Safe and effective sunscreen choices

Best sunscreen criteria

Summer is approaching fast in Australia and New Zealand and as every year I search for the very best sunscreen to protect your children and yourselves from the strong UV rays and hopefully from long term damage, especially skin cancer.

So what are my criteria?

1.     SPF of at least 30 (this means it blocks 97% of the UVB rays and it takes 30 times as long to burn compared to not using sunscreen).

2.     No chemicals that could harm our children or the reefs – especially oxybenzone which is a hormone disruptor (see the full list of ingredients to avoid below).

3.     Zinc oxide (non-nano) as the only active ingredient: zinc is broad spectrum, which means it protects from both UVA and UVB rays; and zinc is actually good for you, so if you absorb some through the skin it will not do any harm. Why not titanium? It can cause skin irritation and has been classified by the IARC as a potential carcinogen.

4.     No ingredients that could increase the risk of allergies (rubbing edible potential allergens like coconut or almond oil into the skin may increase the risk of developing an allergy to these foods).

5.     Made in Australia or New Zealand to reduce air miles.

Here are my safe and effective sunscreen winners of 2020:

1. Life Basics Facial sunscreen by Nourished Life.

2. Little Urchin.

3. WotNot and WotNot for Babies.

4. Earth’s Kitchen.

5. And for the mums who want to have a little anti-aging thrown in: Edible Beauty.

6. You can search the Environmental Working Groups database for more sunscreen options.

What else do I need to know about sunscreen?

No sunscreen will protect you 100% and that is why they should be the last resort.

The best protection from sun damage is by covering up or not going into the sun: long sleeves, hats, shade – and do not forget the UV 400 sunglasses for everyone, including the youngest in your family, to prevent cataracts which affect 700,000 Australians and 350,000 New Zealanders (the risk increases with age).

I love the new cool options of sunshades for the beach and garden – for example this easy to set up and beautiful pop up pyramid. I have one in the clinic garden for your kids to play in.

Avoid the sun when the UV is high. You can get the D Minder App or check UV intensity on your weather app and avoid the sun when the UV is above 3. The D Minder App will calculate how long it is safe to stay in the sun. It knows where you are and how strong the UV is at your exact location and will tell you when you should leave the sun. We do need some sun exposure to produce vitamin D for strong bones, an optimal immune system, and happy mood. So go out early in the day – before 9am (but check the UV just in case it is high even then) and after 5pm. When the UV is low enough to be safe you can expose more of the body to the sun to speed up vitamin D production.

In addition (but never instead of the above) you can protect your skin by eating a diet high in antioxidants: berries, pomegranate, carrots, cucumber, and even oatmeal contain phytonutrients that protect against sun damage. So eat the colours of the rainbow,  make sure you get your 5 servings of vegetables and 2 of fruit per day, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, and slip slap slop to have a safe and happy summer!

Here are my safe and effective sunscreen winners of 2020:

1. Life Basics Facial sunscreen by Nourished Life.

2. Little Urchin.

3. WotNot and WotNot for Babies.

4. Earth’s Kitchen.

5. And for the mums who want to have a little anti-aging thrown in: Edible Beauty.

6. You can search the Environmental Working Groups database for more sunscreen options.

What else do I need to know about sunscreen?

No sunscreen will protect you 100% and that is why they should be the last resort.

The best protection from sun damage is by covering up or not going into the sun: long sleeves, hats, shade – and do not forget the UV 400 sunglasses for everyone, including the youngest in your family, to prevent cataracts which affect 700,000 Australians and 350,000 New Zealanders (the risk increases with age).

I love the new cool options of sunshades for the beach and garden – for example this easy to set up and beautiful pop up pyramid. I have one in the clinic garden for your kids to play in.

Avoid the sun when the UV is high. You can get the D Minder App or check UV intensity on your weather app and avoid the sun when the UV is above 3. The D Minder App will calculate how long it is safe to stay in the sun. It knows where you are and how strong the UV is at your exact location and will tell you when you should leave the sun. We do need some sun exposure to produce vitamin D for strong bones, an optimal immune system, and happy mood. So go out early in the day – before 9am (but check the UV just in case it is high even then) and after 5pm. When the UV is low enough to be safe you can expose more of the body to the sun to speed up vitamin D production.

In addition (but never instead of the above) you can protect your skin by eating a diet high in antioxidants: berries, pomegranate, carrots, cucumber, and even oatmeal contain phytonutrients that protect against sun damage. So eat the colours of the rainbow,  make sure you get your 5 servings of vegetables and 2 of fruit per day, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, and slip slap slop to have a safe and happy summer!