NATURAL SUNCARE & HOW TO AVOID CHEMICALS WHY TANNING
To the beach with the towel and...
chemical or mineral sunscreen?
Whenever good weather arrives, we all, absolutely, ask ourselves the same question (or at least those of us who care about our health). Which sunscreen is best suited to protect us without damaging our skin and organism? Quite simply, I'm going to start as maybe I should finish the article. Do not forget the protectors with a high protection spectrum (greater than 30). It is almost better to use a lower protection factor (maximum 30) and apply it more often..
By this I mean that sunscreens, against higher, more harmful ingredients carry between their components. And brands that do not invest resources in quality may be cheaper, but in the long run, the effects for your health can be expensive.
THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF SOLAR SCREENS:
There are 3 types of sunscreens currently: Chemical, Physical and Biological. Natural and organic cosmetic brands are governed by physical and biological filters, usually in a combination of both. At present it is difficult to ensure a safe protection with a biological filter since the protective function that natural ingredients can exert is not enough to counteract the harmful effects of a long solar exposure. That's why organic natural cosmetic brands use them in combination with physical filters (minerals) to achieve a safe and guaranteed effect.
As biological sunscreens we would highlight fern, green tea, marian thistle, and the most popular aloe vera, shea butter, jojoba oil, avocado, cocoa and coconut. In addition to exerting a minimum of protection condition, soften and give elasticity to the skin preventing it from aging. In spite of all this, because it can not offer a high protection for a long time, it is not possible to establish a certain index. That's why when you buy a carrot, coconut or papaya butter, if you do not have a chemical or physical sunscreen, you can not quantify the level of protection you may have. But rest assured that it will be very very short.
Chemical sunscreens .. You better run away from them. They have as their name indicates ingredients that are toxic and harmful to health. Almost all affordable brands contain them. The good thing is that they absorb easily and leave no white or pastey spots. But of course, everything has its consequences. Their microparticles are absorbed immediately into the skin, entering our body. Its protection is based on chemical reactions in contact with the heat, which causes that the heat is released and the product is degraded. It would require more reapplications than with physical screens, and therefore, more toxic product for our organism. They plug the pores, avoiding the correct defensive sweating of our skin, are disruptors of the endocrine system, affecting our hormones, can produce harmful skin lesions and even cancer. In addition, its components, when degraded, are harmful to our health and the environment.
It is therefore necessary to consider the options and, currently, the most convenient and naturally safe protection is the use of physical (mineral) screens. Currently, 2 types are used: Biological photoprotectors (with natural ingredients that we have previously seen) plus Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide. These photoprotectors, the disadvantage they have, is that they create a screen that, in many cases, is made in the form of whitish film. That people bother about aesthetics. They create a defense barrier that bounces the rays of the sun and prevents them from penetrating or injuring our skin. Nowadays the great advances are allowing to obtain fotoprotectores with mineral filters (physical) in smaller particles that allow a better absorption. But back to the same. If you can reduce the size of the particles without being absorbed by the good organism, well, but even if they are minerals, the use of nanoparticles can also become harmful to our health. Zinc oxide is currently the safest natural and mineral protection we have. Then there's titanium dioxide. And here comes the most important question and see if I can explain myself clearly. The current cosmetic houses know about the importance of including quality natural ingredients and minerals for the care of our body. They are aware that more and more we like to take care of ourselves and lead a healthy lifestyle. But they also know that people do not like having that white screen on their skin. Therefore, they use titanium dioxide in NANOPARTICLES. This creates a mineral physical screen without leaving a whitish color. The problem is that although titanium dioxide may not be as toxic as chemical filters, when in the form of nanoparticles it is also easy for us to contact our cells or inhale them more easily, just as it happens with the Chemical filters, becoming also harmful to our health in many cases.
I have to say that natural cosmetic brands are forced to put in their ingredients if the titanium dioxide they use is in the form of nanoparticles. If so, when you look at a container that you have at home, you will see that they will put it in shape (NANO). That is, titanium dioxide (nano). When I see that I prefer not to take that product. Unfortunately many brands with a reputation for natural cosmetics use it ...
My advice. Always use biological sunscreens with zinc oxide mineral protection. You can find them up to a factor of 25 or so. From here, what happens? That as I began to explain the article, more protective resources are needed to realize the blockade of solar rays. Then, in addition to zinc oxide, in most cases, you will see that the brands also include titanium dioxide. Always check that it is not in nanoparticles. I have to say that good brands of natural and organic cosmetics never use nanoparticles and their ingredients are natural, organic and mineral (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide but not NANO). From a protection factor 30, you will usually find this case. The greater the protection factor, the greater the mineral (or chemical) concentration you will have to have to perform the protection. .
Your most natural allergy partner. You can find it in any herbalist. This plant, also known as "golden sun" is a totally natural antihistamine and fights both the inflammation in the airways and the itching and reaction of the skin itself to allergens. It relieves all kinds of symptoms in allergies, it is to be appreciated..
Therefore, in my case, I prefer to put a protection factor 25, and repeat applications more frequently, than a factor 30 or 50 that may contain ingredients more harmful to health. Of course, there are always the exceptions, and there will be people who, due to their type of skin or if they have some type of disease, need more protection. In such a case, I ALWAYS recommend using the physical protection screens (in combination of biological and mineral ingredients - zinc oxide and titanium dioxide -) but NEVER containing NANO particles. As far as chemical sunscreens are concerned ... I personally have long since stopped using them ...
