Is your sunscreen safe?
BY EARTHFIRST
If you live in Australia the weather is warming up and it’s time to dig out all that beach paraphernalia including the most important one: sunscreen. Whilst we are told to ‘slip, slop, slap’ it may not be as safe as you think as sunscreens not only contain chemicals but some also have nanoparticles.
There is some concern that the nanoparticles contained in some sunscreens could be absorbed into the skin and cause more damage to occur when exposed to the sun. This is currently an unproven theory, due to insufficient extensive testing.
If you are concerned it’s probably best to stick to the brands that don't contain any nanoparticles, some of these nano and chemical free sunscreens are listed below:
- Cancer Council Classic Sunscreen
- Nivea Sun Moisturising Sunscreen Lotion
- Hamilton Everyday Face Sunscreen
- Banana Boat Sensitive Sunscreen
- The Wiggles
- WotNot
- UV SolarCare
- Natural Instinct
- Soleo Organics
- Graham's Sunclear Sunscreen
- Invisible Zinc
- Thalgo
- Jurlique
Listed below are some of the sunscreens trialled in a study conducted by CHOICE which DO CONTAIN nanoparticles:
- Ambre Solaire
- Avene
- Garnier
- Helena Rubinstein
- Woolworths Select Clear Zinc
- UV Tripleguard Summer Skin Sunscreen Lotion
- Coles Sports Clear Zinc
- Ego Sun Sense Toddler Milk
- Chemmart Clear Zinc
- Le Tan Sheer Daily Mineral Moisturising Sunscreen
- Invisible Zinc
- Amcal
- Clinique
- Johnson & Johnson
- Sunblock Australia
- Kit Cosmetics
- Neutrogena
- Ecotanicals
If you want to know more about the safety of what you’re putting on your skin to avoid skin cancer then please go to the Choice website and read their extremely informative article titled "Sunscreen and nanoparticles", we highly recommend it. Oh, and keep in mind some cosmetics which are ‘secondary sunscreens’ and have SPF ratings, such as lip balms, foundations and moisturisers (to name a few) also have nanoparticles.
For more info visit these websites:
What do you think?