Green Your Beauty

Products for the ‘Sunscreen’ Category

RATING:3 TREES
Product Link:

I’ve been using this for a few months now and it  is ok. I bought mine from Sephora, but it is also available through the website.

PROS:
+ contains a couple of essential oils
+ pleasant smell
+ user friendly container
+ some SPF
+ seems to offer some moisturizing benefits

CONS:
– no apparent reduction in fine lines
– too many chemicals
– phenoxyethanol
– added (natural) coloring
– polysorbate 80

INGREDIENTS:
Octinoxate = 7.5%, Oxybenzone = 2.0%, Meridamate = 3.0%. Other Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oilm, Glycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Squalane, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 80, Sorbitan Oleate, Carbomer, Potassium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Citral, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Eugenol, Annatto (CI 75120)

FINAL VERDICT: This has done nothing amazing for my skin. For awhile I thought it was actually drying it out, but that turned out to be a face wash I was using. I’ve been using the tub up for the past month night and day and I have noticed that my skin is slightly softer.  They also ad CI 75120 which is a “natural” coloring agent that comes from the seed: Bixa orellana. Um, I’ve never heard of that. Even if there is no negative research on this ingredient, I feel it’s unnecessary to add any form of coloring to a cream, anyway, particularly if you are claiming to be natural. Polysorbate 80 is also added, which works as an emulsifier or fragrance. It is of low concern (2), but still has been linked to toxicity and cancer in some research. There has also been some recent research indicating that retinyl palminate can increase the likelihood of damaged skin/skin cancer, although that does seem to conflict with dermatologists that prescribe Retin A for antiaging… I will keep researching this. In short: this ingredient is not as natural as it could be. It’s better than a lot of the mainstream products out there but I’m going to try to go for something that does not contain as many chemicals.

RATING: 2.5 Trees
Product Link:

I bought this a couple of weeks ago and love the consistency. I don’t know if it’s being phased out, but it was not available on their website, which is odd. Perhaps the “active” one replaced it? I purchased mine at whole foods.

PROS:
+ smells great (but this is due to added fragrance) *
+ can be worn over makeup
+ no weird white residue
+ SPF 45
+ Paraben Free
+ Cruelty Free
+ Didn’t appear to make me break out
+ UVA/UVB
+ Water/Sweat Proof

CONS:
– not sure of any additional ant-aging benefits.
– contains Benzyl Alcohol, liked to moderate neurotoxicity, cancer
– contains alcohol which is drying
– added fragrance of unknown origin could be toxic or irritating*

INGREDIENTS

Active Ingredients: Homosalate 10%, Octocrylene 10%, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate 7.5%, Ethylhexyl Salicylate 5.0%, Titanium Dioxide 2.0% Other Ingredients: Aqua (water) glycerin, cetearyl olivate, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate SE, sorbitan olivatem dimethicone VP hexadecene copolymer, caprylic / capric triglyceride, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, euterpe oleracea fruit extract, tocopheryl acetate, sodium stearoyl glutamate, Xanthan gum, benzyl alcohol, ethylhexlglycerin, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, fragrance (parfum).

FINAL VERDICT: It is probably not horrible in comparison to some other sunscreens, but I probably wouldn’t recommend use on an ongoing basis, especially if you are sensitive to fragrance.