For me, going to the beach is about relaxing, putting my feet in the water, reading a magazine and letting go of the stresses of the day. One day after slathering on my favorite suntan lotion, my skin began to really itch and it just kept getting worse. It had only been an hour and even taking a shower did not reduce the constant itching. I tried using cortizone cream and that only helped a little–I was miserable! This event caused me to take a look at the ingredients that are in my favorite suntan lotion that might be the culprit. Well, I was certainly surprised and I know you will be too with what I’m about to share.
Sunscreens have active two ingredients that are mineral or chemical filters or contain both. The most common sunscreens contain chemical filters that are actively used today. Sunscreen ingredients can include two to six of the following active ingredients: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate. Mineral sunscreens use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. A handful of products combine zinc oxide with chemical filters.
I found that my dermatologist said it is fairly common for people to have sunscreen-related skin allergies due to the chemicals and especially fragrances found in sunscreens, cosmetics and everyday products. What I didn’t know is that some sunscreens penetrate through the skin down to your organs and can have effects on your hormones, thyroid and even men’s testosterone levels. Does your sunscreen contain any of these ingredients? Have you had any of these symptoms/results? EWG tested these chemicals and here are the results.
^Oxybenzone – a hormone disrupting chemical with high rates of skin allergies.
^Methylisothiazolinone – detected in nearly every American; 1-9% skin penetration; weak estrogen, associated with altered birth weight in human studies, a skin allergen and now allowed in leave-on products in Europe.
^Octinoxate (Octylmethoxycinnamate) – skin penetration with moderate rates of skin allergies.
^Homosalate – skin penetration, disrupts estrogen, androgen and progesterone.
^Octisalate – skin penetration, but with rarely reported skin allergies.
^Octocrylene – skin penetration with relatively high rates of skin allergies.
According to EWG, existing data of the nine most commonly used suncscreen chemicals shows great concern over oxybenzone. Oxybenzone, was added to nearly 65 percent of the non-mineral sunscreens in EWG’s 2018 sunscreen database. Oxybenzone can cause allergic skin reactions (Rodriguez 2006). In laboratory studies it is a weak estrogen and has potent anti-androgenic effects (Krause 2012, Ghazipura 2017). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention routinely detects oxybenzone in more than 96 percent of the American population.
When looking for sunscreen try to find lotions that are free from dyes, fragrance, masking fragrance (covers any offensive odors that naturally occur in a product), lanolin, parabens, formaldehyde (can you believe it!) and other preservatives.
Look up or scan the bar code of your favorite sunscreen to see if it is toxic with EWG’s app. You’ll be surprised at what your learn! The website address is: https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/
Wondering who is EWG? “EWG is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. The Environmental Working Group’s mission is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. With breakthrough research and education, we drive consumer choice and civic action.”
“EWG’s groundbreaking research has changed the debate over environmental health. From households to Capitol Hill, EWG’s team of scientists, policy experts, lawyers, communication experts and programmers has worked tirelessly to make sure someone is standing up for public health when government and industry won’t. Through our reports, online databases, mobile apps and communications campaigns, EWG is educating and empowering consumers to make safer and more informed decisions about the products they buy and the companies they support. In response to consumer pressure, companies are giving up potentially dangerous chemical ingredients in their products and improving their practices.”
Get The WORD Out! 