Hunting for good sunscreen

A few days ago, I was planning for a camping trip and needed some new sunscreen to replace my old lotions. I found out that I need to watch out for:

• No Spray Sunscreens
• No Super-High SPFs >50
• No Oxybenzone
• No Loose Powder Sunscreens
• No Retinyl Palmitate*
• No Combined Sunscreen/Bug Repellents
• No Sunscreen Towelettes
• No Tanning Oils

* My sunscreen was guilty of this one. Studies have found that it may speed development of skin tumors and lesions.

So, I spent an hour reading sunscreen labels in CVS and Whole Foods, trying to choose based on the database of sunscreens that meet EWG's criteria. I finally settled on this one from CVS, which costs a fraction of the brands I found at Whole Foods and still gets a 2 out of 10 rating (that's really good):
CVS Baby Sun Lotion Broad Spectrum Sunscreen, SPF 50

Heading out to the camping trip, I couldn't help wondering, though: if a chemical is harmful enough that they don't put it in sunscreen for babies, why would they put it into adult sunscreen? I soon got my answer: it's because these sunscreens apparently make your skin visibly white instead of seeping into your skin! My camping buddies said I looked like I was preparing for geisha makeup, and I had to reapply pretty often, too. Luckily, during camping, I don't care how I look!

What sunscreen would you recommend that is good and doesn't break the bank? Share in the comments!

Finally, here's a great infographic I found on the EWG website:

My "to do" list

Here's a list of the things on my "to do" list, in order to detoxify my home and my body.

• Avoid Mercury
• Don't eat fish high on food chain and prefer light tuna over albacore or "white" tuna.
• Avoid PFOA and PTFE
• Found in Teflon cookware, many nonstick and water-resistant materials, frozen pizza packaging, French fry containers, packaged-for-heating foods
• Don't eat fast food
• Buy stainless steel, cast iron or enamel pots and pans.
• Avoid BPA
• Found in plastic containers, canned food like coconut milk, soup, meat, vegetables, juice, fish, fruit and beans
• Pre-soak and freeze beans instead of buying in cans
• Eat out less
• French press coffee instead of using coffee makers with plastic tanks and tubing
• Avoid vinyl and polyurethane flooring
• Reduce exposure to THMs
• Leave drinking water standing, uncovered, for several hours
• Take shorter and cooler showers or, even better: take a bath
• Filter out many things from drinking water with carbon or charcoal filter combined with a reverse osmosis system. Check NSF website's database for comparison of products.
• Use green cleaning products
• Look for ingredient disclosure and not the words "green", "biodegradable" or "non-toxic" on the front (these don't mean anything!), e.g. Seventh Generation and Ecover are good
• Use homemade cleaning products made of vinegar, baking soda, etc.
• Look up cleaning products in the EWG database or on GoodGuide.com
• Avoid insect sprays and flea and tick solutions
• Instead: boric acid, vinegar+water, or diatomaceous earth
• Check EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database for safe sunscreen, personal care products and cosmetics, and make my own cosmetics as often as I can
• Avoid toxins in baby's stuff
• Buy only plastic products sold after 2009
• Look for low or no VOC in paint
• Make sure there is no formaldehyde in particle board or avpod particle wood altogether
• Limit electronic equipment in room, especially older models
• Use natural body care products such as Vitamin E, safflower oil or olive oil instead of lotion.
• Produce in the "dirty dozen" has to be bought organic
• Download or purchase the following apps:
• EWG Shopper's Guide for "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15".
• Chemical Cuisine for health risks of food additives
• Keep house germ-free
• Wash out veggie drawer in fridge once a month
• Buy plastic chopping board, not wood. Also, if it gets worn and grooved, replace.

 Bonus

• When pregnant, sign up for National Children's Study
• Check that our home, school or workplace isn't near an uncontrolled hazardous waste site, or Superfund site

Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about the fact that I live in smog-filled LA. Or the vinyl flooring in our rental. I promise myself that we'll move when I graduate from school. This tree-lined pocket of apartments between the freeway and electric power lines is just such a good deal in otherwise unaffordable West LA..! (I'm bad, I know.)

What else would you put on your "to do" list? Share in the comments!

Why make the switch to green?

I recently read the book called The Autism Puzzle by Brita Belli, and the book was full of interesting and really scary facts about toxins in our environment and their possible connection to autism. It was shocking to find out how high in concentration heavy metals, BPA, flame retardants and other chemicals are in our environment and our bodies. And what's worse, pregnant and nursing mothers often pass these chemicals to their babies, which wreak havoc on a developing fetus. Combine this knowledge with the fact that my husband and I are planning on starting a family, and I got really freaked out! Hence, my switch to green.

This blog will be my notebook of resources, and I hope it helps others in their journey.

What made you switch to green? Share in the comments!