To think that suncream is just as bad for you as the sun?

[poshsinglemum]

Look at all the chemicals. Shade is the way forard. I will still be using my suncream before you all get judgy.

foward i mean.

Sunshine is good for you. Sun = Vit D = no Ricketts.

Long sleeve cotton tops/trousers are best, to avoid too much sun, but not always the most convenient.

hmm, what if there is no shade? not all chemicals are bad, so why are you so scared of them?

without suncream, dh would not be able to leave the house for about 8 months a year, even if he tried to use shade.

i think you should look at australia, where very few people now try to get a tan, they all use suncream - hasn't skin cancer dropped? rather implies suncream is good.

shade is better than suncream, but not a practical solution. suncream is def NOT as bad for you as sunburn. yabu

Or stay awake all night/sleep all day to avoid said Sunshine (what ARE you doing up his late?)

you only need a little bit of sun to get enough vit d. so walking to school is ok (i'm thinking local primary) running around in the playground for an hour is not.

Kickassangel - I agree. DD summer school uniform uniform is short sleeved cotton dress. The parts of the body not covered get slathered in cream.

As far as I'm aware, there are 'chemical' sunscreens and 'mineral' sunscreens. The ones that go on all white and have to be rubbed in REALLY well are zinc oxide ones (like badger sunscreens) and while the rubbing is annoying, they're not 'chemical' in as much as they don't sink into your skin to protect it, they're more of a physical barrier. If the chemicals-sinking-in thing is a worry for you, there's the mineral option.

I know all this because the yummy mummies of nyc use mineral sunscreens for their PFBs, and talk about it a lot. I use whatever I can grab from the bathroom cupboard in my morning haze - but I'm not going without. I'm from a family of pasty northerners, and commute through places without shade. Sunscreen for me!

btw i'm in the US, so being up at this time of night is fairly normal round here

You still catch the sun and can burn in the shade.

IMVHO Sun cream maybe 'bad' for you, but better than not having it.

There are more friendly versions if you are worried about chemicals and things

More chemicalphobia.

Sunscreens contain dihydrogen monoxide and that is a proven killer!!!

Use a mineral sunscreen with zinc or titanium oxide as a barrier... yes, might be very PFB but in my defence, I have very bad allergic reactions to all sorts of stuff in skincare products - saves us a fortune, as I can never buy any!!- so frees up lots of money to spend on mega-expensive sunscreen. Currently, I'm using the Mychelle brand and loving it... We're all in hats, glasses, etc, as well, but I would think it remiss to skip the sunscreen.

We're in CA, by the way - which I think both explains why I'm awake at what is 5am for you lot, but only just past 9 here, and also why I'm a bit of a sunscreen freak!

YABU of course and silly, but you're choice and all that, I hear a good dose of a malignant melanoma is really fun

"The ones that go on all white and have to be rubbed in REALLY well are zinc oxide ones"

This is what we call "factor duffle coat" iin this house.

No they're not as bad for you as sunburn! But if you are really concerned look for alternatives.

I use and aloe vera/ zinc oxide suncream product number 12 It has quite a pleasant odour, unlike most sunscreens which to me smell quite unpleasant.

No, it's not 'just as bad for you'.

There are thousands of people currently dying from melanoma in their twenties and thirties, who never used sun lotion back in the 70s and 80s. They've used it since but the damage was done in their childhood.

it makes me wince when people get burned or worse, allow their children to.

Of course if you can avoid sun exposure and go with shade, fair enough and no risk in that at all. But I really don't think sun lotion actually causes melanoma, whatever else it might cause.

It is vital that we protect our children from burning.

Some sun creams can be very very bad for some people. My daughter's face puffed up hideously with dreadful spots this year when we put a high street brand of cream on her.

Thankfully she's been fine with the one from Green People, which doesn't have the chemicals in it that she reacts badly to. I have to order it online though, and it's expensive. I don't understand why supermarkets, chemists etc can't stock even one brand of cream that doesn't contain so much junk. As previous posters have said, you do have to do extra rubbing in with this kind of cream, but even if my daughter didn't react so badly to standard creams, I would still worry about slathering her in so many unnecessary chemicals.

Sunscreen may be bad for you, too much sun exposure is.

'All the chemicals'?

Best not eat any food, drink any water, oh and definitely try nt to breathe the air, it's all made of chemicals you know.

My 5yo DD reacts to Boots own brand childrens sun block. Her skin comes up in a horrid rash. I'm currently using Nivea for children which is fine, but I'm going to buy some mineral when I run out.

I have a friend who gets horrible swollen lips/mouth and eventually throat if she eats apples. Does that mean apples are bad? Should she go to the 5-a-day people and ask them to take apples off the list of things you should feed your children? No, it means that she has an unusual reaction to them. Apples are good for the rest of us. Ditto sunscreen. Some people have reactions to it. Most do not. If you don't have an adverse reaction, it serves a useful purpose.

I think the man-made synthetic chemicals are the ones that people worry about Trillian.

I'm beginning to think so. Read recently (and haven't followed it up so no idea how true it is) that some sun creams particularly block vit D production which can protect against cancers. Now having a father who had ricketts, a severely autistic son and ms in the family I am becoming slightly obsessed about vitamin D.

And ds3 appears to be allergic to suncream.

So I am beginning to look at alternatives. Hats. Suncream only on burny places (back of necks for example), clothing.

If anyone has any interesting links to vitamin D info or clothing please share. We never go abroad anyway so only have to think about UK sun.

There has also been reports that incidences of Rickets have massiviely increased in Australia because children are wearing high sun factor cream.