Sunscreen Safety

I admit...I've long been a worrier over sun exposure. I'm fair skinned and I don't want more freckles. I couldn't care less that tan 'looks healthy' or was 'in'. If God wanted me to have darker skin, He would have made me that way. Besides, I'd rather not look like a leather purse when my 40s and 50s come along.

My recent reading about cancer, though, actually really helped temper my paranoia about skin cancer concerns for both me and my children. (My husband will lay out and bake to a beautiful brown any chance he gets. That and his Diet Coke consumption are the only things we haven't 'worked out' yet. ha-ha) After all, people lived skin-cancer-free for centuries before sunscreen was created.

Then, this news comes along that most sunscreens contain oxybenzone, a proven endocrine disruptor. Now, I'm not terribly school in the workings of my endocrine system but I don't think I need lots of help being a 'disrupted' person and I sure don't want chemicals messing with my growing kiddos.

I thought I'd share with you a website that tests and ranks not only sunscreens but tons of products that are used topically. Considering that skin is our bodies' largest organ, it's worth knowing what I'm slathering on every exposed inch of my family.

Other recommeded reading -- this list of sunscreen facts.