I walked into a classroom when I was substitute teaching years ago and on the bulletin board was a poster with a sponge cut out as a shape of a hand and over the top it read “Your Hands Are Sponges!” The meaning was that our skin sucks up anything that you apply. Think twice before lathering on the sunscreen or moisturizer. Have you read the ingredients and had a good idea what is going in your bloodstream?

Remembering that poster I am extremely careful about what I put on my skin. I try to use only ingredients that I would not be afraid to eat.  I moisturize with natural items for example, olive oil and coconut oil. I also now live in Florida and do not have to depend on moisturizers as much as I did when I lived in upstate New York and had hot air heat that was so drying.

I also do not use sunscreen (yes, I live in Florida) and stay in the shade instead. I have no tan but if you live in Florida you do not have a tan. We can tell a tourist from a local by their bronze skin. Of course, tourists are sun-starved so I don’t blame for baking on the beach.

What I do for my skin instead is try to keep it healthy from the inside. Drinking plenty of water is very important to keeping your skin hydrated and eating healthy is a must. Here are some other suggestions:

• Limit alcohol
• Skip sugar
• No fast food…ick!
• Fried food-no thank you!
• Skip the gluten
• Eat raw vegetables everyday
• Take your vitamins
• Limit manicures if they involve putting nail polish on your nails
• No on acrylic nails
• Use olive or coconut oil to moisturize lips
• Use a hat if going out in the sun or take an umbrella
• Stay in the shade
• Limit milk products
• Use a mini trampoline (rebounder) to help the lymphatic system
• Use natural products whenever possible
• Don’t expose your skin to harsh weather conditions. (Some of my most athletic friends have baked and wrinkled skin.)

Here are some great resources on natural products.

Here is a typical list of ingredients on sunscreen:

The Trouble With Sunscreen Chemicals

Sunscreen chemicals should be engineered with great care. They are used in products intended for repeated application to large portions of the body. To offer effective protection from the sun’s rays, sunscreens must stick to the skin. So-called active ingredients – substances that filter out UVA and UVB radiation – are present in large concentrations.

Over the past decade dozens of studies have examined the potential health hazards of sunscreen chemicals. These include possible skin irritation or allergy, hormone disruption and skin damage that occurs when sunlight acts on sunscreen chemicals.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has not formally reviewed any of the recent  studies in this category.  Most sunscreen ingredients were already in use in 1978, when the FDA announced its intention to regulate sunscreen safety.  Since then the agency has approved just one sun-filtering chemical – avobenzone,

Active ingredients in sunscreens come in two forms, mineral and chemical filters.  Each uses a different mechanism for protecting skin and maintaining stability in sunlight. Each may pose hazards to human health.

The most common sunscreens on the market contain chemical filters.  These products typically include a combination of three to six of these active ingredients: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate.

Nearly every chemical sunscreen contains avobenzone because it is the best agent for filtering skin-damaging UVA rays.  However, avobenzone alone may break down when exposed to sunlight.  Chemicals such as octocrylene must be added to the product to stabilize it.  This practice has become more common in recent years.

Laboratory studies of several sunscreen chemicals indicate that they may mimic hormones and disrupt the hormone system (Krause 2012, Schlumpf 2001, 2004b, 2008).  Some research on animals suggests that oxybenzone and two other sunscreen chemicals – 4-MBC and octinoxate – are toxic to reproductive systems or interfere with normal development.  (See Table 1)

Experts caution that the unintentional exposure to and toxicity of active ingredients erodes the benefits of sunscreens (Krause 2012, Schlumpf 2010). But most conclude that more sensitive tests are needed to determine whether these ingredients pose risks to sunscreen users (Draelos 2010, Gilbert 2013).

The most problematic of the sunscreen chemicals used in the U.S. is oxybenzone, found in 80 percent of chemical sunscreens. EWG recommends that consumers avoid oxybenzone because it can penetrate the skin, cause allergic skin reactions and may disrupt hormones (Calafat 2008, Rodriguez 2006, Krause 2012). Preliminary investigations of human populations suggest a link between higher concentrations of oxybenzone and its metabolites in the body and increased risk of endometriosis and lower birthweight in daughters (Kunisue 2012, Wolff 2008).

Generally, chemical sunscreens deserve special scrutiny because most are known to permeate the skin to some degree. Two European studies have detected common sunscreen chemicals in mothers’ milk, indicating that the developing fetus and newborns may be exposed to these substances (Schlumpf 2008, Schlumpf 2010).  A 2010 study by Margaret Schlumpf of the University of Zurich found at least one sunscreen chemical in 85 percent of milk samples. Four of the chemicals detected are commonly used in U.S. sunscreens.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has detected oxybenzone in more than 96 percent of the U.S. population, based on a representative sampling of more than 2,500 Americans children and adults (Calafat 2008). Higher concentrations of oxybenzone were measured in samples collected from participants during the summer months.

The FDA is considering the approval of two sunscreen ingredients used in Europe – 4-methylbenzylidine camphor and 3-benzylidine camphor.  Lab studies indicate they may disrupt the hormone system.

Products in EWG’s sunscreen database that utilize minerals to filter UV rays are made with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, usually in the form of nanoparticles.

Though no ingredient is without hazard or completely effective, on balance our ratings favor these mineral sunscreens.  They do not penetrate the skin, and they are stable in the presence of sunlight.

There are some exceptions. Mineral sunscreen could pose a risk of skin damage if  manufacturers do not select forms that are coated with inert chemicals to reduce photoactivity.  Nano-powders could potentially lodge in the lungs and reach the bloodstream, where they could damage internal organs. To date, no such problems have been reported.  Still, FDA should set guidelines and place restrictions on zinc and titanium sunscreens to minimize the risks to sunscreen users and maximize these products’ sun protection.

Safer, more effective solutions may be on the horizon. The European sunscreen chemicals Mexoryl SX, Tinosorb S and Tinosorb M are promising UV filters not yet approved for use in the U.S.

Active ingredient toxicity

This table summarizes human exposure and toxicity information for nine FDA-approved sunscreen chemicals and four ingredients now being considered by the FDA.  We asked these questions:

• Will these chemicals penetrate skin and reach living tissues?
• Will they disrupt the hormone system?  Can they affect the regulation of the reproductive and thyroid systems and, in the case of fetal or childhood exposure, permanently alter reproductive development or behavior?
• Can some ingredients cause skin allergy?
• What if they are inhaled?
• Other toxicity concerns?

(Source: http://www.ewg.org/2013sunscreen/nanoparticles-in-sunscreen/)