Last month we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. And May is Melanoma Awareness month. What do the two have in common? Well, it’s possible to protect your planet while protecting your skin. For our eco-conscious friends (and who isn’t more conscientious these days?) there are resources for natural sunscreens that do a good job with few, if any, chemicals. The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit that prides itself on investigating and exposing the exact ingredients and safety levels of anything from cosmetics to pesticides, offers lists of more naturally based choices.

According to their site, and they quote an excellent story on MSNBC this week that supports the claim:

Surprisingly, 2 of 5 brand-name sunscreens either don’t protect skin from sun damage or contain hazardous chemicals — or both. An Environmental Working Group investigation of 1,804 sunscreens rates the season’s best — and worst.

The ingredients in the product that that topped their list of “Best Sunscreens” meeting their eco and health-friendly criteria, start out with: Zinc Oxide 24.8% Grape Seed Oil, Organic Sunflower Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides (derived from Coconut Oil). On the “Hazardous” end their list of 1800 brands investigated, the first three active ingredients often include: Octinoxate (7.5%), Octisalate (5%), Oxybenzone.

On the surface that sounds ominous, and in fact Oxybenzone has been called into question frequently, for example. However, it bears a little more reading to make an educated consumer choice – particularly a sidebar to the above story on msnbc.com, which says:

“…To get the best UVA protection, you have to be a real label hawk. Keep an eye out for these ingredients: avobenzone, Mexoryl, and zinc oxide. To be sure that avobenzone has staying power (ironically, the sun quickly renders it ineffective), it should be paired with stabilizers like octocrylene, Polyester-8, butyloctyl salicylate, or ethylhexyl methoxycrylene. (Helioplex, which is available in Neutrogena sunscreens, is a stabilized form of avobenzone.) To guard against free radicals, choose sunscreens that contain antioxidants like vitamins C (aka ascorbic acid) and E (aka tocopherol), which reduce these dangerous molecules by as much as 74%. “

No matter your product choice, it’s important to be diligent about protection, so we don’t want to discourage anyone from practicing safe sun. But since many of the natural products get their UVA/UVB blocking ability from zinc and other occluding minerals that some consumers find more difficult to apply, the EWG also created a list of alternatives that are slightly less natural, but to their team of testers and researchers, still the lesser of some evils. Those products, also coded on a scale of “recommended” to “avoid”, are listed here.

Now, if you just want to see how your current brand stacks up from a chemical perspective, you can plug in the name on the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database and make your own choices that way.

Warning, some of these results may be hazardous to your peace of mind. (But remember, moderation is key in most things in life.) I’m not endorsing or condeming any products here, but, as always, just trying to step up your awareness level and your options for caring for your skin. So whether you opt for all natural brands, which may be healthier for the planet, too, or prefer to get your SPF from a leading brand, one thing we DO endorse is the EWG’s responsible listing of sun safety tips.

And, whatever your choice of sunscreen is, please remember to recycle the plastic bottle it came in !