Green Guidance  Green Guidance  The Truth in Beauty  by Mindy
Pennybacker, with reporting by Molly Rauch and Claire Gutierrez
Not for nothing did our ancestors worship the sun, the source of
Earth's fertility and associated revels. What the ancients
didn't understand, however, was the link between sun exposure
and skin cancer. Whether you celebrate the season on a
mountaintop or basking by the swimming hole, it pays to protect
your skin. The key: read ingredient lists, and don't be caught
napping at the expense of your or your children's health.
Sunscreens and Sunblocks. The skin is an absorptive organ, so it
makes sense to use the least toxic products on it.
Unfortunately, most sunscreens contain at least some iffy
chemicals, including benzophenone, homosalate, and octy-
methoxycinnamate, shown in animal tests to disrupt hormones and
affect development of the brain and reproductive organs. PABA
(para-aminobenzoic acid) has caused allergic reactions, and
padimate-O and parsol 1789 (avobenzone) have the poten