Do you know what’s in your child's sunscreen?

Have you ever paused to consider what’s in the sunscreen you are dutifully slathering all over your kids all summer?

A report came out this week showing that most sunscreens don’t provide adequate protection from the sun because they lack UVA protection or contain chemicals that break down in sunlight.

What’s more alarming to me is that there are known carcinogens and toxic ingredients in major brands of sunscreen – even those made specifically for babies and children. I had actually been researching and preparing a post on the chemical hazards in sunscreen before this new report on sunscreen effectiveness came out.

With the release of the new report, the Environmental Working Group (a non-profit environmental research group that has been pushing for greater oversight of the cosmetics industry) has revised its sunscreen ratings to balance potential health hazards with overall effectiveness, which has had the net effect of making many potentially toxic brands look much better because they do a good job as sunscreens.

But I encourage you to dig deeper and see if the products you are using on your kids are truly safe, not just effective. The sunscreen we have been using (Banana Boat Baby Sunblock Tear Free Spray Lotion - SPF 50) rates an 8 out of 10 (10 being most dangerous) on the health hazards scale, containing chemicals that have been linked with neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and developmental/reproductive toxicity, among other hazards.

From the Cosmetics Database (here and here), these are sunscreens for children and babies that the EWG rates high on the health hazard scale:

Product / Health Hazard Score

Baby Blanket SunBlankie Sunscreen Towelette for Babies (SPF 45) / score 9

Banana Boat Baby Sunblock Tear Free Spray Lotion (SPF 50) / score 8

Banana Boat Baby Magic Sunblock Lotion SPF 50 / score 8

Banana Boat Baby Magic Sunblock Spray (SPF 48) / score 10

Banana Boat Kids UVA UVB Sunblock Lotion SPF 30 / score 7

Banana Boat Kids Sunblock Lotion (SPF 30) / score 7

Coppertone Kids Sunblock Lotion Trigger Spray / score 8

Coppertone Water Babies Sunblock Spray / score 8

Coppertone Water Babies Sunblock Lotion (SPF 30) / score 8

Coppertone Kids Sunblock Lotion (SPF 30) / score 9

Coppertone Kids Lotion (SPF 45) / score 9

Coppertone Kids Spray And Splash (Spf 30) / score 9

Rite Aid Baby Sunscreen (SPF 45) / score 8

Walgreens Kids Sunblock / score 8

Unfortunately, these health hazard scores are no longer clear once you click into the individual product profiles (because they are averaged with effectiveness scores for an overall rating), but you can read further down on each page to see what possible problems are associated with the chemicals in each of these products.

There are safer alternatives available, if you do some homework. In addition to the Cosmetics Database, the current issue of The Green Guide (it’s like Consumer Reports of the green world, recently acquired by National Geographic) has an excellent article about the risks of various ingredients common in sunscreens, as well as product recommendations.

For our part, after all the research, we couldn’t swallow the hefty price tag for the brands that the Green Guide recommends, which also rate lowest (1 or 2) for potential health hazards on the Cosmetics Database. But I found that Baby Blanket Sunblock Lotion for Babies, Titanium Dioxide Formula (SPF 50), which rates as just a 3 on the health hazard scale, is available for just $8.49 for 12 oz. (on Drugstore.com). We just made the switch a few weeks ago, so I’m happy to discover the Cosmetics Database considers it effective as well, rating it as a 2 overall.

(Choose carefully: Just because a company has a good rating on one product doesn’t mean all its products are safe. Even some organic brands rate quite poorly on the health hazard scale, so don’t assume that “organic” or “natural” means “safe.”)

The Cosmetics Database covers all sorts of products we adults use, too – almost 23,000 products in all. I focus on kids here because I find it shocking that some of the sunscreens rated as potentially most hazardous are specifically designed for babies and children. And it’s a product that stays on your child for HOURS, day after day, all summer long.

If you want to read more about safety in cosmetics, the New York Times ran an article in February about the campaign for greater oversight of the ingredients in personal care products. (Until I read this, I was only vaguely aware that the FDA does not regulate the ingredients used in personal care products like lotions ,makeup and shampoo.) Though no large-scale clinical studies have connected cosmetics to major human diseases, according to the Times, you have to wonder what the long-term consequences are if every product you use contains just a little bit of a dangerous substance, and how your unique combination of products interact.

Explore the Cosmetics Database and decide for yourself. There are lots of details on the methodology, what the ratings mean, etc. I think you might be surprised what you find.