Best Sunscreens

Are you overwhelmed when you go the sunscreen isle at your favorite store? There are so many brands, it's hard to choose which one is right for your family. This information from Consumer Reports should help.

FROM NBC: Consumer Reports has released its latest sunscreen ratings -- which suggest you don't have to spend a lot of money for sun protection. The magazine gave three sunscreens its "best buy" rating -- those were Up and Up sport, Equate Baby and No-Ad with aloe and vitamin e.

The Up and Up is Target's generic brand, and Equate is the generic brand sold at Walmart. Consumer Reports looked at how well each product protected against both UVA and UVB rays even after going into water.

Other sunscreens that ranked well were Banana Boat Sport Performance, Coppertone Sport Ultra Sweatproof, CVS Fast Cover Sport, Ocean Potion Kids Instant Dry Mist and Walgreens Sport.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Sunscreen Ingredient Danger

I am so mad. I just checked my sunscreen and sure enough, it contains retinyl palmitate. The Coppertone baby sunscreen does not, but the Coppertone oil free for FACES does! Now that I look closer, it says "helps prevent premature skin aging." I assumed that was because it was keeping you from getting tan, not because it has an anti-aging chemical in it. I am so frustrated. Check your sunscreen. I really didn't think this was as common as the article suggests. I guess I was wrong!

FROM NBC: A U.S. senator is calling on the FDA to reveal findings about a possible link between a common chemical in sunscreen and skin cancer. Democrat Charles Schumer says the Food and Drug Administration has been reviewing data about the potential health risk of the chemical retinyl palmitate since July of last year.

He's calling on the FDA to provide its evaluation of the data and recommendations immediately. Schumer says consumers deserve to know whether or not retinyl palmitate can actually lead to an increase in the risk of skin cancer. Senator Charles Schumer/New York: "The studies, if they're true suggest, the vary product that protects us from the sun may actually increase our chances of developing the disease it's supposed to protect us from getting. Millions of Americans use sunscreen to keep themselves and their families protected from the dangers of too much sun. If the product they are using does more harm than good, everyone has the right to know and the FDA has to take action."

Retinyl palmitate, a vitamin a derivative, is found in hundreds of the most popular sunscreen products. One study found that tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent faster in lab animals coated in the chemical.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Best Sunscreen for Kids

I probably have a dozen sunscreens for my kids in the closet. I have not found a brand that I know is going to keep the kid's from looking like lobsters and isn't too potent for their young skin.

We ran a story on WHOI looking at which sunscreens are best according to the Environmental Working Group. Here are the SUNSCREEN RATINGS:

1. Keys soap solar RX Therapeutic Sunblock (not waterproof)

2. TruKid sunny days Facestick Mineral sunscreen

3. California Baby Sunblock Stick Everyday

4. California Baby Sunblock Stick No fragrance

5. Badger Sunscreen

All of the sunscreens listed got a "o", the top score. There are several more pages of sunscreens. If you have a favorite, it might be a good idea to check the link above and see whether your sunscreen made the "best" list. The one I used on my kids today was California Baby lotion. It gets a "1" score. That's pretty good.

My good Friend, Lisa, did a lot of research on which sunscreen to choose and she likes Blue Lizzard that she got from Drugstore.com. It gets a "1" too.

What's your favorite kid-friendly sunscreen?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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