Zinc oxide and Titanium Dioxide are the *active ingredients* in Blue Lizard sensitive.
The filler ingredients are:
Inactive Ingredients: Water Purified, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, C12 15 Alkyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Polyglyceryl 4 Isostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG 10/1 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Propylene Glycol, Trimethylated Silica/Dimethicone, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Methyl Glucose Dioleate, PEG 7 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sorbitol Oleate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Beeswax, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Dimethicone, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Diazolidinyl Urea, Tocopheryl Acetate
YUCK!!!! anything with a number is synthetic, propylene glycol is the chief ingredient in anti-freeze, methyl, ethyl and propyl parabens are preservatives no good natural product would use and are thought to be endocrine disrupters (they are estrogenic and have been found in breast cancer tumors), disodium EDTA is NASTY (it is a sensitizer), Diazolidinyl Urea is a formaldehyde releaser....
We use Bagder Balm sunscreen or Aubrey Organics. California baby does use parabens as a preservative, which to me is not acceptable since there are known risks to parabens and there *are* other acceptable preservatives- and CB is expensive enough that you should be getting something totally pure. If you don't HAVE to use synthetic preservatives, why put em in?
Aubrey does use PABA (padimate O) as an active ingredient, and some people avoid that due to studies showing it is "potentially phototoxic to human keratinocytes (but suppressible) in inhibiting cell growth and DNA synthesis at low concentrations". But Aubrey's PABA is derived from B-vitamins- honestly, looking at that cosmetic database you will find all sorts of toxicity warnings on completely natural substances (herbs, minerals, etc) because "natural" does not mean "perfectly safe"- I.E., there are natural poisons (castor oil, for instance, causes diahrrea if taken internally; on the skin it is fine)- even essential oil of lavendar is "estrogenic" and in that light could be considered a hormone disrupter; too much of such and such herb could kill you, poison ivy is "natural" but will give you a horrid rash....
So ultimately, I choose things according to how natural they are, versus how synthetic. I think our bodies are better equipped to deal with and break down natural substances than ones produced by man- which are commonly byproducts of the petrochemical or industrial waste complex anyway!
