Unless it’s raining outside, it is very rare during the summer if my daughter and I are not outside. I’m sure most moms can say the same thing. Between swimming, parks, bike rides, and daily walks, our kiddos spend most of the time outdoors in the summer time. That’s great! Kids are becoming more and more sedentary, and we need to get them out and exercising their little bodies.
While you do want to get them outside as often as you can while the weather is nice, the powerful sun on their skin is always a concern. It’s always been tough for me, since I want to keep Tatum’s skin protected, but I don’t want to be slathering harsh chemicals all over her skin that may be doing more harm than good. In the regular sunscreen that you may pick up while you’re at the grocery store or drug store, there can be several ingredients that could potentially be harmful to your body. Titanium oxide is a big one among most sunscreens, but according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, it may be a carcinogen. Nanoparticles are also a concern, considering they are so small and there could be an increased risk of absorption through the skin.
A quick search in Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Database will show you what ingredients are in your sunscreen, what they can do to your body, and how the sunscreen rates on a scale of 1 -10. 1 being very low hazard and 10 being high hazard. If you don’t have the time to search, I’ve taken the work out of it for you and listed my favourite sunscreens that are safe for you and your children, but will still protect their skin. Seeing as today is the Summer Solstice, it’s perfect timing to decide which sunscreen you and your family will be using all summer long. Take a look!
Alba Botanica Broad Spectrum SPF 45 – $10.99
I love this sunscreen for long days spent outside. It doesn’t require a ton of reapplying. We actually have this one at home right now. It lasts for a long time and absorbs well. They have high standards for their product as well: No animal testing, artificial colors, parabens, phthalates, oxybenzone, PABA, nano-technology, vitamin A, sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium methyl sulfate.
Badger Broad Spectrum SPF34 – $15.99
This is my favourite sunscreen for when you and your family are spending time pool-side. It’s water-resistant, moisturizing on the skin and has a nice light, fresh lavender scent. The ingredients in the product are biodegradable and the packaging is both BPA and phthalate-free as well as made from consumer recycled #2 plastic. They do not test on animals, practice nano-technology, no oxybenzone, octisalate, octinoxate, avobenzone, or added vitamin A.
The Honest Company honest sunscreen – $13.95
Jessica Alba, founder of The Honest Company, has been generating a lot of buzz lately for her baby and kids organic and natural based product line, and for good reason! My favourite selections from her line so far are the bath and body products. Bath and body products are generally full of toxic chemicals, and can be extremely expensive. The Honest Company’s products are more affordable than most organic/natural bath and body products, and how can you not love the packaging? This sunscreen is also water-resistant, uses zinc-oxide, as well as being vegan, petrochemical-free, non-comedogenic, non-nano, and biodegradable.
Seventh Generation Broad Spectrum baby sunscreen SPF 30 – $13.99
This is another great option for your babies as well as the whole family. No chemical sunscreens, no gluten, parabens or PABA. It’s hypo-allergenic lotion is soothing to skin and with aloe and sunflower seed oil, you’ll be happy to slather this sunscreen on your skin!
Do you have any other favourite organic sunscreen finds?
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