Posts Tagged sunscreen

Top 5 Reasons UV-Protective Clothing Rocks!

July 20, 2011 at 11:08 am · Filed under Prevention ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

  1. The light-weight fabric of a uv-protective shirt wicks moisture from your skin and dries quickly to keep you cool, even during peak sunshine hours of the day.
  2. You will save money on sunscreen and limit the amount of chemicals being absorbed into your skin from the use of sunscreen because you don’t need to wear sunscreen UNDER your uv-protective swim shirt or clothing. Just focus on the exposed extremities like your hands, feet, neck, and face.
  3. You can wash your uv-protective swim shirt repeatedly without losing the UPF that is woven into the fabric. A new uv-protective swim shirt has a beginning UPF of 50+. Towards the end of it’s life cycle (40 washes or more) there is still an end UPF of at least 50.
  4. UV-protective clothing is trendy, comes in awesome colors and designs, is versatile and can be used in water, on a hike or a day at the county fair!
  5. UV-protective clothing with a UPF 50+ protects against 98% of UVA and UVB rays all day, every day!

What’s the difference between UPF and SPF? (You can read more about why you should choose uv-protective clothing as your first line of sun defense at www.uvskinz.com)

SPF = for Sunscreen
UPF = for Clothing & Swimwear
UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor.

The chart below comes from the Australian/New Zealand Standard For Sun Protective Clothing and Swimwear:

(Note that a regular t-shirt has an UPF ranging from 7-10. Not enough to fully protect your skin from UVA or UVB rays for long periods of time)

UPF Ratings and Protection Categories

UPF Rating Protection Category % UV radiation Blocked
UPF 15 – 24 Good 93.3 – 95.9
UPF 25 – 39 Very Good 96.0 – 97.4
UPF 40 – 49 Excellent 97.5 or more
UPF50+ Considered the Ultimate in UV Sun Protection

Leave a Comment

UV Skinz Teams Up With Suit Up Kids!

July 5, 2011 at 12:38 pm · Filed under Skinz Newz ·Tagged , , , ,

In May as a part of our ongoing mission to raise awareness about sun protection and to “get kids covered” UV Skinz donated hundreds of baby swim shirts to customers, hospitals and organizations across the US. In June, we  made a donation of 200 “What’s A Sunburn” baby swim shirts that benefited a Sun and Heat Safety Event held at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

“The event featured safety displays and demonstrations by the hospital’s injury prevention center, arts & crafts, games and fun refreshments like sun cookies and snow cones.”

The donation was given via an Arizona based company, Suit Up Kids. Suit Up Kids is a kiosk located next the play fountain at the Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix, Arizona. During the summer Suit Up Kids is filled with all-things sun protection (including UV Skinz swim shirts) and kid-friendly products so your little tike can get the most out of their water play. Then in the winter months they are stocked full of Arizona funwear like cowboy and cowgirl outfits and accessories. With Arizona being second, only to Australia, with the highest rate of skin cancer worldwide it is so important to have community events such as this one. The more we come together to raise awareness and educate people the better our chances become at stopping this preventable disease. UV Skinz is always more than happy to be a sponsor too! Raising Arizona Kids magazine highlighted the event in their Summer Festivals and Sun Safety article, so feel free to read more about it!

Leave a Comment

FDA Releases New Sunscreen Regulations

June 15, 2011 at 2:41 pm · Filed under Melanoma Newz ·Tagged , , ,

Yesterday the U.S. FDA, Food and Drug Administration, released its new sunscreen regulations after 33 years of deliberation. They announced “that sunscreen products meeting modern standards for effectiveness may be labeled with new information to help consumers find products that, when used with other sun protection measures, reduce the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging, as well as help prevent sunburn.” You can access the full press release here. These new regulations will become effective in one year. Manufacturers with an annual sales less than $25,000 will have two years to comply.

It does seem a long time coming and this is just the beginning! Sunscreen regulations, safety and manufacturer responsibility can only get better (hopefully it won’t take another 33 years). Not everyone thinks that the U.S. FDA is making strides. The EWG believes that some of the FDA’s regulations have fallen short of what is needed for the public to make safe healthy choices from the sunscreens on the U.S. market. In their own press release the Environmental Working Group expresses their dissatisfaction. They feel like the new regulations are too ambiguous and  not strict enough. Which could allow at least 20% of products sold in the U.S. to be sold even though they don’t provide the right amount of UVA protection.

You can make your own mind up about the new regulations. Feel free to leave a comment or join the discussion on the UV Skinz Facebook fan page! Let’s take a look at the new regulations…

The FDA new rules state that manufacturers of sunscreen products may not use misleading claims.

A bar on these terms:

  • “waterproof”
  • “sweatproof”
  • “sunblock”

 The final regulation allows sunscreen products that pass the FDA’s test for protection against both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to be labeled as “Broad Spectrum.”

  • Only sunscreens labeled “Broad Spectrum” with an SPF of 15 or higher may state that they reduce the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging, when used as directed.
  • Sunscreens that are not “Broad Spectrum” or are “Broad Spectrum” with an SPF values between 2-14 will be required to have a warning stating that the product has not been shown to help prevent skin cancer or early skin aging.

The U.S. FDA also added three regulatory documents to the final rule for the sunscreen regulations.

  1. The Proposed Rule would limit the maximum SPF on a product to “50+” because there isn’t any data supporting that any higher of SPF is more effective.
  2. The ANPR (Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) will give the public a chance to speak out and submit data or suggestions about the safety of sunscreen sprays.
  3. The Draft Enforcement Guidance for Industry will give manufacturers an outline on how to label and test their products to meet the new regulations.

FDA will reexamine but no changes to active ingredients; oxybenzone or retinyl palmitate.

  • The ingredients in sunscreens marketed today have been used for many years and FDA does not have any reason to believe these products are not safe for consumer use.

This last statement is another reason that (I) and the EWG feel like the FDA fell short on making regulations with the public safety and trust in the U.S. market in mind. In no way does this final rule give any concern to the toxicity of the chemicals used by people all across the United States. I hope in the future the FDA changes its sunscreen regulations to include a warning label about the toxicity of the main ingredients in chemical sunscreen.

What did you agree or disagree with? Do you feel like this is a step in the right direction? What more could be done?

Leave a Comment

Mineral or Chemical: What’s Your Choice?

June 11, 2011 at 4:31 pm · Filed under Prevention ·Tagged , , ,

Choosing a sunscreen that is perfect for your skin and health is just that, your choice. With so many sunscreens on the market these days how do you decide which one is the best one? There are so many rumors going around about sunscreens that it could all get a little confusing. There are two kinds of sunscreens; chemical or mineral. A chemical sunscreen has the main ingredient, oxybenzone, that absorb into the skin to block the uv rays. The second kind is a mineral sunblock that uses titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to physically protect your skin from uv damage. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recommends that the public use the second kind of sunscreen; mineral. Mineral sunscreens are recommended and are becoming more popular because the chemical sunscreens are potential hormone disruptors.

Hormone Disruptor: Endocrine disruptors are exogenous substances that act like hormones in the endocrine system and disrupt the physiologic function of endogenous hormones.

For EWG’s 5th annual sunscreen report, they analyzed more than 600 beach and sport sunscreens and found that they could only recommend one in five sunscreens for this summer! The rest either don’t protect enough or contain hazardous ingredients that don’t belong on your skin. The safe sunscreens get a score of 1 and 2, while the ones deemed harmful get 4′s and 5′s.

What’s makes my sunscreen so bad?

  • It contains two chemicals  that don’t belong on a baby’s (or anyones) skin – the hormone disruptor oxybenzone and a form vitamin A called retinyl palmitate.
  •  High-SPF products may tempt people to stay in the sun too long, suppressing sunburns but upping the risks of UVA damage. EWG recommends that consumers avoid products labeled higher than “SPF 50+” and reapply sunscreen often, regardless of SPF.
  • If you see the seal; beware. The Skin Cancer Foundation lends its logo to hundreds of sun protection products. Traditionally SCF approval has been easy: just document that your product has an SPF of at least 15 and provide results of basic tests for SPF, skin reactions and water and sweat resistance, if such claims are made. The Skin Care Foundation requires that companies seeking product approval pay a $10,000 donation to join the Foundation’s “Corporate Council.”

What makes my sunscreen so AWESOME?!

  •  Provide broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB-sunburn) protection with fewer hazardous chemicals that penetrate the skin; contain the minerals zinc or titanium.
  •  None of the products contain oxybenzone or vitamin A and none are sprayed or powdered.

To see if the sunscreen you are using made the Hall of Shame list or the Best Beach & Sport Sunscreens visit the EWG website. They even have a feature where you can type in your sunscreen name and receive instant feedback and scoring. I was happy to see that the sunscreens that I have reviewed for UV Skinz and posted on the blog made it on the “good” list!

TruKid (with six sunscreens), Kinesys Sunscreen Ointment and MiEssence Reflect Outdoor Balm all scored well!

 

Comments (2)

What Are The Odds of Sunburning In Your Car?

May 24, 2011 at 1:57 pm · Filed under A Day in the Life of..., Prevention ·Tagged , , , , , ,

One Saturday morning I planned to take my daughters on a hiking trip. Not a big one, but a nice leisurely adventure to Matthew Winters Park off the Morrison, CO exit. I slipped my girls into their UV Skinz, lathered on the sunscreen, packed a picnic and loaded them into the car. The day was turning out to be an awesome sun-shiny day! Once we hit the highway we could all feel the sun beating down on us through the windshields. With no other protection from the rays I was so glad Journey and Faith had their UV Skinz on. The car ride was about thirty minutes and once we reached the hiking grounds we were so glad to be out of the car! We enjoyed playing (in the shade) by the creek and took a fifteen minute walk up the trail and back.

A few weeks before our trip an article was passed along to me that discussed whether or not you could be sunburned through your car windows. I’m African-American and I’m sure I wouldn’t actually “burn”, but after feeling the heat of the sun through the car window for almost an hour the nice warm feeling started to become bothersome. I was more worried about my daughters who are fairer-skinned than me.

I found out that most car manufacturers install laminated windshields that filter out uv light. They mostly filter UVB light, but not the skin-damaging skin cancer causing UVA rays. UVA rays can damage your skin without your knowing for a long time after the initial exposure. Specialist advise you to wear sunscreen if you are driving in most of the Northern states for more than twenty minutes and even less for Southern states. Living in Colorado I think that puts us somewhere in the middle. Luckily, we had applied sunscreen mostly for the purpose of the hike and the girls were wearing uv-protective swim shirts which put my mind at ease.

There was a study in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology that studied 1,000 patients. It found that people who spent the most time driving a car each week were “more likely to develop skin cancers on the left-side of their bodies and faces.” Another study collected by the National Cancer Institute in the same journal found the same “predilection for left-sided cancers”, but saw a stronger link in men suggesting that women took more precautions (like wearing sunscreen) and had “more distributed sun exposure from possibly spending more time in the passenger seat.” Even though it’s a good idea to lather on the sunscreen before getting into the car–sunburns are not likely, but deep-penetrating UVA sun damage is a high possibility.

Here are some tips to keep you and your family sun-safe while in the car (and outdoors):

  • Apply and re-apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside or driving more than 20 minutes in the car.
  • Avoid peak-hours of the day, between 10am-4pm
  • Wear uv-protective sunglasses, wide-brimmed hats and uv-protective clothing.

UV Skinz long-sleeved swim shirts are a great solution to long summer road trips. They can be easily slipped on and off, will give you all-day sun protection and can even double as an outfit!

From now until May 31st for every order placed UV Skinz will include our Special Edition baby skinz swim shirt!!

Leave a Comment

« Newer Posts · Older Posts »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 30 other followers