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Happy Canada Day, Don't Forget The Sunscreen

If you're like many Canadians this Canada day long weekend you spent at least some of it outside. Weather it's camping, spending the day at the beach or taking in some of your local weekend activities.  Don't ruin the fun by forgetting your sunscreen.
There are a lot of different types of sunscreen and they come in a wide range of SPF numbers.  So what do you really need to know?

Well, first off a chemical sunscreen will generally includes ingredients like oxybenzone, octisalate, octinoxate, homosalate, and avobenzone.  While a mineral sunscreen provides a physical sunblock like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide.

According to *EWG's Guide to Sunscreens, 
" The most common sunscreens contain chemical filters.  These products typically include a combination of two to six of the following active ingredients: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, and octinoxate.  Mineral sunscreens use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide.  A handful of products combine zinc oxide with chemical filters."
 It's important to note that there seems to be growing evidence that oxybenzone (found in chemical sunscreens) is being absorbed into our skin to a greater extent than anyone previously thought. This is causing a"potential for endocrine activity"* among other things like allergic reactions, and hormone disruption.

As a result you will find more and more recommendations away from chemical to mineral sunscreens. Thankfully your options for mineral sunscreen has significantly increased over the last few years.
You can now find many well known mineral sunscreens at your big retail stores (especially drugstores). Names like Avene, La Roche-Posey, Live Clean, Sunthera3, Ombrelle, Neutrogena, Derma-E, and Aveeno.
One of the places I find mineral sunscreen for my sensitive skin is well.ca. They usually give you a ton of information on each product including ingredients. So if you are like me (have allergies and sensitive skin) this kind of information can save you a world of discomfort and help you to avoid purchasing the wrong product for you.

For those of us with sensitive skin, mineral sunscreens is a safer option as most allergic skin reactions or irritations have been found using Chemical sunscreens. 
I've never been able to use a Chemical sunscreen on my face and rarely have I been able to use them on the rest of my skin. It wasn't until I started to try mineral sunscreens that I finally found something that didn't leave me itchy or covered with an ugly rash.
Always remember to read the ingredients, to make sure you are not sensitive to any of the ingredients and always do a skin test.  
Pick an inconspicuous spot to test a small amount of a product over a day or two before you try it all over.
   
As for what SPF to use.  The Canadian Dermatology Association recommends a broad spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen or higher.

To view a list of EWG's best sunscreens click on the link  EWG'S, best beach sport sunscreens





Sources
health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/sun-care/types-of-sunscreen.html
dermatology.ca/public-patients/recognized-products/sunscreen/
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