How Is My Green Sunscreen Holding Up?
July 11, 2008 by Gabrielle
Filed under Green Living
Um, I’m not sure.
I mean, I’ve spent the week in humid 90+ degree weather at the beach and I’m not burned so in one sense, its fine. I’m just not sure it’s as green as I thought it was.
Confession: I think even the greenest among us are a little hesitant to put our full faith in some fully organic products without having a more potent (more manufactured) back up. Noel at Pretty by Nature just had this discussion about deodorant.
I was afraid the same might be the case for more natural sunscreen. So I came to the beach armed with 2 different kinds of “natural” sunscreen. Meaning, I bought them in the “green and natural” section of Drugstore.com and chose brands that I see frequently in the organic aisles of my local grocery stores.
I had plenty of nice things to say about Kiss My Face’s Sun Spray SPF 30 (cute bottle, lasts long) and Alba Botanica SPF 15 (great scent) until I decided to do one last check for them at the Cosmetics Database, a product of the Environmental Working Group which integrates personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.
Hey! These aren’t so green! In fact, the Alba product is getting a big red not-so-nice sticker. Kiss My Face is faring a little better with a yellow, but still. Here I was slathering my body with what I thought was a better alternative. Not more of the same. Hmmm…
Why the aversion to chemical sunscreens? Daily Tomorrow detailed the dilemma and potential health concerns, including skin cancer and endocrine disruptors, this time last summer.
If you’d rather not make the same assumptions (and, therefore, mistakes) that I made be sure to check out the Sunscreen listings at Cosmetics Database before you pack them. I know I will.
Well, crap. This is totally unrelated to sunscreen, but I visited the site out of curiosity and found that one of the Avon moisturizers I use got a big fat red NINE. I’ve been using Avon religiously since finding out how 1) affordable it is, 2) effective it is, and 3) it was the first major cosmetics company to become cruelty free (back in 1989). Now, scrolling down this list, I’m finding that many of the products I use are in the red. Some are in the yellow. Others, I haven’t found yet.
Gah, the decisions.
Alicia, I so hear you. I spent (no lie) at least 2 hours on the Cosmetics Database this weekend – pretty much running through my bathroom cabinet. I was pleasantly surprised by some of my products, disappointed in others. Some I still haven’t located…