Okay, let’s dispel that concept first. UVA rays are the same whether it’s January or August, so you should consider sunscreen as a year-round effort, just like brushing your teeth.

A couple of motivational facts to increase to your interest in your use and children’s use of sunscreen: One bad burn before the age of 16 and you double your chances of cancer. ("Dear 16 Year Old Me") Okay that’s not good. On the brighter side, a recent study showed daily use of sunscreen reducesskin aging by 24%.

So now you head to your local drugstore to buy sunscreen and suddenly you’re confronted by a vast number of solutions all touting different benefits and the promise of protection. There is definitely a lot of confusion about sunscreen, and it’s probably on purpose.

So we thought, we’d give youthe straight goop on sun protection, so you can focus on having fun in the sun.

There is a lot of momentum around rooting out chemicals in sunscreen that have been linked to coral reef damage. The science relates to a grouping of chemicals that are found in a vast majority of chemical based sunscreens. As such they have recently become banned in Hawaii with other states in various stages of potentially adopting similar measures. Companies that are producing sunscreens that do not contain these chemicals are now making the claim that they are Reef Safe. The most important thing to remember here is that there is No accredited test to verify this yet. Hopefully a test will be created (which does not include animals, remember coral is a living thing), which can make this determination. Mineral sunscreens have posited that because zinc oxide is a mineral that it does not pose potential harm to coral reefs. With that said, we are just as reef safe as any other company presently making the statement, but without an accredited test, no company should be making the claim. Below is the list of ingredients that have been identified as problematic and banned. Again, none of these ingredients have ever been in our products.

• The Washington Post: Hawai'i Is About to Ban Your Favorite Sunscreen to Protect it's Coral Reefs
• CNN: Hawai'i Sunscreen Ban
• NPR: Many Common Sunscreens May Harm Coral Here's What To Use Instead

If you want a “gulp” moment, consider that 25% of the world’s fish population gets their start from coral reefs. And we are facing one of the largest coral reef bleaching events in history.

Just google searching chemical sunscreenand you’ll find a raging debate on ingredient safety and efficacy. We all like to think that chemicals that we interact with on a daily basis are regulated by some aspect of the government. But, the reality is that the cosmetic and chemical industries are highly unregulated. There are 80,000 chemicals in commerce today and only 5 have been removed from use over the last 30 years… Yes if that seems ridiculous, you are correct.

Chemical sunscreens make up the majority of the market unfortunately. They are both cheap and apply clear. Mineral based solutions can cause some amount of whitening during use and are also more expensive. But at what cost is it cheaper. Some mineral base formulations have also taken to using clear zinc or nano particle sized zinc or titanium. We recommend utilizing a non-nano zinc oxide solution. There is just not enough data on the ability for nano particles getting into the blood stream. As such, it is better to embrace the Precautionary principle.

No brand of sunscreen can market to children less than 6 months of age. You should consult with your doctor before applying any sunscreen. Our suggestion would be to ask them about skin patch testing and also bring the ingredients deck. Incidence of allergic responses has skyrocketed over the last two decades. Any sunscreen that is marketing itself as “hypo-allergenic” is engaged in false marketing. There are plenty of natural ingredients (like nuts) that children are allergic too. There is just no way of guarantying allergic response.

In addition to the concern over oxybenzone and some of the other common chemicals that support oxybenzone, avobenzone moved in as a replacement chemical. Unfortunately, it is not common when one chemical is isolated that companies move on to other chemicals which have equally or more deleterious properties. Studies have shown that the combination of sunlight and chlorine water with avobenzone can produce a carcinogenic compound.

• National Institute of Health: Transformation of Avobenzone in Conditions of Aquatic Chlorination and UV-Irradiation
• New York Post: Chlorinated Pools Can Turn Sunscreen Into A Cancerous Toxin

There are now three levels of water resistance. Not water resistant, water resistant (40 minutes) and water resistant (80 minutes). We have all become used to seeing words like “sweatproof” or “waterproof”. The FDA kicked that terminology out. There are now very specific tests. Keep in mind, that if you’re at the beach or pool that you’ll need to reapply after being in the water. And to achieve the SPF factor of your sunscreen you have to reapply every two hours. One application does not keep you at SPF 50 or whatever is on the sunscreen label. And you should be using about 1oz to cover an adult body.

A lot of consumers like sprays and wipes due to the ease of application. There are several problems here though. First, who knows what you and your children are inhaling. Companies should be required to provide proof via studies that the ingredients in the aerosols are safe. Second, a recent study showed that parents were applying 25% of the right amount of sunscreen. SPF is a logarithmic function. So 25% of SPF 50 means you’re getting something closer to SPF 3. People end up spending more time out in the sun, not realizing that they’re getting a heavily reduced protection from UVB. And it is scary to think how much UVA that they are consuming.

So the scary stat is that skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer. There are more incidents of skin cancer than all of the other cancers combined. (Stern 2010)

Bottom line: Protect your skin. After all, it’s your largest organ…