Sunscreen Effectiveness: Natural Sunscreens That Are Safest

With summer quickly approaching, the days are getting longer and the suns' strength is increasing. With plans for hitting the beach and playing your favorite outdoor games comes the inevitable slathering on of sunscreen. But which sunscreen is safe to use?

There has been a lot of information put out in the recent year about the safety of sunscreens and if they are at all effective. Here is the breakdown on what to look for, what your options are, and what to avoid when choosing a sunscreen. What's all the hype? There are two main choices when selecting a sunscreen: chemical or natural mineral.

After many tests and studies chemical sunscreens have been found to generate powerful free radicals (which are linked to various forms of cancer), and contain a large quantity of estrogenic chemicals (aka "gender bending" chemicals), both of which may accumulate in the human body fat stores.

Estrogenic chemicals mimic the effect of estrogen resulting in uterine cancer, endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, erratic periods, and increased PMS in women to name a few. Estrogenic chemicals can lower sperm count, and result in testicular cancer, breast enlargement, feminization and other problems in men.

These chemicals enter into our bloodstream through absorption from applying them on our skin. They can damage our DNA, proteins and fats of our cells. This type of damage causes aging of the skin and also, much more importantly, cancer. The chemicals listed below have all been shown to contribute to one or all of the negative health effects listed above.

Chemical sunscreens may contain:

1) Benzophenones (dixoybenzone, oxybenzone) 2) PABA and PABA esters (ethyl dihydroxy propyl PAB, glyceryl PABA, p-aminobenzoic acid, padimate-O or octyl dimethyl PABA) 3) Cinnamates (cinoxate, ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate) 4) Salicylates (ethylhexyl salicylate, homosalate, octyl salicylate) 5) Digalloyl trioleate, and Menthyl anthranilate Avobenzone [butyl-methyoxydibenzoylmethane; Parsol 1789]

All of these chemicals adversely affect our environment, sunscreen from swimmers and sewer emissions as it washes off our bodies contaminates our oceans, lakes and rivers. What enters into the environment usually ends back up in our bodies via the food we eat. The other option on the market today is natural mineral sunscreen.

Natural mineral sunscreens are created with nanoparticle zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. The Environmental Working Group's top picks for safe sunscreens all fall under this category. However, there are some who object to the use of nano-scale minerals. There has been research that shows nanoparticles under 100nm can be potentially harmful.

Due to the size of the particles, they may be able to penetrate deep into skin tissue and possibly enter the bloodstream. Nanoparticles may be responsible for damaging colon cells and brain stem cells in mice, as well as disrupting beneficial microbes found in our environment.

One important factor to consider: mineral sunscreens far outcry chemical sunscreens when finding the best protection from UVA rays. Both are good at protecting you from UVB rays. Alternate studies have also shown that nanoparticles are only harmful in powders and sprays, due to the risk of inhalation. If powder is mixed into a cream base, the danger is avoided.

With all of this information at hand, several companies have changed their sunscreen formulas using zinc oxide to a nanoparticle larger than 100nm, thus avoiding any potential negative effects. Nanoparticle size greater than 100nm is the primary thing to look for when buying sunscreen.

For more information and a complete list of safe sunscreens, both mineral and chemical visit the Environmental Working Group website. So, when you're heading out to the beach or the basketball court this summer remember there are safe options out there to protect you from the sun's harmful rays.

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