sunscreens
It is important to just sunscreen every day. In fact, incidental sun exposure can account for more of our lifetime exposure to ultraviolet rays than at the beach. Make sure you are covered with at least SPF15.
Potentially Dangerous Ingredients in suncreens:
How to Choose a good Suncreen:
The sunscreen should contain the minerals zinc or titanium, which help reduce UVA exposures. Also important is to avoid sunscreen chemicals considered to be a potentially harmful such as oxybenzone or Vitamin A.
Sunscreen typically contain chemical agents such as certain benzophenones, dibenzylmethanes or substituted paraaminobenzoates (i.e., compounds absorbing ultraviolet radiation, so that it cannot penetrate the skin). Some of the ocmpounds used for this purpose have shown to lack sufficient light stability and may even become toxic over long term application. In addition, they must stay continuously on the surface of the skin at the time of exposure to be effective.
Don’t Use Harsh Cleanser Detergents: Avoid detergents which contain lauryl sulfate and other harsh detergents (those that often leave a lot of suds) which can strip your skin of vital lipids. Instead, look for cleansers that contain fatty acids and fortify your skin, like Dove’s ProAge products or even simple cold cream.
Use Retinols: Retinol, a form of vitamin A, is the only topical ingredient proven not only to prevent wrinkles but to minimize the one you already have. Over the counter creams that contain retinol include Roc Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Night Cream and SkinCeuticals Retinol 1.0. Dermatologists can prescribe higher concentration prescription retinoid like Retin-A, Differin or Tazorac.
However, a form of vitamin A known as retinyl palmitate may be connected to skin disease and cancer. Although the FDA is still investigating this, it may be wise to stay away from suncreens that contain retinyl palmitate until more is known. This chemical may be found in 41% of today’s sunscreens! Another potentially dangerous chemical is oxybenzone, which can be found in some sunscreens. It is a hormone-disrupting compound which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream.