How to Wear Sunscreen Safely?
You definitely know that tanning in the sun for hours on end is a terrible habit for your skin, and you also have learned to avoid tanning beds and, in general, treat your skin carefully. But you have also been taught to slather on sunscreen whenever you leave the house. Many makeup products even include SPF to make application a no-brainer. The problem? Not all sunscreens are created equally, and the wrong choice can cause considerable health hazards without really protecting you from those dreaded UV rays at all.
The Presence of Dangerous Chemicals
Have you ever wondered how sunscreens work; how a lotion can deflect all of the damage the sun is capable of doing? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is often the use of chemicals. Studies now show that chemicals in many traditional sunscreen brands have been linked to cancer, hormone disruptions, and other very undesirable issues.
Since you apply sunscreen right on your skin, it’s often absorbed and released into the bloodstream. If the sunscreen reacts poorly to sunlight, it breaks down and releases free radicals into the body that try their best to cause disease and cell deformities. Health experts advocate antioxidants so heavily since antioxidants battle free radicals to keep you healthy. So it doesn’t seem very productive to use a sunscreen that causes challenges those antioxidants further.
Other sunscreens enter the body and work like estrogen to completely disrupt hormones and create a dangerous imbalance. While one or two applications can’t cause lasting damage, continual exposure to these chemicals can create hormonal problems like thyroid issues and early puberty. If that danger isn’t enough to make you leery of regular sunscreen, common sunscreen chemicals called oxybenzone, methoxycinnamate, and para amino benzoic acid (PABA) have been linked to cancer.
Staying Safe in the Sun
It’s scary and disappointing to learn that something that should have kept you safe can actually place you in more harm, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors all summer. Find a mineral sunscreen free from the chemicals listed above. Mineral sunscreens don’t breakdown in sunlight, so none of the ingredients will end up in your blood. Kiss My Face and Aubrey Organics offer safe sunscreen options that block UVA and UVB rays from the sun without putting you or your children in danger.