Safe Sunscreen

Its already time to start thinking about sun protection! Even though it can still be chilly here, a few hours in the bright afternoon sun will cause damage to my fair skinned girls. I am extremely picky about the skin products we use - there is absolutely no reason to expose my kids to chemicals and unsafe products. Sunscreen is used so often in the summer and covers large areas of kids' bodies - its important to use something safe.

Badger Sunscreen has a zero rating in the cosmetics database, the best rating available. They use zinc oxide, a mineral considered the safest and most protective sunscreen ingredient. Badger Sunscreen is a "physical barrier" sunscreen rather than a "chemical" sunscreen. You can read more about their sunscreen here. The fact that they take the time to explain so much about their sunscreen, its ingredients, and how its made is impressive in itself.

We've been using Badger Sunscreen for two summers now and just received a tube of their new unscented formula for review. They just took out the essential oils that gave it fragrance. I didn't mind the other formula, but this one is perfect. It has just the lightest scent from the ingredients. The sunscreen goes on thick and creamy white, but rubs in nicely.

Here is a picture of Julia with sunscreen on one arm and not the other. She has sunscreen on her right arm - the glare in the photo makes it look a bit brighter, but in person I couldn't tell.

A fun fact about Badger - they are a green company and they even serve an organic local free lunch to their employees every day! The plastic tubes are phthalate free. Most of the ingredients they use are organic. Sounds good to me.

For more information on safe sunscreen check out the EWG Report on Sunscreen.