Choosing the Best Sunscreen For Your Baby

Sunscreen lotion is quite effective in protecting the skin against the sun’s harmful UV rays when the proper SPF is used. Yet we see more and more sun damage and skin cancer mainly attributed to a lack of protection in early years of life. That is why it is very important to use sunscreen from the beginning.  It can be confusing because consumers have a such a choice between sun skin care – traditional sunscreen lotion, organic sunscreen lotion, natural sunblock lotion that use all natural ingredients, and even sunless tanning lotions with SPF protection.

Any time we hear the words “all natural,” we know that it is good for us. However, we also realize that there must be a reason why some of the same types of products do not contain all natural ingredients. Is it because they are better or because they are more cost-effective for the manufacturer to make? We have to take into consideration that there was a time in which our ancestors only had natural means to treat and prevent disease. Somewhere along the line we found more cost-effective ways to make products by creating man-made chemicals that got the job done. This happened with sunscreen lotion.

People love to sunbathe and with the continuing reports that the sun is becoming more and more dangerous, the sunscreen lotion market is booming. More people are protecting their children and themselves from the harmful rays that can cause skin cancer. No one wants to think of their children having to contend with such an awful disease, no matter how minor it may be if caught on time. But we love to go to the beach and we love to swim in our pools, so we have to take care of our skin in the process.

The truth is that you shouldn’t really have any more than 15 minutes of sun exposure each day in order to receive the necessary amount of Vitamin D. Any more than 15 minutes is what causes damage, so you need to use a sunscreen lotion. A good organic sunscreen lotion is going to be just as effective as a regular sunscreen lotion and without any of the man-made ingredients. All of the lotion ingredients are all natural, which means they are derived from plants. In other words, the lotion ingredients are extracted from the wonders of nature that actually work.

The main difference between an organic sunblock lotion and a regular sunblock lotion aside from their ingredients is that organic sunblock lotion will break down over time. However, if used consistently over the summer months, that shouldn’t matter because you’ll easily be able to use a majority of what is in the bottle if not all of it. However, when you look at the bottle of a regular sunscreen lotion, you will notice that there are both organic and inorganic ingredients, so eventually regular sunscreen lotion has to be disposed of anyway.

So if you want to spend more than 15 minutes in the sun, be sure to invest in a good organic sunscreen lotion and apply it to all skin areas that are exposed to the sunlight. That way, you can still receive the benefits of the sun while protecting your skin from the harmful UV rays. You are also not putting inorganic ingredients on your skin. Everything that is inside a bottle of organic sunscreen lotion is just as natural as you are.

Natural Sunscreen Lotion Advice

So what exactly do you need to avoid when choosing a sunscreen lotion? Here are some unsavory, even toxic, lotion ingredients you will want to stay away from if you can:PABA: This is not widely used anymore, but just in case. Many people are very sensitive to this ingredient and can end up with red, itchy skin. The use of natural baby products like natural baby lotion and natural body wash are always helpful.

Benzophenone (benzophenone-3), homosalate, and octy-methoxycinnamate (octinoxate): These chemicals are bad news because they have shown estrogenic activity in lab tests. Oxybenzone is aderivative of benzophenone and it is linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage. According to the CDC 97% of Americans are contaminated with this widely-used sunscreen lotion ingredient.

Parabens (butyl-, ethyl-, methyl-, and propyl-): Parabens are common in sunscreen lotions so avoiding them may prove difficult. They are preservatives that have estrogenic qualities. They have produced abnormal hormonal effects following on laboratory rodents, particularly male, resulting in decreased testosterone levels and other abnormalities. They have also been found to accumulate in the breast tissue of women with breast cancer.

Padimate-O and Parsol 1789 (Avobenzone): While on the surface of the skin these chemicals appear to prevent UV damage but when absorbed into the skin they can actually damage DNA. There is evidence that the sun’s light may cause these chemicals to become reactive and cause free-radical damage when they’re absorbed. I find it alarming that pediatricians often recommend these very ingredients.

In general if you want to know which sunscreens are usually loaded with the bad stuff….oh just the easy to find ones like Coppertone, Banana Boat, Avon, Nivea, Neutrogena, The Body Shop, etc. Also even some of the ones that appear to be more natural like Kiss My Face or Aveeno have some pretty dirty sunscreens. If you do research, natural baby products or baby lotion that can contains organic ingredients are best.