You smother sunscreen all over your precious little one's body thinking that you are doing your very best to protect them. The higher the SPF, the better, right? WRONG! There are so many other factors to think about and what you don't know can hurt you.
Let's play a little game. Let's see how "safe" your current sunscreen really is. Go ahead, I'll wait, grab your stash of sunscreen. What kind is it? What are the ingredients? What is the SPF? Did you read the warning label? Do you know what the ingredients are and what they do? Is it an aerosol spray?
I found some old sunscreen in our house that we bought last year. They are readily available in stores, were name brands and had a high SPF. We thought that they were perfect, convenient and more importantly SAFE. We got Banana Boat Kids SPF 85 and Aveeno Baby SPF 55.
Both contain Oxybenzone - there is debate on whether or not this is safe for use. I googled and read both sides of the debate. While it may be perfectly safe....do I really want to risk it with my kids?? I'd feel a lot better of waiting for them to make up their minds, rather than having my kids be lab rats to test it out!
The Banana Boat is an aerosol spray. Our kid's daycare at the time preferred it because it was easier and faster to apply to all 30+ kids before taking them out to play. Well, it is a spray...and it lingers in the air after it's been applied. So yes, we are breathing it in. It may be tested to be safe when applied to skin but should we really be breathing it in?? There are a lot of chemicals in sunscreen. I don't know if I want my kids inhaling them!
And what about SPF - what does it actually mean? It's simply Sun Protection Factor and gives a rating based on blocking UVB rays which cause sun burns. It has little to nothing to do with blocking UVA rays which increase the risk of melanoma. Some sunscreens do not block UVA rays, some do. Do your homework and make sure you have a sunscreen that will protect against both! And SPF of 20 is more than sufficient and is equivalent to 95% UV protection absorption. An SPF of 45 will only give you another 2.8% of protection...yet there are many more chemicals to give you so little!
Now go
here and type in your brand and type. It will give you a number score that will tell you the risk associated with that particular product. Now take it with a grain of salt...there is so much debate in this industry and studies being done, etc. But I think you will still be surprised by what your current sunscreen is rated. Keep in mind that low numbers are good, high numbers are bad.
I did a bit of research this year before purchasing our sunscreen. I ended up getting
Kabana Skincare's Organic Green Screen. I liked the fact that there are only 8 ingredients and they are all safe! No extra chemicals to boost the SPF unnecessarily, no crazy scents to make it smell like a coconut tree mixed with baby powder, all organic. It is so much different than the popular store bought sunscreens. First, you do have to shake it well before applying. Second, it's not that oily, greasy lotion type that just glides on like baby oil. Third, it does leave a slight white color once it's applied. Some think that's a downside, but I actually prefer it. This way I know that I didn't miss any spots and I know when it needs to be reapplied. For those that are bothered by this, they also make a "skin tone tinted" version. And it really is hardly noticeable. My oldest daughter is pretty tan already and it's not like she looked like a ghost with her sunscreen on ;)
All in all - I am in LOVE!! I love knowing how much safer it is for my girls. I didn't panic when my youngest squeezed the bottle into her hands and proceeded to give it a taste. No, I wouldn't let her actually eat it on a regular basis or anything, but it wasn't like the popular brands with all of those ingredients that you can't even pronounce! My girls loved the 'smell' of it....although it is unscented. I can't really think of anything negative about it. I'm looking forward to being able to use it this summer and tell everyone that I know about it!
If you're willing to give up your old sunscreen and try something new, then we're giving away some of
Kabana Skincare's Organic Green Screen! There will be 5 winners of the 1 oz. 20 SPF sunscreen. Simply leave a comment below with your current sunscreen and the
hazard rating that it has based on the link above. Also please leave contact info so that we can notify you if you won. Contest open until Thursday, June 9th. Winners to be notified and announced on June 10th. Winners must reply back within 24 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn.
**For a limited time - FREE SHIPPING on all
Kabana Skincare products when you order
here**
