Mommy Goes Green

The Environmental Working Group released their annual sunscreen guide. The Safer Sunscreen Guide lists the beach and sports sunscreens, SPF moisturizers, lip balms and makeup that they consider to be the safest compared to other sunscreens.

In addition to the chemicals EWG screens for, they recommend skipping high-SPF products and to avoid vitamin A.

Skip High-SPF Products

• The difference in protection in negligible. For example, SPF 50 protects against 98% of sunburn rays and SPF 100 protects against 99%.
• Users of high SPF products tend to think that they are more protected and stay out in the sun longer and are overexposed.
• High SPF products have a higher concentration of sun-filtering chemicals and may pose a health risk.

Avoid Vitamin A

Retinyl palmitate or retinol, a form of vitamin A, may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions when on the skin in the sun. Unfortunately, over 20% of the sunscreens and makeup products with SPF also have Vitamin A.

My Favorite Sunscreens

The EWG found 184 beach and sport sunscreens met their criteria.

I was surprised to see 4 products from Coppertone although all of them contained Oxtinoxate, the most popular chemical used in sunscreens. It’s ranked a 6 (10 being the most toxic) and it’s noted: Estrogenic effects are noted in laboratory animals as well as disruption of thyroid hormone and brain signaling. Personally, I wouldn’t purchase a sunscreen with this chemical.

I prefer sunscreens with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide (both rated a 2) or a mixture of the two. We’ve been using Badger sunscreen for years, I find it to provide great protection and be cost effective. I also keep California Baby on hand, it’s easy to find locally at Target or Whole Foods.

That being said, there are others that have spent way more time and effort reviewing sunscreens and have come to different conclusions than the EWG on the safest sunscreens. Check out SafeMama’s Guide to Sunscreens – she happens to love Badger, too!

Is Sunscreen a Necessity?

In the future, I’ll be talking about whether or not we will be using sunscreen at all. There are a lot of people in the natural living community who no longer do.

Want to have the list handy while shopping? Download the FREE EWG Sunscreen Guide to your iPhone. Or if you donate $5, they will send you a wallet guide.

When I quit working outside our home three years ago, I had to cut expenses. My personal care products was one of those areas and I’ve been using conventional tampons ever since.

I had forgotten that conventional tampons are bleached with chlorine dioxide. The process is technically “chlorine-free” but it releases dioxin into the environment. Dioxin has been shown to cause cancer. I’m doing whatever I can to stand up to cancer.

Conventional tampons are made with a blend of cotton and rayon. 94% of the cotton grown in the United States is genetically modified (GM). I do my best to keep GM food out of our family’s bodies, somehow I forgot that tampons go in my body, too.

Additionally, more than 10% of the world’s pesticides are used on conventional cotton. It’s hard to believe none of the pesticide residue goes into a tampon.

Tampons typically contain odor neutralizers and fragrances. We know that synthetic fragrance is made with chemicals such as phthalates, linked to hormone disruption and neurotoxins, chemicals that are toxic to the brain.

Sanitary Pads aren’t any Better

The FDA considers sanitary pads to be “medical devices” and therefore, doesn’t require them to have their ingredients listed. They are primarily made from plastic, cotton and wood pulp. Some contain latex, a problem for those with a latex allergy. One sanitary pad is the equivalent of using four plastic bags.

Check out this video from Naturally Savvy to see her light two pads on fire: a conventional pad and an 100% organic pad. The difference is incredible!

Alternatives to Conventional Pads and Tampons

I’m going back to organic cotton tampons. They are made with 100% organic cotton and toxic pesticides are not allowed in organic agriculture. They are bleached with hydrogen peroxide so there is no dioxin released into the environment.

In the past, I’ve used the Natracare, Seventh Generation and Trader Joe’s organic cotton tampons and have been really happy with them.

Reusable cotton pads such as Glad Rags are an option or you can get out your sewing machine and make them yourself. This is one of the most environmentally friendly and affordable options.

The Diva Cup gets amazing reviews and I’ve been considering getting one for awhile. It’s about $25 and tampons are $4. Doing the math, it takes just 6 boxes of tampons to pay for the Diva Cup. It’s a no-brainer for saving money.