Help me pick a sunscreen!

[sbgilson]

OK I am trying to decide which sunscreen is the best one. I have narrowed it down to three, help me decide which one to go with.
1.
Badger balm spf30 Active Ingredient: Micronized Zinc Oxide 20.5%
Ingredients: Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Natural Beeswax, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Cocoa Butter, Wild African Shea Butter, Organic CO2 Extract of Seabuckthorn Berry, and Essential Oils of Lavender, Moroccan Blue Tansy, Ylang Ylang, Lime and Orange. $14 for 2.9 oz Found it pretty thick, so thick I worry a little that I am not getting it all spread and may have missed areas

2.
California baby spf30 Micronized Titanium Dioxide

Inactive Ingredients: Purified Water, Coconut Fatty Acid:alkylbenzoate (moisturizer), Silicone, Cyclomeythicone (water repellant), Vegetable Glycerin, Dipolydycocystearate (works to emulsify), Candelilla Wax (Protects against moisture loss), Vitamin E (Antioxidant), Coconut Oil infused w/Gardenia flowers, Squalane (from olive oil), Proprietary Aromatherapy Essential Oil's(Lavender,Lemongrass&other essen.oils), Japanese Green Tea (anti-oxidant), Epsom Salt (magnesium Sulfate), Vitamin B Complex Factor, Panthenol, Allantoin, Magnesium Stearate, Ethyl And Propylparaben (food Grade Preservative, Anti-bacterial $17 for 2.9 oz feels very nice and spreads well


3.
UV Natural spf 30

Zinc Oxide
Vitis Vinifera/refined grapeseed oil Carthamus tictorius oil/safflower oil Sesamum indicum oil/sesame oil Macadamia ternifolia(seed) oil/macadamia seed Oil
Candelia cera(wax)/candellia wax
Cera Alba(wax)/bees wax
Copernica prunifera/Carnauba wax Vegetable oil
Vitamin E
Camellia sinensis extract/green tea extract(liposoluble)
Vitis vinifera(seed)extract/grapeseed extract
Caprylic/capric triglycerides (from coconut)
Iron Oxides (macro form)

$27.50 + 4.95 s/h for 7 oz
Spreads well but feels a bit oily on especially on me (less so on the kids)

They are all super $$$ to me, but I would rather get the best and try to cut back somewhere else in my budget

[FluffiB]

I voted UV Natural because their zinc oxide is coated, making it safer.

http://www.uvnaturalusa.com/htm/whats-new.asp
Scroll down a little to the second section.

ETA: I bought one off of eBay. A little cheaper, and the bottle is big, so it'll last for a long time.

[mikesa3]

bumping this because I'd like to know too.
Nancy

[Ruthla]

They all sound good. I use zinc oxide based diaper rash ointment. I currently have some from the dollar store (1$ for 2 oz) that's just zinc oxide, petrolatum, and fragrance. I know patrolatum isnt' "all natural" but it's waterproof and non-toxic. Unfortunately, the dollar-store brand I bought in the past now contains a host of chemicals and I won't buy it again.

I did see some "zinc oxide ointment" at the pharmacy that's just zinc oxide and petrolatum (and maybe fragrance, I forget) for about $4 for a 2oz tube. That's what I plan to buy when I've used up my stash.

To clarify: I use sun-protective clothing, and only need sunblock on ears, neck, and face. If I was using on larger parts of my body, the petrolatum would bother me more.

[nonniecita]

I would definately go with the UV naturals. Do a google search on the ingredient in California Baby's sunscreen (and most other products, skincare, lotion, etc...) Propylparaben (food Grade Preservative). Propylparaben is really nasty stuff, all parabens are.
I think someone at the trading post was selling some uv naturals from the last coop

HTH!
Michelle

[nonniecita]

Titanium dioxide is nasty, too. I think it creats free radicals on your skin when exposed to the sun:

[sbgilson]

Ok I think I am going with badger spf 30. The skin deep website just published their research on sunscreen and out of 783 tested, badger spf 30 was #1. Incidentally UV naturals was #4 and california baby was #27. :

[lav1al]

I wanted to try Badger's too and I think that it sounded great until that thread about boys and not using lavender and TTO. Would UV Natural be the way to go then? What sites would you recomend buying from? I see that this site http://katescaringgifts.com/ has a good price but I have never heard of them. Thanks!

[sbgilson]

Originally Posted by lav1al

I wanted to try Badger's too and I think that it sounded great until that thread about boys and not using lavender and TTO. Would UV Natural be the way to go then? What sites would you recomend buying from? I see that this site http://katescaringgifts.com/ has a good price but I have never heard of them. Thanks!

Oh darn I forgot about the lavender and boys .... how much lavender is bad:

[gingerstar]

My NP warned me about using lavendar and TTO on my girls, too.
Check the TP - I know there was a co-op for UV Naturals, and some people have some for sale too.

[Doctor Sahm]

New Revelations?

I see this discussion took place last summer--any new revelations? The choice seems to be between: nano-particles of minerals like titanium dioxide or other scary active ingredients. Looking at EWG, it appears that Badger is the only waterproof one?

I see Dr. Mercola has a new sunscreen. Has anyone tried it? My concern is the soy it contains.

[Jojo F.]

OK, sorry to get OT but can someone fill me in on the lavender and TTO thing?

[Doctor Sahm]

According to many on this forum, lavender is an endocrine disruptor--causes there to be extra estrogen in the body--and titanium dioxide produces free radicals. However, the Environmental Working Group's analysis http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/bro...reens=1&best=1
does not really lend evidence to this. No sunscreen is 100% safe and I think you should only wear it as a last resort; but it looks like TTO and lavender oil are pretty low health risks; TTO, especially is a lower risk, when compared to the choice of other active ingredients available that have a lot more potential side effects. I'm taking my babies to the beach next week and we are going with Badger Balm--it's the safest according to EWG (just have to live with those mysterious nano-particles for now) and seems to be the only choice that is waterproof. I just found some for 11.99 at BalmWorks.com.

[spiderdust]

I use the Alba Botanica Fragrance Free Mineral Sunscreen... but I haven't used the others, so I can't compare apples to apples!

I've been pretty happy with it though.

[greentara_mama]

I love UV natural...

[catkendig]

My vote is for Mexitan. Inexpensive, natural, comes in many different strengths, and can be purchased in bulk sizes. I know there's controversy over Titanium Dioxide but from what I researched, the problem is when it is micronized down to nano-particle size. The word micronized isn't always clear either, sometimes it's nano-sized, sometimes not. In any event, Mexitan's product does NOT contain nano-particles of any ingredient. So, that's what we use here and so far, I've been very happy with it.

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by Jojo F.

OK, sorry to get OT but can someone fill me in on the lavender and TTO thing?

As far as I'm aware, there was one single study of boys having innapropriate breast growth, that was linked to "products containing tea tree and/or lavendar oils". The problems went away in a few months when they stopped using those products. However, the study never specified what products in particular, or what other chemicals were present in those products, or if other changes were implemented along with removing those products. It was also a very small study- something like 2 or 3 cases total.

I have yet to see any real evidence that TTO and LO (lavendar oil) are dangerous for young boys when used by themselves.

[tracyhos]

California Baby doesn't use parabens anymore.

I bought the California Baby SPF 30 and really like it.

[rabrog]

I'm using Aveeno Baby SPF 55.

Jenn

[LeslieB]

Originally Posted by Doctor Sahm

I see Dr. Mercola has a new sunscreen. Has anyone tried it? My concern is the soy it contains.

Gosh. I didn't even know he was supporting a new sunscreen. Last summer his sunscreen pick was Aubrey Organics. That's what I used last year.

I think I might try his new one this summer. I really don't used sunscreen on us often; we use clothing instead, but some of the exposed places still need a little sunscreen when we go to the beach for a long day.