Q&A: sunscreen

Jesse writes:

"Since we are on the topic of what to put on little kids— do you are readers have ideas about safe sunscreen or alternative strategies?

I am reluctant to put it on my six month old since my ped basically said wait until she is at least one, if not two.  This makes me nervous, coupled with the scary fact that beauty products/ skincare stuff is not regulated the way food or drugs are and the skin is the largest organ of the body.  So slathering stuff on a baby/child’s skin means they will get a big dose of whatever that stuff contains."

My ped, when I asked him if I should really hold off until 6 months to use sunscreen, looked at me in horror and said, "You can't let him get sunburned!" So I used the sunscreen. But I did look for a health-food store brand that didn't have all the nasty, irritating, potentially dangerous stuff. My ped said to get the kind that was a physical barrier, not a chemical barrier. This post on Babycenter agrees, and recommends a sunscreen with zinc oxide* or titanium dioxide.

Sure, it costs more than a tank full of gas, but the hope is that you're not exposing your teeny babies to the sun all that much anyway, so you won't be going through tubes of it.

The best thing to do is to keep your kids (of all ages) out of the direct sunlight between 10 and 4 every day. Have them play in the shade if they can. You could also invest in sun protective clothing for them to wear. You can get those full-body surfer suits with SPF protection at SkyMall OneStepAhead.com (they also have plain cotton T-shirts with SPF protection) and LandsEnd.com. Make sure you have a good sunscreen for your stroller if you have an infant.

But if you can't keep your baby out of the sun, you do need to use suncreen to protect them from burns. So much of parenting is about managing risk, and this is another example of that. You can't be sure that even the most expensive, "natural" suncreen is absolutely safe in large doses, but it's better than letting your child get burned.

Reader recs for "safe" suncreens?

* Remember the diaper rash discussion when we found out that zinc oxide can be bad for your baby? Titanium dioxide appears to be harmful at large doses, but nowhere near as dangerous as zinc oxide is even at smaller doses. Titanium dioxide dispersion is drying to the skin ("May cause skin irritation. Repeated contact may result in defatting and drying of the skin.") but doesn't cause burns or pox like zinc oxide can. I look for titanium dioxide instead of zinc oxide.

Comments

[Cat, Galloping]

I find it incredibly disturbing that a ped would tell someone not to put sunblock on their baby! Sure, I'd rather avoid the chemicals, but as my ped put it, better those than a sunburn or, even if he doesn't get sunburned, exposure to UV rays that cause cancer. Sheesh! We use Kiehl's. Which is good if, say, you want to spend the absolute most possible on sunscreen. ;-)

[Lisa V]

My oldest 3 never had problems with sunscreen, but Mason is very allergic. His face swelled to like a balloon the first time we put it on. And I didn't put it on his face. I put it on his ears and shoulders. No sunscreen vs. epi pen is a far superior solution in my opinion. We kept him out of direct sun, used hats and lightweight long sleeved clothing until last summer. He was 3 then. We tried sunscreen in really small doses. He does best with a store brand (Albertsons) baby hypo-allegenic. He still wears a hat. I wll never put it on his or head. I put some on him arms and legs in extreme circumstances. So fa,r so good. So I think your doctor is right. Even thought 3 of my children were fine, one wasn't.

[MrsGryphon]

Thanks for this (very timely) post - we are heading off on vacation later this week with our 5 month old and I've been having the internal sunscreen debate for the last few weeks. Do we or don't we?! I think we're going to have to, b/c it's going to be far too hot to keep her in long sleeves and pants, so thank you for the titanium dioxide tip! Also, thanks to the 2nd commenter's experience, I will be sure to test with just a small amount first!

[anna]

I have a 3 yr old w/terrible excema, her skin is insanely sensitive, and she is super fair. The only barrier sunscreen i have found is what the dr recommended--neutrogena's sensitive skin, spf 15 or 30, i don't remember which. My ped told me that what is actually safest, as counterintuitive as it seems to me, is the lowest spf you can find, b\c that means less chemical preservatives. And I was told to use it on the 4 month old who seems to be following in her footsteps, when he has to be in the sun.

[Carrie]

My 14-month old son reacted to the pink-bottle baby sunscreen (Baby Magic from Banana Boat). He reacted less severely to the pink bottle Meijer store brand ZnO/TiO sunscreen. I think it might be the fragrances that were the problem.

My pediatrician recommended we just try different brands and see what worked. At $8 or so a bottle and a rash every time, that wasn't going to happen. My dermatologist recommended this Blue Lizard brand Australian suncream (and they sell it in their office). They suggested sensitive skin version over children's version since apparently, it's the same formulation but less expensive. No scent at all. Goes on smoothly (but stays pretty white for a while). You do need to rub it in. No rash, so worth it to me. It's $15.99 for 5 ounces at dermstore.com (free shipping though). I also saw it for sale on ebay and in big pump containers (to keep at your backyard pool, or something). You can click my name for a link to the dermstore website to check it out (I wrote the review).
We use protective clothing too. The boy loves to wear his sun hat from Target and his sunglasses (shades).

[Motherhood Uncensored]

My daughter has very sensitive skin - we use Arbonne as well as other stuff (like Jason/Earth's best) - all organic/natural and they work great!

[Anne]

Living in Hawaii = we've been using sunscreen, hats, umbrellas, and clothing with SPF since my son was 3 months old. Granted it's not like we go to the beach all the time and when we do we try to go before or after peek exposure times but hey it's Hawaii after all - we live at the beach. We've been using California Baby sunscreen with good result, it does contain Titanium Dioxide as it's main active ingredient but I've never noticed a problem with skin irritation or drying.

[Boulder]

Another excellent source for clothing that protects from the sun is www.sunprecautions.com Their customer service is excellent, and the clothing is varied for parents, and great for kids.

Their propreitary brand is Solumbra - it is both cool and comfortable.

Highly recommend them!

[scientistmom]

As a scientist who reads MSDS sheets very often, the link that you've provided for zinc oxide shouldn't worry you too much. Many of the same warnings are given for sodium chloride, which is nothing but standard table salt! Those warnings are given for exposure to 100% zinc oxide, not the 17% or so that is in the barrier creams. Obviously if your child is reacting to the cream that is a problem, but otherwise, I wouldn't worry about the scary language on the MSDS sheet. I would feel safe putting zinc oxide on my child. But he hasn't had a diaper rash yet -- knock on wood!!

[jesse]

Thanks for everybody's good ideas including Moxie's. I have managed to keep my baby out of the sun so far, but will try a combo of low SPF sunscreen with Titanium dioxide and her trusty hat, along with lots of long sleeved stuff.

[Kate]

There was a good discussion about this lately over on another board I frequent. Consensus seemed to be that this newfangled micronized zinc oxide is the safest ingredient to look for. I am planning to get a chemical-free Australian sunblock called UV Naturals, which has that. It looks excellent, and they have an informative website.

[Shalom Shick]

Actually, your babies' diets hold the key to being impervious to the sun's UV rays. Especially astaxanthin intake. See http://www.newstarget.com/z008334.html
The Standard American Diet is highly nutrient deficient. Get a mega-blender (I recommend K-Tec) and make your own baby food out of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and you won't have to worry about this issue. See my web site link to Hallelujah Acres for more information on this diet and lifestyle.

[tzywusjnb gdkfoqxne]

xrechonk hfterwgiz thqsfpz xpbrqfus hvlyirft pjhva utypnzs

[louis vuitton bags]

Determine a person's life, and the entire fate, but the passing second.I love you, and your business.

[Whitening Soap]

Every once in a while I try another brand and keep returning to Trish. Her mascara dries around the lash, so when it's time to remove, water unlocks the mascara and you can pull it off in little tubes, leaving your lashes unharmed.

[Azenith]

Try Our Premium Whitening Soap at www.AmiraSkinCare.com

[Azenith]

Try Our Premium Whitening Soap at http://AmiraSkinCare.com

[Tallmadge carpal tunnel treatment]

Their custody hold rotted on the inner can assist with treating carpal tunnel such as Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Calcium, Gingko Asset, Atomic number 19, Magnesium and M. S. N.

[snumpMounse]

CsnY UorPvm http://sinsakutoumi.com/ CpfKlu TfxNxe VbmX TUMI トート KggI DceNjd http://toumihannbai.com/ KxrNpr ThyKlt RwrH TUMI 店舗 AwlA NlsGfa http://saiyasunetoumi.com/ LvlYsr HnbPms XzeH TUMI 26114 JipH WkbEdr http://gekiyasutoumi.com/ SfyVur NruImy SpwM TUMI トート WkmMg NwuNkz http://senmonsyaneru.com/ UhtVkz UnbSki DwdJtz シャネル 財布 チェーン WalPx UzrQvq http://yuuguusyaneru.com/ KgjIdb LwtNar ZdnFwm シャネル バッグ UpzQm OvgGtj http://onnrainnsyaneru.com/ RgxByo NmjEiz HwzLrh シャネル バッグ 2013 PblXh PiyQmi http://nihonsyaneru.com/ WnhAdr QzvJnu SzxAoh シャネル 財布 コピー