Why You Should Choose Natural Sunscreen

Natural sunscreen: What’s the big deal, and why should I choose it?

If I’m protecting my skin…that’s good enough, isn’t it? Yes, protecting your skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays is important, but there’s a little bit more to it than that.

Natural vs. Chemical Sunscreen

1. Time. Mineral sunscreen works immediately.  Unlike chemical sunscreens that need to be applied 30 minutes before sun exposure to work, mineral sunscreens like ours begin protecting your skin immediately (without the chemicals).
2. UVB Deflection. Did you know that the chemicals used in sunscreens actually absorb the UVB rays instead of deflecting them?  This is the reason it takes prior skin application of 30 minutes to work before sun exposure. These chemicals need to be absorbed into your skin and when they are exposed to the sun, they absorb the rays INTO YOUR SKIN and break them down to dissipate them in your body.  A mineral sunscreen like ours works the opposite way.  Zinc oxide reflects the UV rays off of our skin, thus not allowing your skin to absorb UVB or UVA rays.
3. Oxybenzone. Chemical sunscreens contain oxybenzone. Arguments state that oxybenzone disrupts our hormones and can even cause cancer.
4. Environmental impact. We know that the chemicals in sunscreens, oxybenzone and octinoxate, can cause damage to coral reefs, let alone what it does to our bodies. In Hawaii, a bill will soon be considered to ban sunscreens with oxybenzone and octinoxate.

A few other general tips about sunscreen:

• Sunscreen prevents skin aging.  Look for a broad spectrum that covers both UVA (skin aging) and UVB (skin burning) exposure, like our mineral sunscreen. In fact, the FDA recognizes that zinc oxide which is the active ingredient in our sunscreen, is effective at blocking both UVA AND UVB rays!
• Children who sunburn have a higher chance (double, in fact) of developing melanoma as an adult.  A 20-year study of children who sunburned found that the chances of those children developing skin cancer as an adult was 80% higher than those who did not sunburn.

Stay protected, Daisy Blue fans!