Sunny days are upon us and I couldn’t be more excited. Thanks to my family goal this year of taking more care of our health I knew I needed to double check if the sunscreen I bought last year was actually safe sunscreen.

When I took it out of the closet, first impressions of my sunscreen was that it was safe- . But if I’ve learned anything over last year with our family’s health journey – it’s that labels can be deceiving.

Thanks to the Environmental Working Group website (EWG), I quickly logged on and looked it up only to be shocked that it wasn’t. EWG had rated my “safe” sunscreen at a 7! The higher the number on their scale of 1-10, the higher the rating the worse the product is for you. EEKK.

Upon that knowledge I dug into what exactly I should be looking for in a safe sunscreen and what I should be avoiding. I have to admit I learned more than I thought I would!

How To Choose a Safe Sunscreen

1. Protection against UVA and UVB

UVA rays are the rays that penetrate deep into your skin that causes cancer and premature aging. UVB rays cause your skin to burn. Choosing a safe sunscreen means making sure it protects against both UVA and UVB rays.

2. No Parabens

When in reference to sunscreen a big ingredient to avoid is oxybenzone. Why? It is easily absorbed into our skin but is hard on our bodies to filter out. When using a protect on a regular basis you especially want to avoid harmful chemicals that can wreak havoc on our bodies- the float around our bodies, can cause (allergic) reactions, reproductive issues and cause cancer!

A study was done on nursing mothers and 85% showed signs of chemicals in the breastmilk. EEK!

3. You Only Need SPF 30

SPF 30 is 97% effective…. SPF 50 protects 98%. What is the difference between 1 percent— pretty much the level of chemicals in your sunscreen bottle.

Also: If it takes you 30 minutes to turn red in the sun without sunscreen on; SPF 30 means after applying the sunscreen you should be able to stay out in the sun 30 TIMES your 30 minutes. … But because we hop in the water to cool off, sweat in the sun, or rubs off on our beach towel — reapplying every 2 hours is a good rule of thumb to follow on how often you should reapply your sunscreen to make sure you are staying safe in the sun.

4. Buy a Mineral Sunscreen

There are two types of sunscreen – chemical and mineral. A mineral sunscreen rubs into your skin, but doesn’t penetrate to cause harm like we mentioned in #2 above.

The issue we should be more aware about chemical sunscreen (and chemicals in general) is when we absorb them, they mimic healthy things our bodies need (like estrogen) and it tricks our body into thinking that chemical is estrogen and then will transport that chemical to all the areas of our bodies that uses estrogen. .and in return, doing this product after product, day after day, those chemicals build up and express it by cancer, reactions, sensitivities, infertility, etc.

5. Use EWG

I mentioned that I used EWG to double check my sunscreen that I had from last year to only find out although the labeling said “UVA and UVB protection, no parabens, hypoallergenic, etc” it was not deemed a safe sunscreen option.

Thankfully EWG comes out with a new Safe Sunscreen Article every year to make it easy – I wish I would have known sooner. As we grow and learn, we can only to the best we can with the information we have.

You can also download the app and scan the barcode right in the store.

What is a Safe Sunscreen?!

Over and over again I am so thankful to have found Beautycounter a few years ago! They sell clean skincare and beauty items – including lotions, soap, face wash, makeup, AND SUNSCREEN!!

UPDATE 2023: Beautycounter’s sunscreen is now EWG Verifiied!!! You can see all the sunscreen options under sun protection. Bonus: Right now there is a 20% off code for new customers; use code CLEANFORALL20 and you will get a FREE Clean Deo(orant) in Rose. It’s refillable which is a great sustainable option.

And if you’re a busy mom like me and want an easy, minimal makeup look, check out the Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20 . Build it right into your morning makeup routine!