In case you’ve been in summer mode and haven’t caught the news lately, listen up.  Consumer Reports recently advised against using spray sunscreens on children.  The FDA has been “investigating” the safety of sunscreen sprays since 2011, but The EWG has been warning us of the dangers of spray sunscreens for years and years.  They are BAD news, people.

Why are spray sunscreens so harmful?

First, let’s talk nanoparticles.  This is not a sci-fi joke.  They’re real and they are dangerous.  Many cosmetics and personal care products contain nanoparticles, but in sunscreen in particular, they are used because they penetrate easily (read: an easily absorbed cream or spray that doesn’t leave behind a chalky, white finish on the skin).  Nanoparticles are so small they can enter individual cells, even DNA.  They can cause gene damage, bioaccumulate in the body (meaning that they cannot be metabolized or flushed out by our organs; they just keep piling up until they make us sick), and they can be carcinogenic.  Those are just the effects nanoparticles have when applied to the skin; they are even more dangerous when inhaled.  Just think of your child standing there while you continuously spray him or her.  Ugh.

Second, have you ever read the ingredients on a can of spray sunscreen?  Isobutane is used as a propellant in aerosol spray sunscreens; it is in the propane family.  It is flammable.  It is industrial.  It is not good for our skin, our organs, our Earth.  End of story.

I know kids are squirmy and applying sunscreen is a drag in general, but the risks just aren’t worth our health!

Check out the Environmental Working Group’s favorite sunscreens of 2014 or take a look at my personal favorite body sunscreens here, my favorite kids’ sunscreens here, my favorite daily face sunscreens here and my favorite tinted moisturizers with SPF here and here.  Yeah, I’m kind of into sunscreen.

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