Sunscreens, Chemicals, Cancers

On Sunday, I went to three different grocery stores trying to find some decent sunscreen that was paraben free and not tested on animals.

For those who do not know what parabens are, there are tons of online articles you can check out.  Just google "parabens" and you will get tons of results from people trying to sort out this debate, with opinions on both sides.

Basically, parabens are synthetically produced preservative compounds that have been linked to cancer (breast cancer) and also increased estrogen production, in addition to endocrine issues.

Parabens are chemical preservatives, including:

1. methyl paraben
2. propyl paraben
3. butyl paraben 
4. ethyl paraben 

My logic and decision-making process includes these questions: 

1. Do I need parabens in or on my body? NO
2. Can I find products without parabens? YES
3. If they are "questionable" and have been linked to health problems, is it smarter to just stay away from them? YES
4. Does it take some convoluted and complicated inter-connected network of "industry/industries" who have interwoven economic and financial interests (factories, corporations, lobbyists, and others) to keep them on the market? YES 
5. Do these producers and advocates of parabens care about profit? YES
6. Is it in the paraben producers best interests to protect my health?  NO

So.... There you have it.  Avoid parabens.  Read the labels.

Animal Testing.  I'm not even going to get started on this.... or I'll never stop.  They can't stand up to people. Its just as bad as child abuse, in my opinion.  Obviously, lots of people don't care. They think humans have a supreme right to enslave animals and pillage the planet for human purposes, at any/all expense. I disagree, but I'm not going to write a dissertation about it today. The stories and the things that laboratories will do to animals is extremely varied.  I'm against it.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/columns_articles/topic_experimentation.html

Now, SUNSCREENS!

How can you inform yourself?

The Environmental Working Group releases an annual study with all the information you could want or need to make educated and informed choices on selecting sunscreen.  Visit them here: http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/

They say the following about the "Skin Cancer Foundation":

The Skin Cancer Foundation’s $eal of Approval

The Skin Cancer Foundation lends its logo to hundreds of sun protection products. Traditionally SCF approval has been easy: just document that your product has an SPF of at least 15 and provide results of basic tests for SPF, skin reactions and water and sweat resistance, if such claims are made. The Skin Care Foundation requires that companies seeking product approval pay a $10,000 donation to join the Foundation’s “Corporate Council.”

The Skin Care Foundation advertises that its certified products “meet the highest standards for safety and effectiveness.” But until January 2011 foundation-approved products were not required to protect from UVA rays and as of May, fewer than 60 of more than 500 certified sunscreens and lotions had met the foundation’s standard for UVA protection.

The Skin Cancer Foundation should ask its certified companies to comply with FDA’s 2007 draft regulations voluntarily but instead lends its seal to dozens of products that don’t even meet its own standards.

The Skin Care Foundation advises the public that “in most cases, SPFs beyond 50 are unnecessary.” Yet one in six products bearing the seal boasts an SPF higher than 50. The foundation advises consumers to protect their skin from UVA by using products with avobenzone, ecamsule, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Yet its seal has been granted to products that contain none of these chemicals.

Here is the Environmental Working Group's "Hall of Shame" of sunscreens:
http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/hall-of-shame-whats-wrong-with-the-sunscreen-protection-business/

• Hawaiian Tropic Baby Stick Sunscreen SPF 5
• Baby Blanket SunBlankie Towelette SPF 45
• Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection SPF 55
• Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Lotion SPF 70+
• Banana Boat Sport Performance Active Max Protect, SPF 110
• Elizabeth Arden – Eight Hour Cream Sun Defense for Face, SPF 50
• Rite Aid Kids Sunscreen Spray Lotion SPF 45
• Anthony Logistics for Men Sun Stick SPF 15
• iS SPF 20 Powder Sunscreen & Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF 30 & colorescience Suncanny Face Colore SPF 20

The Environmental Working Group also has a great page detailing/explaining how the Food and Drug Administration FAILS CONSUMERS. Imagine that.  You can read it, here:

http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/sunscreens-exposed/fda-fails-consumers/

So, what about the sunscreen shopping I mentioned at the beginning of this post?  I went to three stores looking for something that was non-toxic and not expensive.  The first two stores were sold out of the stuff that I would have bought, which is a good thing! That means people are learning about these issues and starting to protect themselves.  

I ended up buying Bert's Bees because it was the only choice at the third store. It cost a small fortune, so it must be used sparingly.  But I would rather pay for my health now as opposed to paying for my disease later.