Safe Sunscreen for Baby: Expensive "Natural" Storebought, DIY, or None?

After I wrote my post on how Johnson & Johnson is selling cancer for us to slather on our babies, I started to look into what products I actually want to use for the duration of Lilah’s babyhood.  Because I’m a cheapskate, I started looking into DIY.  There are tons of recipes all over the web for make-your-own-sunscreen, and they looked relatively easy.  I got excited thinking about all the cool stuff I could make myself: sunscreen, bug repellant, lotion, soap.  The list goes on (but does not include meth, by the way).

But then I started digging a little bit deeper and looking into articles that say its not safe to create your own sunscreen.  Then I found articles that talk about how babies under 6 months shouldn’t be wearing sunscreen at all.  Here’s an overview of what I found so you can make your own decision…or so that you can be just as confused as I am.

Expensive Natural Store-Bought

This is likely the safest way to go if your child is over 6 months of age, but also the most expensive.  According to the Environmental Working Group, you want to look for products with zinc or titanium minerals in them while avoiding oxybenzone andVitamin A, as well as stay away from sprays or powders.

Safe and Unsafe According to the Environmental Working Group

Some from EWG’s Top Sunscreens of 2012:   Adorable Baby ($21.99 for 4.3 oz. on Amazon), BabyGanics (lotion is $3.99 for 2 oz. on Amazon), Burt’s Bees Baby Sunscreen Stick ($15.84 for .7 oz. on Amazon), California Baby No Fragrance Sunscreen Stick ($14.98 for .5 oz. on Amazon).

For a list of all 197 top sunscreens of 2012 click here.  EWG also provides general cost guidelines: Cheapest $, Moderate $$, and Most Expensive $$$.

Sunscreen Hall of Shame: Banana Boat Baby Max Protection SPF 100, Hawaiian Tropic Baby Creme Lotion SPF 50, Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection SPF 55, Panama Jack Naturals Baby Sunblock SPF 50, Baby Blanket Tender Scalps Scalp Sunscreen Spray for Babies SPF 45+.

 
DIY

Obviously the plus side of making your own sunscreen is that you know exactly what’s going into it.  You can use natural oils like coconut oil (which has an SPF of about 4) and include zinc oxide or titanium for safe ingredients that enhance SPF.

The recipes online for make your own sunscreen look ridiculously easy, which excited me, because I’m terrible at anything crafty or DIY.  But I’m not sure that’s quite the case in real life.

Allure Magazine calls DIY Sunscreen a “Beauty Don’t” and cites the following concerns: you’re more likely to burn and you won’t be able to mix ingredients properly.  The author of blog Realize Beauty works in the cosmetic industry and talks about her repeated attempts at making baby sunscreen all failed in the sunscreen lab and what a pain zinc is to work with as an ingredient.  And the Mother Nature Network interviewed a senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group who says to leave the mixology to the pros who know what they’re doing, not only to get the right blend but also to avoid inhalation of zinc or titanium, which can be dangerous.

For me, this is likely enough to keep me from ordering a huge tub of coconut oil and a bag of zinc off of Amazon, but in case you’re braver and more confident in your chemistry skills than I am, check out Wellness Mama’s recipes for both sunscreen cream and bars.

None: AKA Avoid Sun All Together if Baby is Under 6 Months

As I was researching whether I should create my own sunscreen, I came across the recommendation that you should simply keep your baby out of the sun instead of applying sunscreen when your baby is under 6 months of age.  The Mayo Clinic,American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Food and Drug Administration all agree on this issue.

When Cheryl Sachs, an M.D. with the FDA, was asked whether you should put sunscreen on your 5 month old baby, she said “Not usually.”  She says this is because your baby has a greater risk of inflammation or allergic reaction to the chemicals in sunscreen, and she simply recommends keeping baby in the shade and avoiding the sun especially between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The AAP recommends avoiding sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and also dressing your baby in a hat with a bring, plus long-sleeved, lightweight, tight-weaved clothing.

The Mayo Clinic recommends only putting sunscreen on small areas of baby’s exposed skin (such as face and hands) when shade is not available.

So What Do I Do?

This is the question I’ve been asking myself, since I’ve been going to Stroller Strides most mornings and therefore Lilah gets at least a little exposure to the sun.  Obviously its a matter of personal preference.  I think I will plan on covering her with the stroller shade as much as possible, but have also tossed around the idea of putting a little coconut oil on her (since it has a natural SPF of about 4) until she is 6 months, and then I will bite the bullet and buy some BabyGanics.  But who knows, my plan will probably change tomorrow.