Here Are the Safest and Most Effective Sunscreens

Summer means more time in the sun, which can be good for the bones—all that vitamin D—but bad for the skin. In its annual report on the sunscreens with the least toxic ingredients that are also effective, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found more than 250 products that measure up. All are free of two ingredients the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed are not generally safe and effective—PABA and trolamine salicylate—based on research showing these chemicals can contribute to immune system changes and other adverse health effects. The FDA has determined that two other active ingredients commonly found in sunscreens, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which are minerals, are generally safe and effective in protecting the skin from the sun. All of EWG’s recommended sunscreens are mineral-based. Many sunscreens, however, rely on one or more of 12 other active ingredients for which the FDA says there is not sufficient data on their safety and effectiveness. By the end of the year, the agency expects to finalize a new proposal for regulating sunscreens, which includes a request for more research on these ingredients. “This is a big deal that the FDA has taken this action,” says Nneka Leiba, director of healthy living science at EWG. “It’s what we at EWG have been advising for 13 years.” Many popular sunscreen chemicals were not tested because they were grandfathered in when the FDA’s regulations abo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Cancer environmental toxins sunscreens Source Type: news