Yesterday we wrote about the Environmental Working Group’s comprehensive study on the safety and efficacy of sunscreens. In response to this study, the Skin Cancer Foundation wrote that though it agreed with EWG’s assessment that sunscreens should be required to protect against UVA rays, it did not support EWG’s findings about how safe and effective oxybenzone is. The response went on to urge consumers to continue to apply sunscreen regularly, because when used as directed, it is perfectly safe and effective. (By the way, you can check out our cosmetic selection here)

Among the claims in the Foundation’s response is that “oxybenzone is approved, after extensive review, by the FDA, European Union.” But a recent EU study came to no conclusion about the compound’s safety because of a lack of sufficient data, and the FDA’s last study on oxybenzone was in the 70s. Hmm.

A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that 97% of the U.S. population is contaminated with oxybenzone, a penetration enhancer that helps other chemicals sink into your skin. A Mount Sinai School of Medicine companion study published just a day earlier also reported that the chemical is linked to low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Click here to read more

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Gone are the days when we slather ourselves with baby oil to bake ourselves. With more than a million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer already estimated for 2008, we’re learning to take our sun exposure much more seriously. Now that we’ve gotten smart about the dangers of sun exposure, sunscreen has become a daily essential.

But for all our efforts to protect ourselves, it seems that many sunscreens are having the opposite effect on us: not only are they not blocking UV rays, but they are also causing us to absorb harmful chemicals into our bloodstream through our skin.

The Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database, an indispensable resource for finding out exactly what ingredients personal care and beauty products contain, has published an exhaustive report on the effectiveness and safety of sunscreens.

The folks behind the Database, the Environmental Working Group, conducted an investigation of 952 name-brand sunscreens, finding that 4 out of 5 of them don’t adequately protect from the sun, or contain unsafe ingredients. Much like the cosmetics and personal care industries, the suncare industry remains alarmingly unregulated by the FDA. In fact, the report states that the FDA has not finalized comprehensive sunscreen safety standards it began drafting 30 years ago. Click here to read more

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Daily Greenz #167

Just when we’re starting to get the point that yes, we need sunscreen to avoid things like skin cancer and wrinkles, here comes the kicker: The sunscreen being advised is full of ingredients like oxybenzone, a chemical that is linked to cancer itself. Ironic? Yes. Scary? Definitely. Not only are these sunscreens potentially harmful to our bodies, but new studies are showing these chemicals may be killing entire reefs.

Still, the fact is simple: You need sunscreen. Fortunately, you don’t need to settle for one laden with suspicious-sounding chemicals. Burt’s Bees makes chemical free sunscreens with the sun-shielding power of titanium dioxide (which shields against UVB and UVA rays) and good-for-everyone ingredients like hemp seed oil and wheat grass extract. Yippee, sunscreen that’s easy on your body and any body of water you swim in!

Click here to read more

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Daily Greenz #147

Summer is just around the corner, which means we’re all eagerly looking forward to spending more time outside.  We’d like to get a little color back in our pallid skin, so the best way to prepare for sun exposure is to make sure our sunscreen is equipped to protect us from harmful UV rays.  What’s equally important is to ensure that our sunscreen doesn’t contain any toxic ingredients, such as petrochemical additives.  Derived from petroleum, petrochemicals are often found in moisturizers and can cause severe allergic reactions.

Luckily, organic sunscreens do exist, and we’d like to highlight Aubrey Organics in particular.  Their Green Tea Protective Sunscreen doesn’t contain any petrochemicals and protects the skin with titanium dioxide, which is a mineral that deflects burning rays off the skin.  Also, their organic green tea ingredient shields the skin from cancer-causing free radicals, and their organic shea butter ingredient keeps the skin well-hydrated.  Available for $8.50 at www.aubrey-organics.com.

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