20/07/10 – Green Sun Cream
Theres an image….
I have been liberally slapping sun cream on to my two small fry for a few months now, and I only bothered to read the packet yesterday. Without being too much of a luddite scaremonger, I have been trying not put anything on my skin that I wouldn’t put in my mouth given that it all gets absorbed in a similar fashion. (I appreciate there is a bit more science to it than that, but its just how I feel about it, ok?)
Anyway – the list of ingredients I would NOT put in my mouth was a lot longer than the list I would. I read up a bit more about it and have only just realised that most sun creams work by performing a chemical reaction that absorbs or reflects the harmful rays. Some of the most allergic people are know are at their most allergic when exposed to sun cream, and it kind of makes sense when you see what the cream is designed to do.
Here are some alternatives that provide a physical barrier to the sun’s rays rather than a chemical one…
Currently being promoted by Jerry Hall and her daughter this is made from Zinc oxide and has all the protection with none of the chemicals. Invisible Zinc from Selfridges
This one from Green People has a few more chemicals in it but as many as possible are certified organic and look edible.
This one looks better for targeted application and they also have some funky zinc oxide balms in little tins – handy for streaking across the cheeks before shouting a Braveheart type scream and running at strangers.
Posted: July 27th, 2010 under Raising Children, green.