Sunscreen

The most recent list consists of sunscreens that:

• Ranges in price from $10 to $20
• Received “best” ratings from the EWG sunscreen guide
• Are widely available in mainstream retailers and box store

Most Toxic Sunscreens to Avoid

Children are more susceptible to certain toxic chemicals during development and because blistering sunburns early in life can lead to an increased risk of skin cancer down the line.  That’s why it’s even more vital for children and babies to avoid the most toxics sunscreens. While other brands received low scores, too, here are some of the children and baby sunscreen products with the worst ratings. Note: It’s not a complete list. (8)

Worst Sunscreens for Kids

• Banana Boat Kids Continuous Spray Sunscreen, SPF 100
• Banana Boat Kids Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 100
• Coppertone Water Babies Foaming Lotion Sunscreen, SPF 70
• Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Continuous AccuSpray, SPF 70
• Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Continuous Spray, SPF 50
• Coppertone Wet’n Clear Kids Sunscreen Continuous Spray, SPF 50+
• Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
• CVS Health Kids Clear Sunscreen Spray, SPF 50 & 70
• Equate Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70
• Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby Sunscreen, SPF 60+
• Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Stick Sunscreen, SPF 70+
• Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Sunscreen Spray, SPF 70+
• Up & Up Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
• Up & Up Kids Sunscreen Spray, SPF 50

And here are some of the other worst overall offenders scoring in the Red Zone (7-10) for major safety concerns:

• Panama Jack Sport Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 85
• Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunscreen, SPF 60+
• CVS Health Sun Lotion, SPF 60
• Up & Up Sport Sunscreen Spray, SPF 15, 30 & 50
• Panama Jack Sunscreen Continuous Spray, SPF 15, 30 & 70
• NO-AD Sun Care Sport Continuous Spray Sunscreen, SPF 50
• Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunscreen Spray, SPF 50 & 85+
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunscreen Spray, SPF 30
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen, SPF 70, 85+ & 100+
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen, SPF 70, 85+ & 100+

This is by no means a complete list. Here’s a list of the sunscreens rated from worst to best and from best to worst.

Key Findings in EWG’s Sunscreen Report

• About half the sunscreen products sold in the U.S. wouldn’t pass the more stringent European standards because they don’t filter enough UVA rays.
• Despite strong evidence to show sunscreens can even prevent skin cancer, it’s still legal for most sunscreens to make cancer prevention claims.
• Nearly 67 percent of sunscreen products reviewed by EWG either didn’t work adequate to protect from UV rays or they contained dangerous ingredients. Some of the most worrisome ingredients include oxybenzone, one of the known endocrine disruptors, and retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A that may harm skin and possibly lead to skin tumors.
• You can sign this EWG petition to get oxybenzone out of sunscreens.
• Oxybenzone is in widespread use in American chemical-based sunscreens. Lab testing shows skin penetration rates of 1 to 9 percent. That’s concerning, given the fact that it acts like an estrogen in the body and is linked to abnormal sperm function in animal studies and endometriosis in studies of women. Oxybenzone also acts as a skin allergen in a significant number of people. (So does methylisothiazolinone, a common sunscreen preservative found in 94 products surveyed.) Thankfully, the state of Hawaii has the opportunity to ban oxybenzone in sunscreen due to its ability to bleach and kill coral reefs. Hawaii Gov. David Yutaka Ige has yet to sign the bill into law. (9)
• From 2007 to 2018, there has been a 41 percent rise in mineral sunscreens in the United States. These sunscreens tend to block UVA better than chemical sunscreen ingredients and also tend to be rated safer on EWG’s sunscreen database.
• In EWG’s 2010 review, about 40 percent of sunscreens contained vitamin A ingredients. This type of ingredient can react with UV rays and increase the risk of skin tumors, according to government animal testing data. According to the 2018 EWG Sunscreen Guide, the sunscreen industry adds vitamin A to about 12 percent of beach and sport sunscreens, 15 percent of moisturizers with SPF and 5 percent of all SPF-rated lip products.
• Scientists don’t know for sure if sunscreen helps prevent melanoma. In fact, as EWG notes in its executive summary of the sunscreen guide, “Sun exposure appears to play a role in melanoma, but it is a complex disease for which many questions have not been answered. One puzzling fact: Melanomas do not usually appear on parts of the body that get daily sun exposure.”
• Be wary of ultra high SPF claims. There are more of them today than several years ago. The U.S. hasn’t approved modern sunscreen ingredients that would do a better job of broad-spectrum protection. Because of this, UVA protection is often lacking in SPF 70+ products. In other developed countries, SPF is usually capped at 50.
• I suggest steering clear of spray sunscreens. It’s very difficult to apply in a thickness that will provide adequate protection, plus, it increases the risk you’re sending sunscreen chemicals directly into your lungs (and the lungs of everyone sitting around you.)
• Nearly 30 percent of sunscreens tested were spray sunscreens in 2018, up from about 20 percent in 2007. These sprays pose inhalation risk and are hard to actually apply correctly. (Even the Food and Drug Administration raised concerns about spray sunscreens, although the agency hasn’t banned them yet.)
• FDA banned the use of misleading sunscreen bottle claims like “waterproof” and “sweatproof” in 2011, but Lunder says other misleading marketing terms are still in use. These include things like “sun shield” and “age shield.” Lunder says these marketing terms imply full and complete protection, reassuring someone that it’s all they need to protect their skin. That is simply not true. (10)
• If you avoid the sun, get your vitamin D levels checked at your health care provider. A growing number of the population is deficient, thanks to sunscreens and spending more time indoors.

See Dr. Mercola’s Safe Sunscreen Guide HERE

Try Dr. Axe’s Homemade Sunscreen Recipe:

How to Avoid Too Much Sun (Without Sunscreen)

Getting some sun exposure is vital for good health because it helps your body create vitamin D. There are multiple ways to get vitamin D, but your best bet is to get it from standing in the sun or eating vitamin D-rich foods. (11) In fact, sitting in the sun unexposed for about 10 minutes helps your body create roughly 10,000 units of natural vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to certain cancers, autoimmune diseases, heart disease depression, osteoporosis and many other ailments, so it’s important to get enough. Like almost anything, though, you can get too much of a good thing and want to make sure you avoid sunburns.

You should consider sunscreen your last resort to prevent sunburns, though. In fact, there’s no clear evidence that using sunscreens actually prevents skin cancer — including in the best sunscreens — and some ingredients may actually fuel skin cancer. (12)

See also:

• Understanding and treating a second-degree burn

Sources: Mercola.com; DrAxe.com;

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