What Ingredients to avoid when choosing a safe, sun protection

If you can’t pronounce it, maybe avoid it. Sadly there are so many sunscreens on the market that claim to be “Natural” yet still have so many nasties. 

The craze about being paraben free has created many products, that are paraben free but not natural. Parabens are a family of related chemicals that are commonly used as preservatives in cosmetic products including sunscreens.  You think you are doing the right thing by purchasing a product that says “paraben free” but that’s only a step in the right direction. Parabens are harmful and scientific studies have shown that these chemicals can disrupt hormones in the body, so we definitely need to avoid them. But that’s just the most common known nasty chemical, there are many more.

Chemical sunscreens protect from the sun by changing UV rays into heat, then releasing that heat from the skin. These products typically include a combination of two to six of the following active ingredients; Oxybenzone, Avobenzone, Octisalate, Octocrylene, Homosalate and Octinoxate. These ingredients are chemical based and can result in hormone disrupting actions along with other indications.

Always read the ingredients, just like you would when buying food to eat, do the same when purchasing products to put on your skin.