Cappuccino Mom

Spring is a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors. It is also the time of year that people often get their first burn. It’s a painful reminder of the power of UV Rays.

What is UV Radiation

Health Canada explains how UV Radiation is divided into three wavelength ranges below:

1. UVA is long-range UV radiation between 320 and 400nm. UVA can penetrate deep into our skin. This can cause immediate tanning and premature skin aging, and play a role in the development of certain skin cancers. UVA is not readily absorbed by the ozone layer – about 95% gets through.
2. UVB is short-wave UV radiation between 280 and 320nm. It can just penetrate the outer protective layer of the skin and is responsible for delayed tanning, sunburns and most skin cancers. A large amount of UVB is absorbed by the ozone layer – only 5% reaches our planet’s surface.
3. UVC, with wavelengths between 100 and 280nm, is very energetic. It is very dangerous to all forms of life. However, UVC radiation is filtered out by the ozone layer, and never reaches earth.

How to protect yourselve from UV Radiation

One of the things that we can do in addition to applying sunscreen on our bodies is to practice being “sun smart” :

Cover up: wear lightweight clothing that covers your shoulders and a wide rim hat to protect your head and face.

Seek Shade: Limit the time that you are in the sun and enjoy the outdoors while avoiding direct sunlight on your body.

Time of day: the UV rays are the strongest from about 10am to 4 pm so be mindful during this timeframe.

If you do plan to stay out in the sun during peak hours it is important to apply sunscreen regularly.

Types of sunscreen

Sunscreen comes in many forms, including:

How Sunscreen works:

Sunscreen acts as a barrier SPF (Sun Protection Factor). what does it mean? It is the measure of solar energy (UV Radiation) needed to produce a sunburn on sunscreen protected skin. Solar energy is affected by a few factors such us time of day. Example SPF 30 might protect you for an hour without reapplication at 10am but at 1pm it would only protect you for 15min and greater applications are necessary. Geographic location is also of relevance. The closer you are to the equator the stronger the UV rays. These are all external factors. A more internal factor is how the pigmentation of your skin plays an important role. Many people will gloat that after establishing a “base” tan they can be in the sun longer without applying as much sunscreen as they previously needed. Why is that?

Melanin competes with absorption of UV light (call it natural sunscreen). As a result people with dark coloured skin or tanned skin require more time in the sun to make the same amount of vitamin D as a fair skinned person.

What’s the Deal with Vitamin D?

First of it is not a true vitamin but actually acts more like a hormone your body produces when exposed to sunlight. Even when we produce vitamin D from sun exposure it is still biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for the vitamin D to be usable. The first occurs in the Liver and the second in the Kidneys. The liver also stores vitamin D for later when your D level dips.

Benefits of Vitamin D:

We know we need it but what does it do for us exactly?

• Vitmain D promotes calcium absorption in the gut
• Maintains serum calcium & Phosphorus levels. This is important because promotes mineralization of bone. It is required for bone growth and remodeling. Especially needed for growing children and teething infants (yes bone and teeth have a lot in common).
• Protects adults from Osteoporosis which is important as we age.
• Required for modulation of cell growth neuromuscular
• immune function
• inflammation regulation
• Almost all part of our bodies have vitamin D cell receptors. It works with other mineral and vitamins to for many bodily functions.

Okay! Okay! Besides how important some sunlight directly on your skin is for vitamin D, lets get down to the best sunscreen options when you want to spend hours outside. Here we have ranked the top 6 sunscreens based on ingredient safety for the whole family because lets face it we need to be mindful of what we lather up on our skin. The only exception is babies under 6 months of age should not wear sunscreen and instead be kept in the shade and wear protective sun clothing.

But wait! Before we dive in to the products in this review you will see mostly mineral sunscreens. Meaning they use either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as active ingredients. The former being the most common. Mineral sunscreens work by sitting on top of the skin and reflect the UV rays away. Chemical sunscreens have mixed reviews and studies have been published that they hurt coral reefs and are absorbed to some degree into our bloodstream. You can also check out this study Dr. Margret Schlumpf of the University of Zurich, found trace amounts of at least one sunscreen chemical in the breast milk of 76.5 percent of the women they tested.

In this Sunscreen review you will see some “baby” and “non baby” sunscreens. Although you might feel odd at first using a “baby” sunscreen there is no such thing as a baby sunscreen they are usually mineral sunscreens with fewer ingredients and generally “healthier or safer” for you. The other thing you will see on each prudct is a EWG Rating. EWG= Environomental Working Group. They are a non profit organiation that reviews skincare products. They have a sunscreen review they update annually. Ratings are from 1-7. One being the best rating a prdouct can get. Click here to download their sunscreen review for 2020. EWG reviews most cosmetic products so its also a good tool to have to review your beauty products.

1. Badger Baby Sunscreen SPF 30

Ingredient List: Active Sunscreen Ingredient: Non-Nano, Uncoated Zinc Oxide 18.75% Base Ingredients: *Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, *Cera Alba (Beeswax), Tocopherol (Sunflower Vitamin E), *Anthemis Nobilis (Roman Chamomile) Flower Oil, *Calendula Officinalis (Calendula) Flower Extract, *Hippophae Rhamnoides (Seabuckthorn) Fruit Extract

2.ThinkSport Kids Sunscreen SPF 50+ Family Size

Ingredient List: Active Sunscreen Ingredient: Zinc Oxide 20% (Non-nano) Base Ingredients: PURIFIED WATER (0), ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE (0), CAPRIC CAPRYLIC TRIGLYCERIDES(0), SORBITAN STEARATE (COCONUT BASED) (1), PINE WOOD RESIN (0), VEGETABLE GLYCERIN (0), CETYL DIMETHICONE (0), HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL (0), MAGNESIUM SULFATE (EPSOM SALT) (0), SUNFLOWER OIL, JOJOBA OIL (0), ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C) (0), TOCOPHEROLS (VITAMIN E) (1), OLIVE OIL (0), RASPBERRY SEED OIL (0), CRANBERRY SEED OIL (0), HYALURONIC ACID (MADE FROM VEGETABLE) (0), GLUCOSE & GLUCOSE OXIDASE AND LACTOPEROXIDASE (0), PAPAYA (0)

3. The Green Beaver Spray SPF 27

Ingredient List: Active Sunscreen Ingredient: Zinc Oxide 24% Base Ingredients: Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dicaprylyl Carbondate, Glyceryl Isostearate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Silica, Jojoba Esters, d-alpha Tocopheryl acetate, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed oil

4. All Good Kids Sunscreen SPF 30

Ingredient List: Active Sunscreen Ingredients: Zinc Oxide 16% (Non-nanoparticle) Base Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice*, Arachidyl Alcohol, Arachidyl Glucoside, Behenyl Alcohol, Bisabolol*, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Calendula Officinalis (Calendula) Flower*, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Capryloyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Cellulose Gum, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Citric Acid, Coco-Glucoside, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Diheptyl Succinate , Glycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Mauritia Flexuosa (Buriti) Fruit Oil*, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*, Tocopherol, Water.

5. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 30

Ingredient List: Active Sunscreen ingredients: Octocrylene 8%, Homosalate 6%, Octisalate 4. 5%, Avobenzone 2. 5% Base Ingredients: Acrylates/Dimethicone Copolymer, Behenyl Alcohol, Benzyl Alcohol, BHT, Caprylyl Glycol, Caprylyl Methicone, Cera Alba, Cetyl Dimethicone, Chlorphenesin, Diisopropyl Adipate, Dimethicone, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Jojoba Esters, Parfum, PEG-100 Stearate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Silica, Sodium Polyacrylate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Trideceth-6, Water (eau), Xanthan Gum.

6. Elta MD Facial Sunscreen SPF 40

Ingredient List: Active Sunscreen Ingredients: 9.0% Zinc oxide, 7.5% Octinoxate Base Ingredients: Purified Water, Petrolatum, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Dimethicone, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/ Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polyisobutene, PEG-7 Trimethylolpropane Coconut Ether, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polyether-1, Citric Acid, Oleth-3 Phosphate, Phenoxyethanol, Butylene Glycol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane.

Sources:

1. What is Ultraviolet Radiation? (2017, November 7). Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-risks-safety/radiation/types-sources/ultraviolet.html
2. Vitamin D Fact Sheet for Health Professionals (2020, March 24). Retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
3. Downs, C.A., Kramarsky-Winter, E., Segal, R. et al. Toxicopathological Effects of the Sunscreen UV Filter, Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3), on Coral Planulae and Cultured Primary Cells and Its Environmental Contamination in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 70, 265–288 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0227-7
4. Victoria J. Drake, Ph.D., Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University. (2011 November) Vitamin D and Skin Health. Retrieved from https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/health-disease/skin-health/vitamin-D