Natural vs. Chemical Sunscreen

     At first I was going to write this post about my favorite natural sunscreen that we use for my family. I was going to write why I use natural and how to switch from the popular brands we all used growing up. However, as always, I did my do-diligence and started researching, which went on for hours. I found so much mixed information and I decided to just give you what I found and my personal experiences. When we started using our current sunscreen, it was because my kids had a chemical burn reaction to a sunscreen a couple years ago and it freaked me out. I decided, like everything else in my life, to go natural. There were some hits and some epic failures. Last year I bought a very popular brand Garden Goddess sunscreen. I know people that use it and love it! There was a sale so I bought SIX bottles of this stuff. I bought the spray one so I could just spray my kids and husband as they were running away and at least give them some protection. Well, I put it on myself first… here’s where the fail happened. I turned white, paste white. I had spray marks all over that wouldn’t rub in at all. I went to wash it off and it was extremely waterproof (good thing usually) but it stayed on me like glue. My husband and friends started laughing so hard, I reflected in every picture, I was so pasty! My husband tried it and the same thing happened to him, we threw all the bottles away. FAIL!

We bought a few other brands that were ok but I would either breakout or it had to be put on every hour which was unrealistic. Finally I started using Alba. I started with the lotion and then tried the spray. We love it! It’s not sticky, you don’t turn white and I don’t breakout. It works well for us. For this post I decided to look it up on the EWG app. If you don’t know what the EWG is, it’s the Environmental Working Group who are activists that specialize in research and advocacy with toxic chemicals, drinking water pollutants and corporate accountability. They have an easy to use app where you type in or scan your product and they will show you the rating, 1 being the best and 10 being the worst. I typed in Alba spray and it is a 4. Not terrible but I assumed since it’s natural, it would be like a 2 right? No. What actually is a 2 though is Banana Boat Kids 50 lotion! Well, knock me over with a feather haha. So, everything I thought I knew just went down the drain. I kept looking through all the listed sunscreens and I found more and more “non-natural” brands. I decided to look up natural vs. Chemical sunscreen. Natural uses zinc-oxide which deflects the UV rays. Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing UV rays and changes them into heat and releases them from your skin. Interesting right?! I always assumed they both just blocked the UV rays and that was it. I also learned that not one is more efficient than others, however the natural one is usually not used properly because it is so thick and we don’t like looking like ghosts so we don’t put the “proper” amount on to be shielded, which leads to burns.

     What I recommend is, download the EWG app on your phone, look up your favorite sunscreen and see how it scores, try to stay 4 and under. Also, some reefs and locations have banned the chemical Oxybenzone and Octinoxate from being sold or used in their area because they believe it is destroying the coral reefs. Hawaii is the first state in the U.S. to actually ban the sale of sunscreen that contains these ingredients. Coppertone Water babies actually contains these ingredients but the Banana Boat one I mentioned above does not. If you are going to travel to the beach, I would personally double check your sunscreen to protect the marine life and beautiful reefs.

The goal here is keep our skin safe and that means to make sure your sunscreen protects against UVA and UVB rays and is waterproof. If you are curious about the rest, look it up and see what your favorite sunscreen scores!

I also wanted to give you 2 great options for face sunscreen. I brake out easily so I wanted one that was non-greasy and I could wear under makeup daily. I use retinol and AHA so I need to make sure that I really protect my face. These are my two top brands that I absolutely love!!

Exuviance was one I wore all last year. It is a natural sunscreen with zinc-oxide as the main ingredient, it scores as a 2 on EWG. It has a very slight tint to it and absorbs immediately. Even my husband was impressed that you couldn’t feel it. You only need a couple drops of it and it covers your whole face. It does not make me breakout at all. It is pricy but the bottle lasted me the whole year. If you want a daily sunscreen that won’t break you out and is matte under your makeup, this is a great buy! I bought mine here: https://www.ulta.com/sheer-daily-protector-spf-50?productId=xlsImpprod12101007

La Roche-Posay is one I just bought a little over a month ago. I thought I would try this because it was recommended to me and is a little cheaper then the Exuviance. This one is chemical based but scores as a 3 on EWG. I like it a lot so far. It is very similar to the other but is white (goes on thin and clear). I haven’t had any issues with it yet after a month of use. My husband hates greasy lotions so he refuses to wear sunscreen unless we are at the lake. I had him try this and now he wears it daily. It really does feel like nothing is on. A little goes a long way like the other listed above. I bought mine here  https://www.amazon.com/Roche-Posay-Anthelios-Ultra-Light-Sunscreen/dp/B002CML1XE/ref=sr_1_3?crid=24QR3MHNU36ZP&keywords=la-roche+posay+sunscreen&qid=1558044404&s=gateway&sprefix=la-ro%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-3

     If you forget to put on sunscreen or just don’t put it on enough like most of us do, you may get a nice ol’ burn! This stuff is by far the best stuff we have ever used to heal your burns. My husband even swears by it and he hates anything sticky. It is All Good Goop, you can buy it here https://www.amazon.com/All-Good-Organic-Ointment-Blisters/dp/B003MUQRWU/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=all%2Bgood%2Bgoop&qid=1558044483&s=gateway&sr=8-3&th=1

If you get burned bad and want it to go away in 2 days and minimal peeling, use this at night before bed and in the morning for 2 to 3 days. It is also amazing for cracked heels, hands, cuticles and cuts. I love it!! I also did a happy accident by rubbing this on my skin after I put peppermint oil in my diffuser. A little bit of oil was still on my hands which mixed with the salve. It gave an instant cooling effect! If you have any peppermint oil around, I would put the salve on your hand and a drop of essential oil and mix it around on your burn. You don’t have to but this felt so good on my hot skin!

I hope this helped you with picking a sunscreen for this summer! It doesn’t have to be a daunting task. It all depends on what your concerns are and the EWG app can really help with that. Ultimately something that protects your skin from the sun is better than nothing!! I can’t wait for all of our fun water adventures with the fam this year!!