http://products.mercola.com/summer-survival-kit/#order

[cellenly]

thanks for the info on the physical blockers. i guess it's a Q of what's worse, the sun or the stuff to block it--whether physical or chemical.

[niccig]

thanks for the info on the physical blockers. i guess it's a Q of what's worse, the sun or the stuff to block it--whether physical or chemical.

It's difficult isn't it. I grew up in a part of Australia that has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. I'll keep putting sunscreen on DS, we use Blue Lizard, until I can find something else that works and doesn't have harmful chemicals. But I also practice other sun safety measures to limit his exposure. You can't rely on sunsceen alone and sit outside for hours in the blazing sun.

Slip on a shirt
Slop on Sunscreen
Slap on a hat.

I insist on DS wearing collared shirt or if we're at the pool/beach he wears a rash vest. His hat is on all the time - he's the only kid in his preschool that wears a hat for outdoors play. He wears sunglasses a lot, if the sun is too bright for me, it's too bright for him as well. We go to the beach in the morning/late afternoon, I try to avoid 10-2pm. We have a shade tent that we use. DH gets annoyed at all of this and tries to argue back, but I've seen too many people with skin cancer.

[brittone2]

I use UV Naturals or CA Baby. Those two rank highly for being effective against UVA and UVB and are physical sunscreens. That's what works for my family (cocoon that we live in and all ;) )

Both leave white streaks, etc. and UV Naturals is kind of oily. CA Baby is really thick. But I'm willing to work with the texture of those two because they are highly ranked for ingredients and UVA/UVB protection.

We also use SPF rashguard shirts for the kids.

eta: have you looked at the EWG site yet?

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008/index.php

[niccig]

I use UV Naturals or CA Baby. Those two rank highly for being effective against UVA and UVB and are physical sunscreens. That's what works for my family (cocoon that we live in and all ;) )

Both leave white streaks, etc. and UV Naturals is kind of oily. CA Baby is really thick. But I'm willing to work with the texture of those two because they are highly ranked for ingredients and UVA/UVB protection.

We also use SPF rashguard shirts for the kids.

I'll have to try those 2 sunscreens. And I must live in a sun cocoon as well as DH and I wear a rashguard shirt at the beach. Everyone in my family does, except my younger sister. She likes to tan in her bikini. Did I mention she's my younger sister, as when she was visiting my babysitter wanted confirmation on that "She's got to be older, she looks older than you" Mmm, have to wonder about the sun damage from years of tanning.

[hillview]

We do CA Baby. Rashguard. Hat. Longish shorts. I am not as good about me/dh as I am about the kiddos but working on that. I feel like the physical barrier is better but the research seems to be lacking a little. That said given what is known that is my current choice.

Good luck!
/hillary

[cellenly]

I send her to MDO, and I think I can tell the difference on days that I'm heavy handed w/ the sunscreen vs the days when I'm not. I'm prob more concerned about our non-beach/pool days b/c it seems that that's when DC get the most sun exposure. I seem to be a madwoman when we goto the pool & the pool we goto has a sail shade thingie that I try to keep us all under.

btw, our hats never stay on our head. how do you get your kid to wear the hat? what hat do you use?

I'm going to go look for the RIT sunguard dye for all her clothes today. (learned here as i started to obsess about sun protection).

Advice on buying rashguard? favorite site/store/brand (i know LE is popular but wondering if you have other brands u like)? she's growing out of hers & i'm not crazy about the brand i got (also, i got the short sleeved but i'm thinking now i'm going to go long sleeved this time).

Okay, my other question aside from the above is, how do you get the sunscreen off? Even after a long bath, I can still smell the sunscreen on DC.

thanks you guys!

[nov04]

We used ombrelle, it has both chemical and physical. I wasn't happy but it was what was available. I finally found some blue lizard last week.

I've noticed too we're the only ppl applying sunscreen and wearing hats.

It's so frustrating, always new research coming out about the harm of things we thought were safe. I figure at least I'm trying!

[hillview]

Hats -- it is a hard and fast rule. DS has to go inside if no hat. I wear a hat he wears one etc. Also at preschool all the other kids wear one so that helps. I let him pick out a hat he wanted (has a car on it) so maybe that helps too. WRT rashguards we get the ones at Target and they seem to work well. One just wore out that he wore for a year at weekly inside swim classes (he wore it to keep warm in the pool).

ETA: I still can sometimes notice after a bath that there is the sheen of sun block on him. I try to get a good washcloth wipe all over him but sometimes that doesn't work out as planned. I don't worry too much about it.
HTH
/hillary

[niccig]

We have the same hat rule, no hat = no outdoor play. I started when DS was 2 - up til then I just kept putting it back on. At 2, we went outside to play, he took his out off, I gave him 3 warnings, then we went inside. He wanted to go outdoors again, and I told him he had to wear his hat, he did, then promptly took it off again, so I gave him warnings etc. Rinse and repeat. He's know better about it than me.

I too have to get better about sunscreen on non-swim days. It's always a fight to get ready in the morning, and I skip it too often if it's a normal day or errands.

Rashguards - Target, Old Navy have worked for us. DS has short sleeve ones, next ones will be long sleeve. DH and I wear long sleeve.