Sunscreen Round Up!

Sunscreen is an important and necessary product that we use on a regular basis here in Arizona. Many sunscreens now contain potentially hazardous chemicals which have been added to bump up the SPF count. There are many ingredients and brands to avoid, but there are also many companies that make a safe and effective sunscreen.

I turned to the Environmental Working Group website, ( to search for sunscreen that was “clean”. They rank ingredients on a 1-10 scale (1 being safe, 10 being extremely toxic). The good news is that there are many companies that make “clean” sunscreen. The bad news is that some of the sunscreens either smell bad or don’t absorb well, i.e. leaving a white residue on your skin. I'll share my tested favorites at the end of the blog!

Ingredients you want to avoid in sunscreens:

- Synthetic Vitamin A or Retinyl Palmitate: shown to accelerate sun damage by forming free radicals that damage DNA.

- Oxybenzone, octisalate, avobenzone, homosalate, octocrylene, and octinoxate: can trigger allergic reactions, and are potential hormone disruptors that penetrate the skin readily.


Ingredients to look for in sunscreens:

- Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide: these are minerals that act as a barrier from UVA and UVB rays

Nourish Natural Medical Center’s top 5 favorite sunscreens

1. 100% Pure Yerba Mate Mist SPF 30. This is great because it is a spray and not a lotion, is water resistant and absorbs very well. It is a newer product and is not on EWG’s website, but I was able to look up all the ingredients in the sunscreen and they range from a 1-3 out of 10.

2. Alba Botanica Very Emollient Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 fragrance free. This absorbs well and has no odor. It is rated a 2 out of 10 on the Environmental Working Group’s website,

3. MyChelle Sun Shield SPF 28. This absorbs nicely and has no odor and is rated a 2 out of 10.

4. Badger Sunscreen SPF 30. It absorbs ok, it develops a faint white residue after being in the water, and has a mild scent. It is rated a 1 out of 10.

5. Badger Sunscreen SPF 15. This one absorbs much better than the 30 and does not develop a white residue after being in the water.

Do you have any sunscreens that you love? What about sunscreen you need to get rid of, after checking out ingredients on EWG? Let us know in the comments - we would love to hear from you!