When trying to find which sunscreen is the safest, you must consider two possible factors:
- Which is the safe sunscreen spray for you and your family?
- Which is the safest application for the environment?
You may not know that many common sunscreen products are unsafe for the environment and some have links to the death of coral and other marine life. If these products can end the lives of such magnificent and hearty creatures, imagine the risks they might also pose to humans! This is why we must all seek a safe sunscreen spray or lotion when heading outdoors.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes annual reports about different products and created a guide to safer sunscreens in the year 2017. They said that there were many problems with sunscreens, including that they can be misleading about their level of sun production by offering imperfect amounts of it and are full of health-impacting chemicals.
When looking for a safe sunscreen spray, you want one that avoids the chemical filter method of protecting the skin. This is because they are a toxic blend of materials and though they can block some UV rays, they mimic hormones once they soak into the skin. These chemicals can trigger allergies, which should raise red flags as we should be applying sunscreen regularly when outdoors for extended periods of time.
Even more worrying is the fact that studies have determined almost 96% of the population has been exposed to chemical filters and that one of the filters has been found in breast milk, meaning it makes its way throughout the entire body.
If you want to find the safest product, the EWG suggests you ask yourself several key questions:
- Will this penetrate my skin and make its way into living tissue?
- Will it have an impact on my hormone levels?
- Does it trigger allergies?
- Are there other concerns about toxicity?
Though we are often told to look at how much SPF a spray has or how long it lasts on the skin, those standards must change. It is vitally important that we all start to determine a safe sunscreen spray from a dangerous one. Reef Safe Suncare by Tropical Seas specializes in sunscreen products safe for humans and the environment and are a good choice for you, too.
