coconut oil as sunscreen?!?!?! - Page 2

[aja-belly]

Originally Posted by abimommy

Neem does make a good insecticide though I use it when one would use spray on bug stuff.

i hadn't heard that. does it smell awful?

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by aja-belly

i hadn't heard that. does it smell awful?

It does smell awful...like garlicy sulfur. I would recommend adding scent.

[Bri'sgirl]

Just don't use neem oil when you're pregnant, because it can cause miscarriages.

I've always heard that pure virgin coconut oil has a natural spf of 4. I'll look for links and references when I have a chance.

[JessicaS]

It doesn't have any.

Cocoa butter has negligible sunscreen properties and Avocado butter has some natural sunscreen properties (I think about spf 4? Not really enough to recommend it for that purpose)

Sure, coconut oil is good for your skin, hair and body but it contains NO sunscreen properties.

If you are looking for safe sunscreen I like using the Cosmetic Safety Database.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/wor...oducts&start=0

[DevaMajka]

moving to natural body care

[CorasMama]

Originally Posted by Ceili

I put long sleeve "rash guard" shirts on my ds when he's swimming and they work great. I'm skeptical about the coconut oil idea, even if it's blocking the UV rays that burn, that doesn't mean it's blocking the UV rays that cause skin cancer.

Is your friend fair-skinned? I have several friends that laugh at how covered up I keep myself and ds, but none of them are fair-skinned irish kids like me and none of them have to make semi-annual trips to the dermatologist for mole checks.

this is all good! but not only those of us who glow in the dark get damaged by the sun; we just show it quicker.

Originally Posted by jeminijad

I am familiar with the contention that eating of generous amounts of coconut oil- and other saturated but undamaged, unprocessed fats- will render you less susceptible to sun damage and its long term outcomes. Supposedly we are suffering from skyrocketing skin cancer rates partly because we've been eating processed commercial polyunsaturated fats that are unstable (oxidize quickly) and they have ended up in our skin, rendering it unable to react to sunlight in the way it is supposed to...

I would like to see some science on this. It really doesn't make any sense to me.

Originally Posted by tanyam926

I just can't fig out why humans would be put on the earth w/sun, have to work and live in sun exposure when it would be so bad for us. What did people do thousands of yrs ago?

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Died before it mattered.

got it in one!

Originally Posted by abimommy

Our ozone layer was thicker then.

that, too!

Originally Posted by kmeyrick

Children may tan beautifully but you are doing MAJOR damage to their skin later in life by letting them do so. They should never, ever burn or tan if you can avoid it.

:

I can't say this clearly enough. A tan IS a burn. It's just a matter of degree, but there's no such thing as "the glow of a healthy tan"

[savithny]

Originally Posted by AlexisT

I remember the suntan oil my mom used when I was little had coconut oil in it.

As for what our ancestors did... my pale skinned ancestors lived at 50 degrees latitude. It makes a substantial difference.

And our ancestors did not spend a lot of time in their huts, out of the sun. Northern ancestors were outside a lot from the time the sun was too weak to burn them, day in and day out. This meant that they built up a protective tan very slowly. Tanning is still not good for the skin, but tanning tends to cause the kinds of skin cancers that grow much more slowly. Burning -- which is what happens when you suddenly throw off your coats and start running around in the sun -- is more likely to cause melanomas, which kill you much faster.

You'll notice that traditional people closer to the equator who were lighter skinned frequently adopted full-coverage clothing, too. The traditional dress of the arab nomads, for example...

[CorasMama]

The protective, aka "base" tan, is a myth. Sun damage is sun damage. As was said upthread, there are more likely explanations for the upswing in skin cancer. Also, where are these records that people kept of causes of death in the long-ago-days when people didn't die of skin cancer?

[ParisApril]

Originally Posted by savithny

You'll notice that traditional people closer to the equator who were lighter skinned frequently adopted full-coverage clothing, too. The traditional dress of the arab nomads, for example...

For sure. This summer we have been trying to keep our Scottish/English/German/Danish skin covered up from 11am-3pm. It has been working well although we sill have farmers tans. :

Wearing long sleeves and pants is actually cooler in the hot sun as well.

I eat a lot of CO and even have CO in my homemade lotion but my skin still burns really bad in the hot sun.

[savithny]

Originally Posted by CorasMama

The protective, aka "base" tan, is a myth. Sun damage is sun damage. As was said upthread, there are more likely explanations for the upswing in skin cancer. Also, where are these records that people kept of causes of death in the long-ago-days when people didn't die of skin cancer?

I agree-- the point was that slow-tanning tends to result in a different kind of skin cancer, which doesn't kill as fast (and, in the Olden Days, was less likely to kill you before you died of something else). In the modern era, sunburns went way up, resulting in more melanoma which is more "noticeable" a cancer, if you will...

And you're right, too, that records on cause of death aren't so good for the Good Old Days. I've gone digging on that. It's hard, when the parish register says some guy died of "The black spit" or "The bloody flux" if he had a disease or if he had cancer rotting his guts out.

[AuntNi]

How would this be different from the baby oil my olive-skinned mom used in the 50s/60s? And OMG, you should see her sun damage now - it's so bad.

I swear the ozone layer has made the sun more burn-y now than when I was a kid. I hardly ever burned when I was a kid, despite driving a tractor 10 hours a day. Now I live just a few miles from where I grew up, but I can't be in the midday sun for 20 minutes without burning.

I, too, hate sunblock chemicals, but in addition to hunting shade, I use chemical sunblock rather than risking a burn. And I put my DD in a rash guard shirt when she's out during midday.

[Chamsia]

Thanks for all the responses everyone! Looks like we'll be sticking with our lightweight long-sleeved shirts, lightweight pants, and hats. It IS so much cooler to be covered, anyway. I was a peace corps volunteer in West Africa and was so much cooler when covered with a local head scarf, top, and wrap skirt than in any of my Western clothes!

Happy and safe summer to all!

[amcal]

As someone diagnosed with melanoma two months ago and who just had another suspicious biopsy taken yesterday - please, please, I beg you - do not rely on coconut oil to protect your skin.

I am very leary about sunscreens. But, I am fair skinned, redish hair and have gotten a few sunburns in my day. Not many but enough that I've clearly caused enough damage to cause melanoma.

It's terrifying and so sad that it's a pretty preventable disease. The key is to NOT get sunburned - ever. More than 4 sunburns in your life greatly increase your chances of melanoma.

Cover up. Make sure that the clothing you're using is adequate. You want to be able to hold the fabric up to the light and not see the light through the fabric. If you can see light, the sun is getting through the fabric to your skin. Dark denim is best and blocks 100% of UV rays - I know it's not so practical in the summer but, I now never leave my house without my denim shirt to throw over top of whatever I'm wearing. 100% polyester is also very protective but, again, do the light test.

Also, regarding fabric, dark colors are better - they reflect the sun.
Specially treated UPF clothing is another option - it is generally infused with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide and you're able to get away with lighter fabrics which really help in the summer. But, it may also be chemically treated so you want to check to see how the fabric is treated.

Wear wide brimmed hats whenever out in the sun.

Also, there are some natural sunscreens out there. Here is a list from the Environmental Working Group for the safest sunscreens:
http://www.ewg.org/cosmetics/report/...ns=1&overall=g

All I can say is please, please don't rely on coconut oil to protect your skin or the skin of your children. It's critically important to protect your skin but, it's especially important to ensure that your children do not ever get sunburned.

[Smokering]

More than 4 sunburns in your life greatly increase your chances of melanoma.

Really? Um... damn.

I've been eating more TF this year (more saturated fats) and have noticed I haven't burned as easily this summer. I didn't correlate those things until now, but I wonder if there's something in it? That'd be cool.

[lach]

I read something at the beginning of last summer about how Vitamin D helps protect you against the sun (in addition to coming from the sun... go figure), and as it was the first summer I was really taking Vitamin D pills religiously, I figured I'd see how it goes.

I have very, very fair skin and I burn so easily you wouldn't believe it. While I ALWAYS put on sunscreen if I'm going to be out in the sun, I can't really be religious about it 24/7, and it usually only takes until about mid July when I have a sunburn on my shoulders just from the time it takes to go from the car to the supermarket, my house to the garage, etc. My back yard is also total shade (nothing grows, it's kind of a pitiful bummer) so I don't bother if I won't be out there all that long).

And last summer was the first summer I didn't get a sunburn at all, barely even a tan. Maybe a few freckles, but that's nothing compared to what I normally get.

I am googling for information on this now, and I can't find anything I would necessarily trust as reputable, but I read about it in someplace very mainstream (probably the NYT). It was an actual peer-reviewed study about Vitamin D levels.

[Smokering]

Very interesting! Do you know any good food sources of Vit D? I've only ever heard of it coming from the sun.

[Autumn Mama]

High Vitamin Cod Liver Oil, like the one from Green Pastures...we take in the Winter for extra help with D.

[accountclosed3]

we live in NZ now, and skin protection is paramount here because we live under the whole in the ozone layer. the sun is different here.

kids are required to wear hats to go out to recess. i can't get DS to keep his on, so i need to find one that i can tie on! but, DH and I wear hats, long sleeves, long pants, and sunscreen on any exposed and could-be-exposed areas.

after sun, i use pure avocado oil. it actually heals the skin very quickly. i had a burn the first day i was here (a small patch on my foot did not get sun screen coverage apparently), and the burn was back to white the next morning. then i sun screened it.

the toughest area for us to keep protected is DS's hands when he plays in the water. we have waterproof sunscreen, but he has tanned there. so, we try to screen him every few hours. but that's the only space that he has color.

people here are surprisingly pale. sun protection is a big deal here. they even give away free sunscreen at street fairs and various outdoor events.

[justmama]

i am a redhead so. . . . . yeah. . . . . i WICKED burn. Been using coconut oil on my skin exclusively as moisturizer for over 3 years now and I still burn without sunscreen for what it's worth.

[vignes]

Originally Posted by CorasMama 

 

I can't say this clearly enough. A tan IS a burn. It's just a matter of degree, but there's no such thing as "the glow of a healthy tan"

I dont understand this. I have learned that the tan colour is a result of increased production of the pigment melanin, which is the body`s reaction to protect cells from the UV rays - since melanin absorbs (some of) the UV.

Please explain what you mean when you write a tan is a burn :-)