What’s In Your Sunscreen?

As a born and bred California native, it goes without saying that I have had a love affair with the beach and sunshine from the day I was born.  

I learned to walk on the beach, and my dad would take me to watch the sunset after dinner almost every day.  I was a tried and true beach baby, and like most coastal LA natives, that affair is a ride or die one.  

I remember going to the beach after school and on weekends with my friends…which also included the ritual of  dousing ourselves in baby oil and spraying Sun-In in our hair.  Thinking back on that makes me shudder….we were roasting ourselves like pigs at a luau, but when you’re a teen, the last thing on your mind is skin cancer or premature aging.  

…and I’m not gonna lie, I loved getting cinnamon toasty skinned and Baywatch highlighted.  Pam Anderson and Yasmin Bleeth had nothin’ on us…well, except for silicone and the Hoff.

This insouciance about the sun lasted well into my early 30’s although I did attend University in Portland, Oregon which means I was devoid of contact with the sun for approximately 10 months out of every year for four years.  So, I gave my skin a break, grew pale, and kept on ignoring anything having to do with UVA or UVB rays and what they could potentially do to me.

Ignorance was bliss.  

Shortly after graduation, however, I was scouted by Elite Miami and off I went…..my days in the sun were about to grow exponentially.  You see, modeling in Miami is basically one season-long tanning session.  

You walk to all of your castings in near perfect tropical winter weather. The castings are mostly all held poolside or in the front patio of hotels, as clients want as much of a vacation while they are working as they can get…and who can blame them!  Then you shoot 4-12 hours a day on the beach, the Everglades, parks, pools, basically anywhere outdoors. SUN. SUN. SUN.  

On the days we weren’t shooting or going on go-sees, we’d hang out on the beach, play volleyball, sit at outdoor cafes….again, sun all day every day and I rarely, if ever, used any sunscreen.  Being as I’m half Cuban, I really don’t burn and turn pretty brown….so I never felt obligated to slather on skin protection.  I loved being tan!  

As a matter of fact, when I’d go to Milan after my season was over in Miami the clients there appreciated my tan which I think helped me work consistently despite my being 5’7″ (which is the minimum height for professional models)….”che bella bronzatura” is what I’d hear and it just made me want to get back to the nearest sun lounger to keep things the right shade.

Although those traveling days are over, I still love the way a good, natural tan looks, and I still believe (know) that some exposure to the sun on a daily basis without protection is important for proper Vitamin D absorption….but I am older and wiser now. This means I kind of remember to use sunscreen if I’m spending more than half an hour outside fully exposed to sunlight.  

I’m at a point in my life where I want to fight aging as gracefully and Botox free as possible, which means I need to keep the sun from turning me into a piece of leather on legs.  Skin cancer is a whole other ball of wax….which has led me to make sure that the products I use to protect myself, and my kids of course, are non-toxic.  

If we’re concerned about the sun causing skin cancer, shouldn’t we be concerned with the chemicals we are slathering on our skin being carcinogenic as well?  

Yes. We. Should.

Again, it wasn’t until I had kids that I really started to read labels on stuff like sunscreen.  There are so many brands that cater to babies and kids, brands most of us grew up with, that because of their familiarity we assume are safe. Right? Wrong.  

Once I went down into the rabbit hole of skincare ingredients, I knew I’d have to shell out a few extra bucks to ensure that my kids and I were getting the safest sun protection available.  The cute bottles with the puppies, and kids frolicking in the sunset would have to stay put on their shelves.  

Want to know why?  

Well, as with any other skincare product, whatever ingredients are in our sunscreens and sunblocks are being absorbed by our skin and entering our bodies and bloodstreams. You put bad stuff on your skin, you’re putting bad stuff into your blood, organs, etc.

Most commercially prepared and sold sun protection formulas use chemicals to filter out the sun. Depending on the brand, these include a combination of several different chemicals such as oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, and octinoxate.

The FDA has approved 17  sunscreen ingredients, 15 of which are chemicals, and 9 of which have been shown to be endocrine disruptors.  Lab studies have shown that the use of these chemicals, with oxybenzone being the most popular, can cause significant hormone disruption, and can be detected in urine, blood and breast milk several days after application or exposure.  

Research has also shown that young boys with high levels of oxybenzone exposure have significantly lower levels of testosterone than boys who were not exposed.

Along with hormone disruption, the chemicals in sunscreen have also been attributed to skin allergies, inflammation, and irritation, as well as potential carcinogenic effects.  Knowing what’s in our sun protection gives us the option as consumers to find safer alternatives.  So knowledge is no longer power, it’s also health.  

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the safest forms of sunscreen are mineral based ones such as zinc oxide.  These mineral based sunscreens are derived from rocks that have been ground up into a very fine consistency and actually last longer and need to be reapplied less than their chemical counterparts.  

Now, before you start worrying about looking like a 70’s lifeguard with the white zinc oxide covered nose, there are so many natural alternatives now that are virtually invisible and yet still mineral based and much safer than that other toxic junk.

So, if you’re worried about saving your skin from cancer, and the damaging effects of overexposure to the sun, definitely throw away the name brand sunscreens and go for something your body will find much more user-friendly.  I’ve added some of my favorites below that are wholesome, easy to use, and not overpriced.

Now you can go on to enjoying the rest of your Spring….and Summer!

** As an affiliate marketer I receive a small percentage of any sales made via links on my website.

Header photo by Ethan Robertson @unsplash