If you're like me, what used to make me break out the worst was sunscreen. Now I don't know if most sunscreens would still affect me the same way because I am not willing to risk it.
After much research, what I came up with was the best sunscreen is Zinc Oxide. Zinc oxide is not absorbed into the skin and blocks both UVA (320-400 nm) and UVB (280-320 nm) rays of ultraviolet light. Because zinc oxide is not absorbed into the skin, it is nonirritating and nonallergenic.
Other new chemical sunscreens, not only made me break out but after researching I realized they actually seemed to be having the exact opposite effect I was looking for. Many chemical sunscreens, when degraded by UV light, actually form harmful ingredients that can cause damage to the skin!!
Zinc oxide does not do this. Plus Zinc Oxide is natural and even will help keep your skin heal.
But pure zinc oxide paste is very thick and a glowy white color---and well---- how much white, glowy goo can you put on your face before you start looking unattractive?
In my research I did find a recipe online for homemade sunscreen, which dilutes the zinc oxide yet still contains only healthy ingredients:
http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/01/homemade-sunscreen.html
However, as I mentioned, I can be somewhat lazy when it comes to these kinds of things so I did the next best thing. After searching and searching for a sunscreen that had the least amount of offensive chemicals and the most amount of zinc oxide, I came up empty handed. However quite by accident, while researching zinc oxide on the Internet, I stumbled upon an Internet page that talked about diaper creme. Many diaper cremes contain zinc oxide. So I found a diaper creme with ONLY 10% zinc oxide (the minimum percentage that you would want to go out in the sun with and still expect any amount of protection and even then I would still wear a hat) and very few other ingredients...aloe vera, shea butter and a tiny bit of mineral oil. (I know, people have their doubts about mineral oil but it is a small amount and also didn't pose a problem for me.)
So until I find a better alternative, I have been using diaper creme. (Read the ingredients to find the best one. Some won't be suitable and some smell unattractive.)
1 comment:
Like you I absolutely CANNOT use commercial sunscreens for the very same reasons. Some drugstores carry 20% zinc oxide cream. It's in the first aid isle (not baby), and only ingredients are mineral oil and white wax. But like you said, it's such a small amount, it doesn't have much of an effect. I tiny bit goes a long way. Rub a pea size amount in to the palms of your hands and just pat and gently rub into your skin. And yes, it does help heal which is an added bonus. I also recently noticed you can purchase pure zinc oxide powder online and make your own sunblock ointment or lotion.
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