The Issue
To exemplify the problem with cosmetics in the U.S., I wanted to talk a bit about sunscreen. All of you moms, sun-lovers, & sensitive-skin types will agree that this is especially important.
Now, you’d think that the supposedly “#1 Pediatrician Recommended Brand” would be a safe bet. Well, that’s because we are all being mislead by labels on packaging with catch phrases that may or may not be completely true.
I bought and have been using Coppertone WaterBabies QuickCover Lotion Spray SPF 50 for Gianna, along with a couple of others, but we’ll just look the CWB one for now. Click the sunscreen name to see it’s safety rating, keeping in mind that the label promotes it as #1 Pediatrician Recommended Brand– you’ll see that it has a very high hazard score!
You can click HERE to see check out the study that the EWG (Environmental Working Group) did on sunscreens, and find links to their recommended brands, and the ones they say we should avoid (like Exhibit A, above).
A Few Product Suggestions
In case you’re wondering, I’ve bought a couple of the Alba Botanica Sun products to try out for now (Aloe Vanilla Mineral Sunscreen SPF 18, which scores a 3 (moderate), and the Kids Sunscreen SPF 32 Water Resistant (I entered this one in the database so its score is not verified yet, but similar ones were rated moderate).
These are okay products according the safety ratings, although they do supposedly have the most important factors which are both UVA/UVB protection, paraben free, and the Aloe one does not contain ultra-fine nanoparticles (which is something to look out for).
**UPDATE (6/10/08)**
We tried out the new sunscreen today. They both worked great for a long walk and a dip in the pool. The Mineral SPF 18 goes on pretty thick & white but that is the price you pay for no nanoparticles sinking into your skin. The Kids’ SPF 32 one rubbed in nicely and protected Gigi great. My only caveat with the 18 is be careful with your clothes- it got all over the edges of my black swimsuit & blank tank top. I’m going to either have to be more careful, or put it on before my clothes. 
The 32 didn’t seem to have that problem, probably because it’s not a mineral sunscreen.
Dr. Greene, author of Raising Baby Green, uses Baby Avalon Natural sunscreen (I chose to try the Alba Sun ones first because they were on sale!), but what I really want to try is any of the California Baby sunscreens, which are a little more widely available (Target, Babies ‘r’ us ( so I heard), diapers.com, etc.) and score very low on the hazard rating. However, apparently everyone else wants to try them too, because they are currently unavailable everywhere, even directly from California Baby. But I will definitely try them out when they come back to the shelf.
**UPDATE (10/26/09)**
We love the California Baby sunscreen. While it is a little hard to rub in, it works great and is extremely low on the hazard scale. Lately though, I’ve been going with Blue Lizard Sensitive, which can be found at CVS for around $10. It rubs in a little better than California Baby and is a little cheaper, while only being slightly higher on the Skin Deep scale (a 2 vs. a 1).
It’s hard to just throw away products that you spent money on, and I haven’t completely done this yet with stuff I use on myself, but with sunscreen I felt that it was worthwhile– they are supposed to protect us from skin cancer, but are they inadvertently exposing us to other forms of cancer, or other medical conditions? A friend of mine told me that she just did the same thing and her husband pointed out, okay, so we’re throwing away like $35 in sunscreen. Is that $35 really going to matter down the road if we’re exposing our daughter to dangerous stuff? And to quote my “#1 research assistant” & friend Sarah, you either “pay now or pay later.”
Side note: EWG also did a study on children’s personal care products which has a handy printable guide with recommendations & buying guidelines. See it HERE. If you are a little skeptical of this, read this article from Fox News.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, a little question and you did all this research! Good job.
I will let you know if I see any CA baby stuff around, it looks like there has been huge demand after last summmers media blitz.
Also, I am going to check out blue lizard for Cassia and me. I have never used suncream over 15 because of the chemicals, it is good to know that I can find natural alternatives now.
Em- your question came at a perfect time as I was already going on a crazy research rampage.
But it did spur me on to even more research on the sunscreen– or should I say suncream– funny aussie vocab difference I didn’t know about! 
Be sure to leave a comment here when you try our the Blue Lizard!
So I just returned my Velocity moisturizer because it burned my face and had an ingredient list longer than the dictionary. I just checked it out and it scored a 7 in the Hazard scale! My alternative was not much better (I think its around a 6…Although a new product so not yet rated)..But thanks for the info, I love the skin deep website!
FYI – target here has CA baby sunSCREEN in stock $15.99 for a tube.
Hey lady, thanks for the post! Isaac has fairly mild sensitive skin- via his PED, and we’ve always have been trying to use skin products with few ingredients and that contain words we can pronounce! We were at the zoo last week and a friend let me use some Baby Aveeno for sensitive skin, and I just used a little bit on his face…when I was putting it on, I thought to myself, “don’t do it.” Well I did, and it didn’t take long for his cheeks to get slightly bumpy and red. Later on that night, his poor little cheeks were SO incredibly raised with bumps and bright red, I actually thought about calling the Doc. He would cry hysterically anytime we touched his face. It took literally 5 days for the redness to almost dissapear. I was furious! NEVER AGAIN AVEENO!!!!!!!!!! I’ve been thinking about contacting them about their crappy product….
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