You may have heard the old adage, “you are what you eat.” As well, “You are what you apply to your skin.” Substances that affect your overall health and wellbeing don’t simply work their way through your system by travelling the gut alone. Skin is the largest organ in our body. An often-overlooked route is the transdermal (through the skin) route which allows substances ranging from the beneficial to the bad to enter your bloodstream and circulate throughout your body.
A new report published from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) says that nearly two-thirds of all sunscreens evaluated in their “2019 Guide to Sunscreens” would not pass safety tests proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration. EWG will release its analysis as part of its 2019 Guide to Sunscreens, a yearly report on sunscreen safety that the nonprofit began in 2006.
In February, the FDA called for additional testing of a dozen common sunscreen ingredients after finding that high levels of four of them -- avobenzone, oxybenzone, ecamsule and octocrylene -- can enter a person's bloodstream after just one day of use. The chemicals remained in the body for at least 24 hours after the last sunscreen application.
The study, published May 6, 2019 in the medical journal JAMA, also found that the blood concentration of three of the ingredients continued to rise as daily use continued, and then remained in the body for at least 24 hours after sunscreen use ended.
The European Union has mostly replaced oxybenzone. Oxybenzone remains in use in the US; in fact, a 2018 report by EWG estimated that it was in two-thirds of all chemically based sunscreens sold in the United States.
Based on existing data FDA also has concluded that two active ingredients, PABA (amino benzoic) and trolamine salicylate are unsafe and therefore are Category II. Based on information available to FDA, these two active ingredients are not currently used in any sunscreens currently marketed in the United States.
According to the FDA, the Category III sunscreen ingredients lack enough data to support whether they are generally recognized as safe and effective and states that existing evidence suggests that these active ingredients are, or may be, absorbed through the skin, and data about the consequences of this absorption are missing. The 12 Category III sunscreen ingredients are cinoxate, dioxybenzone, ensulizole, homosalate, meradimate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, padimate O, sulisobenzone, oxybenzone, and avobenzone.
Two ingredients – zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are both mineral sunscreens that do not penetrate and are not absorbed through the skin and are generally recognized as safe and effective for use in sunscreens. The FDA has sufficient evidence that they are GRASE Category I. Thus, the safety evaluation does not need to consider more than direct effects on the skin.
Hawaii, the Pacific nation of Palau and Key West recently banned sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate because they cause coral bleaching and are dangerous to marine ecosystems. Non-nano zinc oxide and non-nano titanium dioxide are the only coral-safe sunscreen filters and they are safe and effective in blocking UV rays. Sunscreens formulated with non-nano particles will clearly state "non-nano zinc oxide and/or non-nano titanium dioxide on the products active ingredient list".
Love Sun Body formulas offer truly effective sunscreens, meeting and exceeding the regulatory requirements of the FDA OTC Monograph System, the European Commission’s recommendation on UVA protection and Health Canada Natural Health Products Regulations.
Love Sun Body 100% Natural Origin Mineral Sunscreens are made with the safest UVA and UVB filters - SPF 30 formulas non-nano zinc oxide and SPF 50 formulas non-nano zinc oxide and non-nano titanium dioxide and plant-based moisturizers.
Love Sun Body 100% Natural Origin Mineral Sunscreens are the first and only sunscreens in the U.S. certified by Ecocert Cosmos Natural and have been clinically tested hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. Safe for your body & the planet.