Do You Know the Hada Cosmetic Medicine 5 “A’s” of Sunscreen?
When you pick a sunscreen, you are considering many factors not just: feel, scent, effectiveness, price, shelf life, but it should work with your skin and lifestyle (think getting wet). We also advocate the Hada 4 “A’s” of sunscreen to consider:
Allergies, Acne, Aeration (oxygen into your skin), and Anti-aging
Now we can add ADVANTAGEOUS (to the environment), incorporating the principal of safety of both to you, as well as to the environment!
In a recent ruling the state of Hawaii has passed a bill to which wouldn’t take effect for 3 years, banning all chemical sunscreens containing the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate deemed dangerous to the coral reef and other marine life. Shockingly these chemicals are actually in over 3500 sunscreen products.
OXYBENZONE- or- BENZOPHENONE is not unique to sunscreen products, these chemicals are used in plastics to absorb ultraviolet light and stabilizer (which is critical to keep food and cosmetics stable over time). It is one of the most widely used organic UVA filters in sunscreens today. It is so ubiquitous that it is also found nail polish, fragrances, hairspray, and cosmetics to help these products be stable in light. What effect these products have on the coral reef has yet to be determine. Like other plastic components there has already been some concern that oxybenzone has both hormonal and photo-allergenic effects. Complete elimination of this compound is not likely, virtually 100% of Americans would test positive to a blood test for oxybenzone!
OCTINOXATEis also fairly ubiquitous and found in shampoo, lip balm, skin creams, hair color, and lipstick. If you see “long-lasting” on a cosmetic brands it’s often stabilized by octinoxate. Now even octinoxate effectiveness is questioned as some sunscreens have formulations that lead it to degrade more quickly than it was thought.
At Hada we sell SkinCeutical Sunscreens that do not have either of these ingredients, so that we meet 5 of the Hada “A’s” for sunscreen. come in for a consultation to determine which is the best for you!