Block Out The Dangers of The Sun

According to the CDC, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. But back in the day we practically equated beauty and health with sun bronzed skin. We visited tanning booths, sunbathed for hours without sunscreen or even worse with things like baby oil on our skin, all in the name of beautiful healthy glow. Now we know these things cause serious skin damage, can lead to skin cancer, and that we need to use sunscreen “everyday”. But have you ever been confused or overwhelmed in the sunscreen aisle? I have! SPF 30 or SPF 100? Zinc oxide? Titanium oxide? Trolamine salicylate? Are these things safe? Do they work? These are serious questions the FDA has been busy answering through testing. Based on their findings, the FDA is proposing new regulations to protect consumers and ensure that we are using safe and effective sunscreens.

Here are some guidelines you can start following now based on their findings and proposed regulations:

• Zinc oxide and titanium oxide, mineral sunscreens that act a as physical block on the skins surface, are the only 2 active sunscreen ingredients the FDA recognizes as safe and effective.

• Use at least broad-spectrum SPF 50.

• Reapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours.

• Read the ingredients list of your sunscreen carefully.

• Skip products that boast sunscreen and insect repellent which the FDA has proposed are not safe and effective.

The FDA has a great visual of these proposals here.

Prefer a natural alternative to store-bought sunscreen? Here’s a great recipe we found on www.doterra.com that you can make at home!

Ingredients ¼ cup coconut oil ¼ cup Shea butter 1 teaspoon carrot seed oil 2 tablespoons of zinc oxide 2–3 drops Hawaiian Sandalwood oil

Instructions

Melt coconut oil and Shea butter in a bowl over warm water.Add carrot seed oil and zinc oxide and mix together. Add in drops of Hawaiian Sandalwood essential oil and stir. Place in a jar for storage. Allow to cool for 30 minutes in fridge.