4.05.2009

tried it... baby sunscreen...

after a long day spent out at the alameda antique fair, jeremy is sunburned and i am fairly fried. only lucy managed to escape from all-day sun unscathed--she was wearing a long sleeved shirt, capris and sunbonnet, but i slathered all of her exposed parts with avalon organics natural mineral sunscreen. thankfully she's looking a lot better than us. 

sunscreens are tricky. you use them to protect yourself from harmful sun exposure, but often times they are made up of lots of nasty chemicals, many of which are known carcinogens. it kind of defeats the purpose, in my opinion. last year i bought natural sunscreens, including the avalon organics for lucy, but i don't think i ever got around to writing a review. 

for an spf 18, i think this stuff works really well, though it is a bit slow to rub in and not water resistant. it's hypo-allergenic, paraben-free, and fragrance-free. active ingredient is titanium dioxide, which is thought to be carcinogenic when inhaled. (mental note: do not huff the sunscreen). the skin deep cosmetics safety database rates this product as a 3 out of 10 on its safety scale. certainly not the worst, but they do list 27 alternate sunscreens with lower ratings. we're about halfway through our bottle. i'm thinking that when it's emptied, i'd like to give california baby sunscreen try. it gets a ZERO on the ratings scale, which is obviously the best mark that a product can receive. we've had nothing but good luck with their baby wash, conditioner and bug spray. my only curiosity is as to whether or not it will work! have any of you mommies out there had any hands-on experience with california baby sunscreen?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

We used the California Baby sunscreen on Rebecca a few times last year, and used it once on Brian and I. It works great. However, it was horribly difficult to rub in, and even after it was "rubbed in" it left a whiteish pearly sheen on our skin.
That being said, unless I can find something else that I like better this year, I'll probably use it again for Rebecca.

Renee said...

i love the ca baby sunscreen! ditto hula about the sheen, but it doesn't bother me. we use the bug and sun sunscreen w/ built in insect repellent. bugs and sun go hand in hand here in the south. in the bay area, probably not as big a deal for you. i also bought the stick this year, which as been nice for quick face applications! both have long wear and last hours without reapplication. two thumbs up!

Anonymous said...

We have the California Baby stuff but we're waiting until DS is six months old before we use it. Good to see that other moms like it!

vonFRINKenhagen said...

We got the Jason's Earth's Best (that's a lot of possessive's in a brand name...) and it seems like it'll be hard to rub in. Haven't used it, but had good reviews on diapers.com