BAD SUNSCREEN INGREDIENTS

Not surprisingly we are getting the news that sunscreen may be dangerous. There are several bad sunscreen ingredients, but the one that the powers that be are really taking a look at is oxybenzone which according to reports is found in more than half the sunscreens on the market.


The problem with this particular chemical is that is can be absorbed through the skin and when it does it just might cause allergic reactions and disrupt hormone function. Basically, this stuff (in my humble opinion) should not be used on ANYBODY but we should especially not be slathering it on our children or on ourselves if we happen to be pregnant.

But is oxybenzone the ONLY bad sunscreen ingredient hiding in our kids' sunscreens?
I, personally, was not surprised to learn that a large percentage of sunscreens have dangerous chemicals lurking in them.

WHAT'S A MOM TO DO?

We are told that sun blocking cream that have either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide are best but guess what? There's a chance that titanium and zinc could be toxic if absorbed into our kids bloodstream. So far there is no reason to believe that this danger could become reality but....well, how's that been working for us so far? Just when you start to get comfortable with a particular study's results, here comes one that refutes the previous study and cites a chemical as dangerous as all hell.

NATURAL SUNSCREEN

After doing a search, I found lots of sunscreens that are marketed as NATURAL SUNSCREENS but I haven't had time to read all the reviews and to check if any of them have bad sunscreen ingredients hiding in the fine print.

HOW TO MAKE NATURAL SUNSCREEN

What I found more intriguing was information I found on the ingredients for natural sunscreen that I saw in some recipes!

For instance, did you know that Sesame oil resists 30 percent of UV rays and plain old olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil and cottonseed oil block out about 20 percent?

HERE'S A RECIPE FOR NATURAL SUNSCREEN

Perhaps it's best to make your own sunscreen with none of the dangerous chemicals in it. Be aware that even some of the homemade sunscreen recipe have zinc oxide or titanium oxide mixed with almond oil and beeswax as their main. But I would prefer recipes that don't have ANY bad sunscreen ingredients in them because to me having a green and natural home means eliminating all the chemicals that I can.

COMMON SENSE

Do I believe that a homemade sunblock eliminating the bad sunscreen ingredients will completely prevent my babies' skin from blistering in the harsh UVA and UVB rays of the sun? Well, I haven't tested the recipe yet and I would never take a chance on letting my baby get a sunburn which I believe compromises her already less than super immune system. I DO use something that some people seem to avoid at all costs, COMMON SENSE which is one of the best natural sunscreens in my book!

To be smart we should:

• 
  Avoid direct sunshine
  
• Go outdoors when the sun’s rays are not as strong before 10.30 am and after 3pm
  
• Wear sun hats with wide brims
  
• Wear protective sunglasses
  

CHEMICAL FREE BABY PRODUCTS

Seeing a mom use anything BUT chemical free baby products and household cleaners is something I can get really worked up about. I can hardly believe my eyes when I go to another mom’s house and see poisonous chemicals in the bathroom and under the sinks.

So what if you have reliable cabinet door locks to keep baby from taking a swig right out of the bottle when you put the products within reach every time you clean the house? When harsh cleaners are used to clean the toilet there a risk of poisoning the thirsty family dog as well as the toddler who thinks the potty is a small and easily accessed bathtub. To avoid this situation in your home, do some research on using chemical free, natural toilet cleaners!

I’ve been exposed to my fair share of chemicals in my lifetime as most of us have. When I think of how much crap I’ve breathed into my lungs when helping clean the house on Saturdays it scares me to no end. I’m determined that my daughters are going to have a better start in life and know better than to release nasty chemicals into our water supply and to use natural household cleaners and natural pesticides whenever possible. Now is the time for the world to stand up and take notice that using natural based household cleaners and chemical free baby products is better for everyone.

I started out using chemical free baby products but I still see more than a few moms hanging on to brand names filled with stuff that (in my opinion) adults much less babies should never be exposed to. There are many green, chemical free baby products samples giveaways and lots of information posted on why fewer chemicals are better and it is our responsibility as parents to make the right decisions!

Return to Family Recipes, Babies and Parenting Issues to find more opinionated rants about the need to go green in our homes.

BODY CHEMISTRY OF LOVE and ATTRACTION

If there is one thing I want my writing to convey it’s that messing with body chemistry is not a good idea. I believe that we are so finely tuned that even something as innocuous as fragrances can knock us out of our comfort zone. Chemicals can make us sick either with an allergic reaction or by putting some slow moving malady into motion that takes so long to make itself known that we may have no clue as to what caused it.

This of course might make many companies very happy as they might otherwise be held accountable if we could actually pinpoint the exact product that poisoned us. If there is ever a method of locating the exact concoction that had an enough of an effect on our body’s chemistry to cause problems, you might expect more care being put into the research and testing phase before releasing new medicines, cleaning products or anything containing chemicals intended for use in our homes and especially around our kids. I would not be surprised to see some of the old stuff that has been around since before we were born getting a second glance either.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner I wanted to drop a little hint on how chemistry can affect your love life and who use choose as your mate. Yes ma’am, I heard a disconcerting report on the chemistry of love and attraction. Or it may be more accurate to say how modern chemistry may have bearing on whom you choose to love.

Who would have ever dreamed that birth control and attraction might be connected? Well, as it turns out they are. Apparently nature in all her infinite wisdom designed us to be naturally attracted to people who are biologically different than ourselves. This was probably a defense mechanism to prevent humans from producing children born of incest, having miscarriages and fertility problems which we know is a good thing. Now we know after decades of using birth control pills which we know alter our body chemistry.

But what we may not have known was that they may cause us to bypass nature’s natural body chemistry of love and may cause us to choose mates who are MORE similar to ourselves. Who knows what the repercussions of this phenomenon might be (if the report is accurate), but I have filed it back as just another bit of evidence that we should never consider tampering with our bodies safe or advantageous nor should we do so without careful consideration.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting and Environmental Issues to see more of my opinions on unnecessary chemicals and toxins in our homes.

ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP and BODY WASH BE HANGED

I was trying to remember when America became so germ phobic. It came to me that the early 90s was when antibacterial became a buzz word. Everything from antibacterial body wash to baby clothes was manufactured along with increasingly powerful antibiotics all with the purpose of keeping super bugs away from our families.


For those just cruising through, my baby has MRSA. And antibacterial products may have been a contributing factor. Yep, antibiotics and antibacterial products may be partially to blame for the misery and worry MRSA has put us through. Putting the questionable safety of the chemicals contained in household antibacterial products aside; we have killed the good guys and handed a free pass to the criminals and reprobates of the bacterial world.


The big joke is on us because it has been proven that triclosan doesn't wipe out the germs, but may cause them to mutate and become powerful beings intent on destroying all in their wake (read: become resistant). Indeed, early studies have found that e-coli that we were all sweating bullets about morphed into resistance when exposed to as little as 0.1 triclosan in soap.


That doesn’t exactly make me feel very secure when I see shelf after shelf in our family discount stores filled with products with these chemicals. It makes me wonder who is at the wheel and how many new germs are coming our way. I can't help but wonder why, when studies clearly show that plain soap is just as effective at bacteria removal as antibacterial soap, is this stuff still going strong? Would consumers go into a tailspin at the prospect of not getting their daily dose of toxic, superbug breeding chemicals?


Here’s something else that should be of interest to triclosan fans. The results of one study stated that when triclosan was exposed to sunlight after having been mixed with water the results were (drum roll) chloroform! Do we really want more of that in our planet’s water supply?
Here’s the rundown as I see it. Antibacterial soaps may have the ability to increase the number of super bugs. They may contain dangerous chemicals. Triclocarban, another handy dandy chemical with antibacterial properties, is believed to disrupt endocrine function in rodents and humans which could lead to an increase in cancer and reproductive issues. They are more expensive than more environmentally friendly household products. The average person should be able to find at least one reason to bypass antibacterial body wash in that list even they aren’t concerned with the world’s ecosystems.