Searching for a Life NonToxic: EWG’s 2011 Sunscreen Guide

posted by Run Granola Run- Musings of a Gluten Free Runner
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 10:11pm EDT

Advice on sports nutrition and distance running with a holistic bent. Dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free recipes from a college coach and former gluten-free vegan bakery owner.

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The 2011 Sunscreen guide arrived in my inbox this morning thanks to one of my favorite organizations, the Environmental Working Group. If you are at all interested in keeping carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, etc. off your skin and out of your body, then EWG’s Skin Deep database will be your best friend. These guys just get better and better all the time. The number of products they’ve scored in their database has grown exponentially.

Unfortunately, of the 65,000+ products that they review, they don’t have my favorite facial sunscreen: Eminence’s Tropical Vanilla Sun Cream SPF 32. Though the price is a bit prohibitive, it is the best mineral sunscreen that I’ve used. The “cream” part means that it is more moisturizing and it leaves much less of a white mask than the others I’ve tried. It also provides a sort of matte finish that I think looks a bit like wearing powder. Oh, and it smells amazingly edible.

However, I feel like all mineral sunscreens are somewhat terrible for running. Even in the non-warm Oregon spring, they are suffocating and seem to slide off. Oh the irony: Sweating in the sunshine only increases the need for protection, but sunscreens (and mineral ones in particular) don’t work well in a slippery environment. Regular “sport” sunscreens do better, but the chemicals really bother my eczema. The compromise that I’ve come up with is the occasional use of Alba Botanical ‘s SPF 45 Sport. EWG scores it as a 5, which is higher than I normally would consider using, but it seems to be less irritating for my hands and better at staying in place (and actually providing sun protection!).

As for my son… I just love everything California Baby. Maybe being a beach baby born in OC makes me biased?

Now, please Portland, bring us some sunshine!

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EcoDiva says:

I am a runner (currently training for the Dipsea), live in the Bay Area and work for Marie Veronique Organics. I love their Moisturizing Face Screen which is at the top of the EWG safety list. They use non-nano zinc and it stay's on when I sweat. No chemicals!

Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 1:22pm EDT

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Searching for a Life NonToxic: EWG’s 2011 Sunscreen Guide

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