A Natural Choice: May 2012

This post feels a bit ironic for me to write...I grew up on a lake, constantly out in the sunshine. When we weren't swimming in the lake, we were at the pool for swim practice. Move on to high school, and I spent my summers as a lifeguard at the pool...carry that on to college summers as well... I'm glad my parents lathered me up with sunscreen as a child, but I must admit I wasn't always responsible when I was old enough to make the decision for myself. I can't believe I did this, but once we (my fellow lifeguard girlfriends) were a few weeks into the summer and our skins adjusted to the sun, we *GULP* slathered on the baby oil!!! Yikes, if we only cared as much about our future skin health then as we did about how awesome we looked with that tan...

So, my amazing cousin (Jamie) came to visit last weekend for the Memorial Day holiday. We had a lot of fun - a weekend full of shopping, sight-seeing and a Cubs game. Jamie must have been the good luck charm for the Cubbies...they snapped a 12-game losing streak! It was a super-hot day and we had the fun seats...aka Bud Light Bleacher seats...with ZERO protection from the scorching sun that was a-blazin' that day. We stopped by Target before the game and picked up a store brand sunscreen - you know, the super-convenient kind that you spray on. SPF 30, water-proof, cheap (my favorite!). It worked like a charm and nobody came home with a sunburn.

So today I was putting said sunscreen away (call me lazy) and I started to wonder...what kind of crazy chemicals are in this stuff AND are they safe for me? Actually, I've wondered this before and I know the kind we bought doesn't have the "good stuff" in it...so it's time we did the research and next time we buy sunscreen we'll be better prepared to get the "good stuff"!

The Environmental Working Group's website has pretty reliable information and they have some great tips for sun safety.

Ingredients matter!

Avoid sunscreens with scary, hard-to-pronounce words like OXYBENZONE (a synthetic estrogen that penetrates the skin and contaminates the body) & RETINYL PALMITATE.
Avoid sunscreens that come in a spray or powdered form (the small particles in these are easily inhaled and may be harmful to your lungs) and avoid ones that have an SPF over 50 (can be tempting to stay in the sun longer than usual and there's not much research that says these higher SPFs are much better anyways).
Choose sunscreens that contain ZINC, TITANIUM OXIDE & AVOBENZONE OR MEXORYL SX. These ingredients protect the skin from harmful UVA rays and they stay on the skin, meaning little if any actually seeps into your body.

Common sense!

If you can, try to stay out of the sun during peak hours. I always hated hearing this one - this is right in the middle of the day, right when I want to be out and about, hanging out at the lake or pool. My advice on this one...take frequent breaks (preferably in the shade), reapply sunscreen as needed and cover up as much as possible...and still splurge occasionally and enjoy that sunshine - responsibly!
Don't get burned. Sunburns are excellent precursors for skin cancer! If you're burned, it's definitely time to give your skin some R&R...out of the sun!
Pick a good sunscreen. Check out the EWG's database here.

So...why does the good stuff matter - I didn't get a sunburn using the "bad stuff". And I checked...the sunscreen we used has plenty of the "bad stuff" in it. I like to view it as doing a "half-ass job"...it may work for the short term, but you just end up creating more harm for yourself in the long term. And I can thank my awesome dad for that little pearl of wisdom!

Tim and I had a great time back in Wichita. 4 days was not nearly enough - it feels like our trip was really just a dream and we weren't even there at all...however we enjoyed every second! We had wonderful dinners with family and fun gatherings with friends. I did not do a good job of capturing every moment on camera, but here are a few.