The Low Down On Green Living
July 7th, 2008
Safe Sunscreens and Bug Repellants
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It’s sunburn and bug bite season, and that means we’re all slathering and spray our skin with all kinds of potions. But what is in these potions? Are they safe for our bodies? Are they even effective? As always, it takes some digging to get to the answer.
Sunscreens
As for so many things related to personal care products, I turned to the Environmental Working Group to find their recommendations. If you are not yet familiar with the EWG and their invalable, exhaustive research into the chemicals found in cosmetics, shampoos, lotions and so much more, please check them out!
Here is the EWG’s recent pronouncement on sunscreens: “In a new investigation of 952 name-brand sunscreens, the Environmental Working Group found that 4 out of 5 sunscreen products offer inadequate protection from the sun, or contain ingredients with significant safety concerns. Leading brands were the worst offenders: None of market leader Coppertone’s 41 sunscreen products met EWG’s criteria for safety and effectiveness, and only 1 of 103 products from Banana Boat and Neutrogena, the second- and third-largest manufacturers, are recommended by EWG.”
Alright, so who did the EWG recommend for efficacy and safety? Brands you probably have not heard of! California Baby products fared very well with its sunblock sticks. Lavera sunscreen with SPF 40+ also scored high. Badger Balm sunscreens, Vanicream, Soleo Organics, and Sun Science Sport Formula were also at the top of the list. To see the rest of the recommended list, click here.
On the other side of the scale, the worst of the worst were Iman Time Control, Rachel Perry Oil Free Moisturizer, Skin Simple, Australian Gold, St. Ives, Dermalogica, Alba Hawaiian, Elizabeth Arden, and many many more. To find out where your sunscreen ranks, just click on the link above and search by brand.
Bug Repellants
Most big-name commercial bug repellants contain DEET, or N-diethyl-meta-toluamide. While DEET is quite effective against critters, DEET has been found to have negative cognitive impacts in animal studies. It also causes skin rashes and irritation in many humans. DEET is especially dangerous for small children and should not be used on infants.
Fortunately there are a number of safe alternatives! Essential oils from plant like citronella, lemongrass, peppermint and cedar are all good bug repellants. Again, California Baby makes some very safe bug sprays, as does Badger Balm (both noted above in the sunscreen category as well). Aubrey Organics has a product titled GONE! You can also check out Repel Lemon Eucalyptus insect repellent. According to Repel, the product has proved effective against mosquitoes, deer ticks and other insects for up to six hours.
What have you tried that has worked for you? And have a safe, fun summer!
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Comments
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July 8th, 2008 at 8:36 am
check out the products from burts bee’s
http://www.burtsbees.com
Sunscreen and Bug Repellent
both work really WELL!!
Merissa
July 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I recently bought Cutter’s Lemon Eucalyptus bug repellent. Still deciding if it works well. Seems to do the job, but you need to reapply more often than the “6 hour” protection they advertise. Smells strong, but good.
Dr. Mohamed Nidal AJ Ashoor
July 8th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Dear Sir & Madam ; I Would like to thank your Great Organization and other Working In this Field which, I call good people trying to bring back earth to safety, Thank you all for the Great Jop you doing, but I have a small problem why not treating the original source and cause, What we doing is a Damage control, some time this plan need some more words and other Organization, and new one with use this Massive Media, we have in our hand and we should shout more, Give more and Iam willing, to stop these G-Countries to play with Human what ever RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, I am sure we can do it.
Yours Sincerely
Dr. Mohamed Nidal AJ Ashoor
PS.I love your Site full of good Information.
mamajlu
July 8th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I use vanilla on my kids. 50% vanilla and 50% water in a spray bottle. It needs to be applied more often than DEET products and could discolor whites, but it is much less expensive than other options and is safe for face and hands of even babies
Jenn
July 16th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Thanks for this Jessica-it’s really the topic of the season. When you hear that coral reefs are dying due to high amounts of tourists’ sunscreen in the water, you just have to make a change. EWG does a great job, there’s also a great natural sunscreen review on eCo Times.
http://www.econsciousmarket.com/eco-times/sunscreen-review/
sue ingram
January 14th, 2011 at 8:48 am
EWG provides some great information about what sunscreens are considered non-toxic versus others that are toxic. However, there are some elements not covered deeply enough in their assessments and one needs to be aware of this.
Some of the ingredients that are part of the label of sunscreen products are given a zero label - i.e. considered free of any toxicity. When you look a little deeper you’ll find that it’s because there is little or no research done by the EWG team. ie they label it with a 100% data gap and then zero rate it, which is the lowest and best non-toxic label.
This isn’t surprising really when you consider the extent of the database and the volume of work required to accumulate all this detail. Plus the fact that they are a non-profit organisation. Their work is invaluable in my opinion - especially if they can keep it non-politicised. In fact, the more like them the better!
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