Protect Yourself in a more Natural Way
Skin cancer is on the rise everyday and with global warming and the earth become hotter by the minute, protecting your skin is the most important step you can take toward the skin cancer risks. The only problem is, if you lather on sun screen or sun block that contains man-made additives and chemicals additions you are doing more harm to your skin. Anything your apply to your skin; your body will digest, so why not go a more natural way.
Sunscreen penetrates the skin surface while sun block lies on top of the skin surface. And you should find products that protect your skin against ultraviolet rays (UV) A and B. And find natural sunscreen and sun blocks that have a protection factor of at least 15. Look for natural vitamin E or d-alpha tocopherol (a potent antioxidant), aloe extract, caprylic acid, comfrey, green tea extract, Pycnogenol and squalene. You can even find products on the market now that contain perillyl alcohol cream that is from cherries and lavendin which both help prevent skin cancer.
The only issue is, currently there is no product on the market that will block all UV rays 100%, so wear a hat when you can and light colored clothing also helps when you are in direct sunlight. If you are having to go into the sun, which all our bodies need a small amount of vitamin D from the sun, head out into the sun’s rays in the early morning hours when the sun is rising or late in the day when the sun is setting.
Here is a small list of some great natural sun blocks and sunscreens you should check out:
• UV Natural
• Beyond Coastal
• Alba Skin Care
• Burt’s Bees Sunscreen
September 10th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Hello Shelly,
I agree that there are many products on the market that can be harmful. The only problem is calling sunscreens “natural”. There is no such thing as natural sunscreen, except mud, but this doesn’t look very appealing on the skin.
Products that use Titanium Dioxide or Zinc Oxide are physical blocks, as Titanium and Zinc are minerals and classified as inorganic. To make Zinc or Titanium small enough to be used in skin care products requires a chemical and mechanical process. Now there is controversy on how small these particles are and that they may go through the skin into the blood and case the same if not more damage than the chemicals.
I am an advocate of sun protection but I want people to be aware that just because it says “natural or organic” doesn’t mean it’s safer for you.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Jeff, first of all, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my article. I appreciate your input as well. Secondly, the title of this article is “Protect Yourself in a MORE Natural Way”. Not “Protect Yourself in and ALL-Natural Way”. Wearing a hat on your head is an all-natural way to keep the sun from hitting your scalp and your forehead. The issue I am trying to convey here is, when a consumer goes to choose a sun block or sun screen, I would rather see them reach for one that contains non-harmful ingredients and also containing titanium dioxide than grab one that contains TD plus a whole slew of colorants and other products that are not only harmful to the skin but also harmful to the environment as well.