Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Wall Street Journal International Sunscreen Article

The Wall Street Journal had a great piece in it today on the sunscreens available in Europe, Asia etc. and why we can't get them here.  This is a favorite topic of mine to rant on and I've talked about SPF with Mexoryl here many times.


Those like Ambre Solaire are regarded as the best you can use but the US/FDA is dragging it's feet. These types of blockers have been in use for  years overseas so I think we can feel assured that they are not dangerous. Certainly not more so than some of the chemical ones widely used here in the US that are  hormone disruptors.They preach sun safety as paramount and it is, but why then keep from us the best sun protection ?

While Consumer Reports is telling us how fabulous generic ones are ( and I have never used them, so who knows, but I am so not going generic in my SPF) you can get some  good info from this piece .

In the meantime as I have also said before, if you or someone you know is traveling overseas , stock up . The prices are comparable to our mass market brands , whereas the few you can order online here are much higher. ( Try La Roche Posay. Their Anthelios line has some Mexoryl based, nice sunscreens.)

Full article here :
 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324659404578503411010462312.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5


 For a good look at  the new US rules and pros/cons, The New York Times also had an informative piece today ( And read some of the comments, much well said there-  http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/the-new-rules-for-sunscreen/?smid=tw-share







2 comments:

chatchien said...

Avobenzone which is approved in the US and ecamsule which is another term for mexoryl are the only chemical sunscreens that protect against UVA I rays. If you don't see avobenzone in the ingredients of your sunscreen then that sunscreen is not a broad protection sunscreen. I am excepting Zinc Oxide which is not a chemical sunscreen and which physically protects against all the UVA and UVB radiation.

Avobenzone should not be the only chemical UVA I sunscreen used in the US, because there are some questions about its safety. It is exasperating that the USDA does not give us a greater choice in our sunscreen components.

I have just given up and now I only use 20% Zinc Oxide sunscreen products which are easily procured in the US once you become familiar with the companies that make them such as Beauty Without Cruelty, Aubrey, Sunintegrity, and such.

Beauty Alchemist said...

Thanks for weighing in Chatchien. This is a topic that warrants a lot of discussion it seems. But yes if we had the right ones, the best ones, all handy then it would be easier. And the new rules made little difference.

I have tried Aubrey before and really liked it, but not the others you mentioned.