Safe sunscreen

[Yen]

I just finished reading the very informative thread Basal Cell Skin Cancer here in this forum. I had my a BCC (my first) removed from my upper arm around age 50 (I'm now 54). I'm fair-skinned and love being outdoors.

I have been using Rocky Mountain Sunscreen products which I love because they are not greasy, go on very easily (a thin cream rather than a thick cream that requires a lot of work to spread), affordable, and they disappear on my skin (i.e. they don't make my face look pasty-white). They became my new favorite sunscreen.... until I read that two of its ingredients (vitamin A and oxybenzone) actually may INCREASE skin cancer risk.

I am now concerned about the future effects of riding bare-armed with this product on my arms, and am planning to change my routine to riding only in the mornings and late afternoons/evenings while wearing a long-sleeve SPF jersey. I don't want to give up riding and gardening!

So I bought a bottle of Badger's sunscreen which is considered non-toxic and safe ---- but it made my face very pasty white.

I'm wondering if there is a safe AND effective sunscreen that DOESN'T make my face look like I dipped it in milk and doesn't cost a lot for a small tube. Someone in the above thread mentioned zinc oxide and titanium dioxide (the latter is in some of the the Rocky Mountain products... but so is vit. A).

[WolfGirl]

I use the California Baby water-resistant fragrance-free SPF 30. It's not cheap, but I don't think it has the ingredients you're worried about. It's also pretty water-resistant; I also use it on my son and it stays on well. Hope this might be what you're looking for!

[OakLeaf]

You don't have to apply the same amount of physical sunscreen as you do chemical. Enough to cover the skin is plenty. I used Badger over a three-day outdoor music festival Memorial Day weekend. I won't say it was completely invisible, but it certainly didn't make me "pasty white," or anything close to that.

One application at that level was plenty that the skin on my arms didn't noticeably darken over the entire weekend, and my shoulders - which are almost never exposed to sun - only got the barest amount of tan.

No physical sunblock that isn't based on nanoparticles can be invisible, but preliminary research says that zinc oxide nanoparticles are safe.

Try choosing something from EWG's list?

[Trek420]

Knot had malignant melanoma, burns within 10 minutes, and is quite fond of Dermatone products (lotions and pastes, heavy on the mineral oxide blocks, do not look like whitewash) and Hawaiian Tropic/Banana Boat kid's sunscreens with a mix of block (zinc or titanium) and screen (oxy- whatever).

However, SPF clothing always wins over lotions and pastes of any sort. More dependable, and often much cooler than going bare with a sunscreen.

TE has a lot of SPF/UPF clothing. TE has stuff made in USA by Shebeest that are incredibly cute, cool, and comfy; and block sunlight very well. Clothing made to protect sailors and kayakers from the sun also works quite well on the bike. So do SPF rashguards for surfers. (they still block when wet or sweaty)

[dinabean]

I really enjoy using Sunforgettable by ColorScience. It's a Zinc Oxide powder and comes in a stick/brush that is refillable. It is spendy -- ~$50 for a tube -- but that tube lasted me all summer, brushing the exposed parts of two kiddos daily before summer camp, and I like that I get better whole-face coverage -- it's hard to get under their eyes with creams.

http://www.amazon.com/Colorescience-...DateDescending

[Tuckervill]

Take a look at what sunscreen did to my Droid. The rubberized coating was blistered off. The sunscreen penetrated the screen and separated it from the glass, rendering it inoperable. The credit cards that were in an aluminum and plastic wallet were also destroyed. The magnetic strips all came loose. The signature strips came off. The ink UNDER the laminate on my driver's license ran as if it were wet paint in a rain storm.

I will never use sunscreen on my skin again.

Karen

[OakLeaf]

Yeah, I have some little polycarbonate jars that I use for carrying stuff like aloe gel when I travel and chamois lube when I ride. I figure that much exposure is safe (I hope). Back when I used stuff like Coppertone sunscreen, I put some in one of those, and it melted it shut.

I still remember learning about litmus paper in the third (fourth?) grade. Teacher asked all the students to bring some household acids and bases to test. Some kid brought lemon extract. That melted the plastic container we used, too.

I'm really careful about what I put on my skin now, you bet, and I use very little sunscreen of any kind because of the importance of sun exposure, but the lesson isn't necessarily that your sunscreen is bad. Different plastics are soluble by different chemicals, including a lot of perfectly natural stuff.

There's a related lesson about exposing your helmet to harsh chemicals...

[Blueberry]

Take a look at what sunscreen did to my Droid. The rubberized coating was blistered off. The sunscreen penetrated the screen and separated it from the glass, rendering it inoperable. The credit cards that were in an aluminum and plastic wallet were also destroyed. The magnetic strips all came loose. The signature strips came off. The ink UNDER the laminate on my driver's license ran as if it were wet paint in a rain storm.

I will never use sunscreen on my skin again.

Karen

Did it leak onto the droid? Or was that just from handling it? When I used to use Bullfrog regularly, it did that to a few pens (lab work in college).

[TsPoet]

Take a look at what sunscreen did to my Droid. The rubberized coating was blistered off. The sunscreen penetrated the screen and separated it from the glass, rendering it inoperable. The credit cards that were in an aluminum and plastic wallet were also destroyed. The magnetic strips all came loose. The signature strips came off. The ink UNDER the laminate on my driver's license ran as if it were wet paint in a rain storm.

I will never use sunscreen on my skin again.

Karen

Repeat the "experiment" with water, soak items in the same container in that much water in the same amount of heat for the same length of time. I'm betting your droid is still destroyed. Unless there was heat or pressure, your credit cards may or may not survive, but repeat the study again with 5% alcohol or something reasonable but with a little more solvent properties.
Wouldn't blame sunscreen for what happened quite so strongly.

[badger]

I've been using Mychelle Dramaceutical Sunshield the past couple of years. Not only am I more aware of the nasty chemicals a lot of sun creams have, but I'm more sensitive about the effects of them on the coral reefs. And the best thing of all is it doesn't run into my eyes to sting, and also doesn't make me break out.

I also use the All Terrain sunscreen when I swim outdoors. I use the SPF 15 because the SPF 30 has more chemicals in it.

[OakLeaf]

Badger! You don't use Badger?!

[badger]

ha ha!

I actually don't like badger sunscreen. I love the sound of the ingredients, but WAY too greasy (and expensive!) I use their sunscreen lip balm for when I do major outdoor activities but not for every day because it really does leave my lips white.

[lisathew8lifter]

you guys have me all thinking about sunscreen - thankfully i'm seeing my derma on thursday for a full body exam and will ask her opinon on sunscreen. i can't wait to hear what she says!