(This blog was revised on 6/14/16)

Be smart and stay away from TOXIC sunscreen

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Scared to put that nasty, chemical sunscreen on your body, or even worse, your children’s skin?  There is good reason. It’s is full of disgusting chemicals. If you read the label you will see scary ingredients like:

• Cinnamates
• OMC (Octyl Methoxycinnamate)
•  Ethylhexyl p-Methoxycinnamate
• Salicylates
• OCS (Octyl Salicytate)
• Homomenthyl Salicylate
• Triethanolamine
• PABA (Para Aminobenzoic Acid)
• Padimate O
• Padimate A
• Glyceryl Aminobenzoate
• Octyl Dimethyl Paba
• Octocrylene
• Zinc Oxide
• Titanium Oxide

The ingredients that are used to absorb UVA radiation include:

• Benzoophenones
• Oxybenzone
• Dioxybenzone
• Avobenzone

Bleak!  Just what you don’t want circulating in your blood. Your skin is your largest organ and acts like a sponge. Anything you put on your skin is going right into your body. If you don’t want to put it in your mouth, or eat it, then you don’t want to put it on your skin. Period!

 

 

 

Below here is a recipe for making your own sunscreen. (Another simpler way is to take the powdered zinc and pour it into your favorite lotion.)

(If you want me to send you the above recipe as a PDF, just email me at admin@slimhealthysexy.com)

Here are some more ideas to protect your skin from the sun and acts as a natural sunscreen:

An umbrella! People have used one for years as a great way to protect their skin. I see in a lot of old, turn of the century photos where woman and men are holding umbrellas over their head on an obviously bright, sunny day. Why has this perfectly wonderful natural sunscreen fallen out of favor?

Well, I’m here to bring it back. Here are a few examples of great sun-blocking umbrellas:

Hats…good thing to use!

 

Here is a recipe for making your own sunscreen. (Another simpler way is to take the powdered zinc and pour it into your favorite lotion.)

Natural Homemade Sunscreen

Author: Wellness Mama

Ingredients
 ½ cup almond or olive oil
 ¼ cup coconut oil (natural SPF 4)
 ¼ cup beeswax
 2 Tablespoons Zinc Oxide Be careful not to inhale the powder
 Optional: up to 1 teaspoon Red Raspberry Seed Oil (natural SPF)
 Optional: up to 1 teaspoon Carrot Seed Oil (natural SPF)
 Optional: up to 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
 Optional: 2 tablespoons Shea Butter (natural SPF 4-5)
 Optional: Essential Oils, Vanilla Extract or other natural extracts to suit your preference
Instructions
1. Combine ingredients except zinc oxide in a pint sized or larger glass jar. I have a mason jar that I keep just for making lotions and lotion bars, or you can even reuse a glass jar from pickles, olives, or other foods.
2. Fill a medium saucepan with a couple inches of water and place over medium heat.
3. Put a lid on the jar loosely and place in the pan with the water.
4. As the water heats, the ingredients in the jar will start to melt. Shake or stir occasionally to incorporate. When all ingredients are completely melted, add the zinc oxide, stir in well and pour into whatever jar or tin you will use for storage. Small mason jars (pint size) are great for this. It will not pump well in a lotion pump!
5. Stir a few times as it cools to make sure zinc oxide is incorporated.
6. Use as you would regular sunscreen. Best if used within six months.
Or…simply put powdered zinc oxide into your favorite lotion.

What foods should you eat that provides natural sun protection?

Foods to Avoid

• processed foods
• vegetable oils (this is the most important for sun exposure)
• grains
• sugars

Foods to Eat

• lots of healthy saturated fats
• lots of foods rich in omega-3s (fish, etc)
• lots of leafy greens
• 2+ tablespoons of tomato paste daily

Supplements

You can also start taking a specific regimen of supplements that help reduce inflammation and improve sun tolerance. The supplements to take are:

• Vitamin D3 (I take about 5,000 IU/day)- Emerging evidence shows that optimizing blood levels of Vitamin D can have a protective effect against sunburn and skin cancer
• Vitamin C (I take about 2,000 mg/day)- A potent antiinflammatory, and it is good for the immune system too.
• 1/4 cup coconut oil melted in a cup of herbal tea per day- the Medium Chain Fatty Acids and saturated fat are easily utilized by the body for new skin formation and are protective against burning
• Fermented Cod Liver Oil/High Vitamin Butter Oil Blend  (also great for remineralizing teeth)-Probably the most important supplement for sun protection. I take double doses during the summer and the kids take it too. Since adding this and the coconut oil daily, non
  

  Wahhh my mommy just put sunscreen on me!

  e of us have burned. It’s also great for digestive and oral health. (Amazon finally has the capsules back in stock)

• Astaxanthin– A highly potent antioxidant which research shows acts as an internal sunscreen. It’s also supposedly an anti-aging supplement. I wouldn’t give this one to the kids though.

(Good article:  http://wellnessmama.com/4621/eat-your-sunscreen/)

Did you know pets can get melanoma? Here is a picture of my mother’s cat, Hanzie. (He passed away yesterday.)

 

 The North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, considers sunscreen a toxic substance and, therefore, forbids students from bringing sunscreen to school or on field trips unless a doctor’s note is provided.

 

What is commercial sunscreen doing to the reefs?

Sunscreen is destroying the ocean reefs. A beach in Hawaii has banned sunscreen.

NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science researchers and their partners have discovered that a sunscreen chemical commonly used in many soaps, cosmetics, and body fragrances is highly toxic to corals. The team’s data show that even very low concentrations of benzophenone-2, or BP-2, can quickly kill juvenile corals. BP-2 is an additive used in personal-care products since the 1960s to protect against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light.

Has the use of sunscreen decreased skin cancer?

Contrary to popular belief, using sunscreen will increase your risk of melanoma. Sunscreen ingredients inhibit inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Sunscreens prevent UV-induced redness, which occurs in part through the action of nitric oxide (NO), synthesized in the skin. But NO is an important immunoregulatory molecule, and it is crucial in the induction of the cell-mediated tumor immune response.

According to an article in Melanoma Research:

“These findings suggest that  sunscreens may prevent redness partly by UV absorption and partly by inhibition of the skin’s inflammatory response. As such, sunscreens might promote instead of protect against melanoma.”

Nitric oxide also acts to help lower your blood pressure — another reasons to avoid sunscreens that destroy the chemical in your body.

Sources:
Melanoma Research February 2005; 15(1): 3-6
Nitric Oxide February 15, 2010; 22(2): 136-140

Certain sunscreens in water under ultraviolet light can increase the production of hydrogen peroxide, which damages phytoplankton. Nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, an ingredient in some sunscreens, can accumulate in coastal waters and be ingested by marine animals.

And of course, as part of the natural sunscreen protection, children and adults should wear long sleeves shirts and shorts for added coverage even while in the water.

 

Help From Technology

Because you’re probably taking your phone to the beach, you could rely on it, instead of your faulty memory, to remind you to head under the umbrella or go inside. Android and iOS are rife with free and inexpensive apps that could alert you when you need it.

You could also seek help from wearables. A jewel-like device called JUNE, which can be worn as a bracelet or a brooch, monitors sun exposure and syncs with an iOS app that can tell you how quickly you’re using up your recommended sun allowance for the day.

 Here are wristbands you can purchase that lets you know when you have exceeded your sun tolerance.

I hope this blog helps you deal with the sun.Thanks for reading!

With love,

Terry Ryan, Blogger