What's In Your Sunscreen?

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You’ve heard me say it thousands of times – wear sunscreen every day. Every single day.

While the summer sun feels nice and warm on our skin, UV radiation is harmful and dangerous. UVB rays cause pigmentation changes in our skin; you’ll notice this as a tan or even a burn, which will ultimately cause damage to our DNA.

UVA rays, through, penetrate deeper into the epidermis and cause free radical damage to our DNA and skin cells, causing premature aging, sun spots, various pigmentation issues, sensitivities, tone/texture damage and may even cause skin cancer. 

As you know, we are big fans of Alumier MD products for our face every single day. The products are safe to use, provide exceptional protection and coverage. Only problem: with such a small product size, we understand wanting to reserve it for your face.

So what do you put on your body? Good question.

I started researching and investigating hundreds of sunscreens on the market. And thanks to some Freedom fans who sent photos of their sunscreens, too.

There’s a lot to learn when it comes to sunscreen, but I will preface this discussion to remind you:

a) I’m not a scientist/doctor/dermatologist and,

b) I don’t know all the answers.

You could spend years researching all the various ingredients in sunscreens, and I’m sure many people have.

So, what do you do? You’re standing at the drug store looking at a huge wall of products with various claims.

First thing you do: READ THE LABELS.

While no two brands are alike, two sunscreens from the same brand also differ in their ingredient breakdown. Read every single one.

Here’s what you want to look for:

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Look for words and phrases like:

  • Broad Spectrum: it means it covers UVA and UVB rays

  • MINERAL-BASED/PHYSICAL: means it sits on your skin

  • Active Ingredients: what are they, and their percentages

  • SPF 30 (at minimum)

  • Be mindful of words like "organic", "natural"

We suggest:

  • wearing a 30+ SPF broad-spectrum sunscreen on your face daily, and on your body when needed.

  • Reapplying every 2 hours of sun exposure, or after swimming or excessive sweating.

  • Only purchasing sunscreens with mineral-based ingredients ie. Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide or Mexoryl

  • Looking for a minimum of 5% of each mineral-based ingredient. This will help the sunscreen to keep stable for a longer period. Some with lower percentages will degrade quickly - you'll need to reapply sooner than 2 hours.

You also need to be aware of Dangerous Chemicals. Now, all chemicals pose some sort of danger. If you are using a sunscreen with chemicals, note that some chemicals pose a higher risk than others.

I consulted many websites and journals when preparing this blog with my team; most of this information sourced from https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/ And https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/index.cfm.

The biggest and scariest offenders – in terms of sunscreen chemicals -- are Oxybenzone and Octinoxate; these two ingredients are known hormone disruptors.

They damage coral reefs and are banned in Hawaii and Key West. There is a possibility they carry carcinogenic properties. Be aware of these two ingredients and avoid products that contain them. Do not put these products on your children; as chemicals, they are known to absorb into the skin. There are four other chemicals that have multiple warnings; for our purposes, we will classify them as low and moderate risk.

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TOMORROW, we will compare notes.

We have prepared a list of over 20 popular sunscreens and broken them down to their active ingredients and what we would put on ourselves and our children.

Until then, take a trip to your sunscreen drawer and see what you discover. Share with us!