I have a confession to make. I’m a sun junkie. After surviving decades of Midwestern winters, I’d given myself the permission to indulge in the sun sans sunscreen. Gasp!
My justification was that my vices were few and didn’t I deserve to have sun kissed skin?
But, as I round the bend of my late 30’s I’ve realized as someone who takes care of her body and skin from the outside in it’s time to focus on caring more for it from the outside in, too.
Now that I’ll be slathering up this summer, I want to make sure that it’s toxin free because being conscious about what we put in our bodies is just as important as what we put on our bodies. Toxins enter the body not only from the food we eat, but also the water we drink, the air we breathe and the products we use.
We’ve pulled together cliff notes on what to look for in a sunscreen, what to avoid, as well as our favorite brands on the market today.
To help us break down this topic, we’ve looked to our friends at the Environmental Working Group for some answers.
So what is best to look for in a sunscreen?
Things to avoid:
• Sunscreens that are sprayable
• SPF’s above 50
• Oxybenzone
• Retynil palmitate
• Parabens
Things to look for:
• Mineral-based lotion sunscreens i.e. contain zinc oxide
• SPF’s between 15 and 50
• UVA and UVB protection
• Fragrance free
We also did some product testing with the staff at the Conscious Cleanse to take the guesswork out of what can be a confusing endeavor. Below is a list of what we consider the best of the best.
We’d love to hear more from you in the comments sections below. Do you have a toxic free sunscreen that you think should make our list? Please share!
With a healthy sun kissed glow,
OUR FAVORITE SUNSCREENS
1. Goddess Garden Every Day Natural Sunscreen
I love supergoop! http://www.supergoop.com
Unrefined coconut oil is a natural sunscreen. Some people also add lavender or carrot seed oil. I haven’t got to use it in intense sun yet but others say it has worked. Don’t get refined coconut oil though or it doesn’t work
Thank you so much for the mention Jo! We all want to get out and enjoy the sun… safely :)
@Jan You need to be careful using coconut oil as your only sunscreen. At best it has an SPF8, which is a factor of protection against sun burn causing UVB rays. We can’t find any research that indicates coconut oil protects you from melanoma causing UVA rays, which don’t burn you, but can be much more harmful in the long run.