THE INSIDE SCOOP

It's a Happy Day!

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:27:00 -0600

Supergoop! is a Safe Cosmetics “Champion”!

Our friends at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics just released their new report, “Market Shift” and (drumroll please!), Supergoop! is on the short list of Champions highlighting industry leaders!

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, Market Shift describes the seven-year project during which the Campaign worked with over 1,500 companies through the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Market Shift congratulates and highlights those 335 Champion companies that met the goals of the Compact by avoiding harmful chemicals and fully disclosing product ingredients to lead the industry toward safety, showing it’s possible to make products without using hazardous chemicals that are all too common in personal care products.

Prepare your skin for the holidays with Supergoop!

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:06:43 -0600

A MUST have to prep your skin each morning. Our Save Face Serum can be used alone or under foundation as a primer. Read more reviews from SEPHORA beauty insiders here.

We’re on GOOP.com! Supergoop! is featured on Gwyneth...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:04:41 -0600

We’re on GOOP.com!

Supergoop! is featured on Gwyneth Paltrows blog with her favorite summer items to prepare for the beach. Click here to read more!

It's Your Skin...

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:16:00 -0500

With all of the extra time being spent outdoors this time of year, we wanted to take a minute to share an important, and inspiring story about one of our near and dear UV Sun Specialists, Elizabeth Seago.

Elizabeth and her 16-year old daughter Kate are both redheads with fair skin, which means they must always be especially vigilant when it comes to UV protection. But Elizabeth wasn’t always this way. The cumulative effects of years of sun exposure (sans Supergoop!), and the occasional tanning bed use (if she only knew then what we all know now!) finally caught up with her, and last month she sent us a very scary text: “It’s Melanoma”. Thankfully, Elizabeth and her doctor found the melanoma in time—and today she is even more dedicated to sharing the Supergoop! sun safety mantra as it is her personal one as well.

Kate has been fortunate that the importance of using sunscreen at an early age has always been a priority in her family. As an international model recently featured in Vogue Magazine, Kate has a beautiful, milky white complexion completely free of freckles. And, using sunscreen every day, no matter what, has become a way of life for her just like brushing her teeth. Kate applies, reapplies, and then reapplies again so that she will be much less likely to experience sun damage, and therefore less likely to have the same melanoma scare as her mother.

With this story, I challenge you to become even more vigilant about using your Supergoop! every day, no matter what your skin tone or your daily activity, and to refresh and reapply often. As much as relaxing your mind AND body is a part of any summer break, you should never take a vacation from being smart (and super safe) in the sun!

Songs of Summer

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:19:00 -0500

Can you believe it’s already the Fourth of July? Last time I checked, I was writing about the necessity of sunscreen in the dark weeks of winter, and now here we are, smack dab in the middle of summer.

As we all know, the heat can have interesting and not altogether pleasant effects on a person: The need for ice cream, day and night. And the overwhelming desire to listen to, at top volume, whatever “song of summer” currently is playing in heavy rotation (my vote for the season: “Meyrin Fields” by Broken Bells exclusively via, Pandora which blissfully allows me to listen to this song, ad nauseam, in every room of my house and control it all through my iPhone. Sheer genius, I tell you.).

The summer heat—and more specifically, the sun—has a much more profound effect on me: I become a broken record. As you know, I bang my drum for protection in the face of the sun all year long, but it really kicks into high gear post Memorial Day. And with the Fourth right around the corner, and the outdoor activity about to ramp up, you can bet that my husband, my kids, and even our family black lab is going to be running for cover from my UV-rant. And it doesn’t only have to do with the heat: My biggest struggle right now as Supergoop! continues to grow by leaps and bounds is my inability to turn off the aforementioned suncare-a-thon to allow for all of the other life experiences to go deeper than the epidermis. All this makes for an extremely boring friend, wife, and mother when a well-educated woman physically cannot find anything else to talk about outside of that one thing (whether it’s sunscreen or your kids or your golf game) that she considers herself pretty good at. Sometimes, I even bore myself with all of the nattering.

And, of course, this is the place where I could go on about how excessive exposure to the sun not only causes wrinkles but also increases your risk for developing skin cancer. And I could remind you that prevention is as simple as adding a single step to your morning routine (moisturizer first, followed by sunscreen, and then, if you’re so inclined, your makeup). Instead: I am challenging myself and you, to take the initiative to dampen the constant verbal stream of consciousness and to allow yourself to experience, learn, evolve a little bit more, and at the risk of sounding like a complete dork, commit to a small change that will make all of us a more exciting, more interesting person. If that means going on a hike with your brother instead of answering your emails, or taking that cell phone–free vacation with your family, or making a pact with yourself to do one thing to make you a healthier, better you (daily sun protection, perhaps?), then stop procrastinating and just do it. And don’t think I would just give you these marching orders and abandon you: I’d like to hear what your chosen summer experience is, and start a conversation, so write me at holly@supergoop.com. I’ll be happy to hear that I inspired even one person, aside from myself, to change things up in their lives.

Trust me when I say that turning off the chatter to turn on your whole mind and body will make us all better friends, better wives, better mothers, and more interesting human beings. You’ll thank me for it, I promise. :)

311 on Suncare for Kids

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:19:00 -0500

With spring finally upon us, it seems that everyone I’ve met during my recent travels for Supergoop! is more than ready for the warm, sunny weather ahead! While talking about safe family suncare at the Nordstrom Spring Trend Show in Dallas last month, I was asked how I get my own children as excited about using sunscreen as they are about playing outside in short sleeves. The answer I gave was that, in my house, we have been having conversations about safe suncare since my kids were old enough to talk.

I admit that, as the creator of Supergoop! I probably talk more about UV protection than the average person—and have put terms like methylparaben and propylene glycol on my list of bad words. However, I always take the time to explain to my son and daughter how important it is to be mindful of taking good care of their skin every day. It is typical for kids to get 50 to 80 percent of their lifetime sun exposure before the age of 18, so these are critical years.

When putting the basics of sun protection into language that’s meaningful for kids, I find that it’s helpful to share some fun facts:

Skin is the body’s largest organ, which protects us against germs and keeps us healthy
The sun produces invisible ultraviolet rays that travel all the way down to the Earth (which sounds like science fiction, to my son’s delight!)
UV rays can hurt the skin by causing sunburn and creating wrinkles like on Mommy’s face (I explain that when I was little, we just didn’t know how damaging the sun was, so I have sun damage wrinkles that won’t ever go away.

So, with my mini 311 on suncare for kids, I hope you’ll start talking more regularly to your own children about applying—or maybe pretending to paint on— Supergoop! each day. As we all enjoy spending more time outdoors this spring, knowing our kids understand the importance of sun protection makes enjoying the sunshine that much better.

2011... New Products to Indulge In

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:52:00 -0600

And a happy new year to you! Sure, we may be a couple of weeks late ringing in 2011, but when I say we’ve been busy over here at the Supergoop! offices, it’s the understatement of the new year. In addition to creating a whole slate of new Supergoop! products for you to indulge in, I’ve been really preoccupied making my resolutions: Take a spin class. Try a cleanse diet. Wake up earlier every day, watch all 10 of the movies nominated for Oscars this year. Organize the music on my iPod. Make a home-cooked meal for my family—once a month.

While some of these declarations may seem overly optimistic (what mother of two do you know has the time to watch 10 movies?), there is one resolution I made long ago that I diligently keep every day of every year: The practice of safe sun protection for the entire family. And now Supergoop! is making it oh-so easy for you to add healthy, sun-centric skincare to your list of resolutions, too.

With a bevy of new products that bring innovative SPF to the market just in time for the spring-summer season—like the Save Face Collection, which launches at Nordstrom stores nationwide this week. Our new sunscreen serum technology is first to permeate the U.S. market to deliver a superior, new UV-protective light-as-a-feather formula while allowing for the natural production of vitamin D in the skin at the same time. If you’ve not experienced Supergoop! before, stop by any one of the Nordstrom or SEPHORA stores nationwide for our big 2011 launch events where we’ll unveil all sorts of fun, products, and surprises. Or, check us out on Facebook and enter to win our weekly giveaways.

So, consider Supergoop! your inspiration to keep at least one of your resolutions this year … and make this season (and the next) safe in the face of the sun.

Holly

Putting Your Best Face Forward

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 10:05:00 -0600

By Elizabeth Seago, Guest blogger, UV Sun Specialist and F.O.S. (friend of Supergoop!), Seattle, WA

I love dressing up for the holidays. I have practically made an art form of constructing the perfect cocktail party ensemble. And now that I’ve been listening to my own advice and following a healthy winter-skincare routine, it’s time to look long and hard at my makeup routine. And naturally, I’m going to share this knowledge with you.

It goes without saying that the key is to start with a clean face and apply a lightweight layer of UV protection that protects from both UVA and UVB rays. (Just a tip: This does not mean a tinted moisturizer, which more times than not only protects your face from UVB rays.) I love Supergoop!’s ultra-light Save Face Serum which accelerates the skin’s UV repair mechanism while protecting it from UV-induced oxidation and simultaneously moisturizing to strengthen the skin’s natural barrier. It’s a three-for-one product that is the perfect first step.

Next, it’s time to leave the sanctity of your bathroom mirror and head to your local beauty store or makeup counter. Ask one of the experts to help you pick out the right type of foundation for your face; this can be a tinted moisturizer or a creamy, more traditional foundation. The most important thing is to make sure that the tone is correct so that your face looks natural—and not like you got stuck in a tanning bed for too long or, conversely, are auditioning for the next Twilight movie. I took an informal poll and Nars Sheer Matte Foundation seems to be a favorite. If you’d like to weigh in, we would love to hear what your preferred method of coverage is.

Once you’ve got your foundation in hand, it’s important to know where to put it … and that doesn’t mean all over your face. We want a flawless canvas, not one that looks too made up. One of the best makeup tricks I picked up in my travels as a model was to touch up the under-eye area. Use your third finger and pat on foundation for a natural blend that will make your eyes pop. Then you can move onto your touching up around your nose and upper cheek area or anywhere you might have blemishes or redness.

And it bears repeating that if you haven’t properly exfoliated, moisturized, and protected, your lovely new makeup will just sit on top of your skin, making you look like one of those deliciously cakey holiday sugar cookies (good to eat but not to wear). Need a refresher course? Then take a look at our blog on Saving Face during the winter months.

The Eyes Have It: Mastering Mascara

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:10:00 -0600

By Elizabeth Sykes, Guest blogger, UV Sun Specialist and F.O.S. (friend of Supergoop!), Seattle, WA

Is there anything that makes a girl quite so happy, your entire makeup regimen feel quite as complete, as a mind-blowing mascara? I think not … and I would know since I spent most of my past modeling life trying on every, single mascara on the market. And I’m pleased to say that it’s finally time to toss those has-been mascaras as I have stumbled on what is perhaps the most fabulous, dare I say perfect, solution to my mascara predicament: J’Adore DIORSHOW and BLACKOUT Mascaras. I absolutely j’adore them (ha ha). Yes, I said “them,” since I am currently using two of them at the same time—and you should be, too.

Despite the fact that it’s a veritable miracle I’ve found such an outrageously ideal mascara, the stuff is useless unless you know how to use it. Thus, the one thing now standing in the way of you and long, gorgeous lashes: Your own two hands. But, no worries, applying mascara is simple, if you know what you’re doing—and the more you do it, the better you’ll get:

- First, choose two mascaras: one that will add volume to your lashes and a second that will make them very black (this is the secret to making eye color pop).

- When applying your mascara, never rush. Yes, patience is a virtue when it comes to mascara application and it can be the most difficult part, but it’s important to take your time between coats or you you’ll end up looking like one of those creepy harlequin clowns instead of a runway model.

- Next, put your chin down and look down with your eyes as you apply the volume mascara first, carefully pulling your lashes up with the mascara wand while your chin faces down. This allows for an even distribution of the mascara.

- Alternate coats until you get the thickness you desire (personally, I recommend repeating three to four times on each eye).

- Then follow suit with the very black mascara. Repeat the same steps as above. Then look at yourself in the mirror and marvel at your mad mascara skills. You’re welcome.

Saving Face: Beating the Winter Skin Blahs

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:50:00 -0600

By Elizabeth Sykes, Guest blogger, UV Sun Specialist and F.O.S. (friend of Supergoop!), Seattle, WA

My first blog post as an “official” F.O.S. (Friend of Supergoop!, of course). What better way to kick things off than with a little sit-down on winter skin—also known as “the bane of my existence.”

There is nothing worse than the blasting heat, the drier-than-the-driest-martini air, and the cuts-like-a-knife cold does to the skin? The redness, the tightness, the flakes … it’s enough to make a person want to move to a warmer (and damper) locale. And of course, let’s not forget that we are about to fa-la-la our way into the holiday-party season, and we really need to have our skin cooperate with us.

That said it’s crucial to create a new routine for the chillier months ahead to keep skin looking fresh and gorgeous (and by the time the first buds appear on the trees, I’ll have some great warm-weather tips for saving face, too). And don’t even think about skipping a step because your skin is extra vulnerable when you start exfoliating. A photo-stable, SPF 30+ daily lotion that protects from UVA and UVB rays, free radicals, and environmental damage is a must.

Tips for the A.M.

-While in the shower, don’t forget to exfoliate with a loofah or something that stimulates the skin. Stimulating or very slightly injuring the skin (yes, that’s what you do when you exfoliate) boosts collagen production. It also allows whatever product you’ve chosen to put on your face and body to better absorb into the deeper layers of the skin.

-After showering, while your skin is still wet, apply a moisturizer to your body that will lock in the water, in such as jojoba essential oil which is available at most health food stores.

-Ditto with your face: Always apply a generous layer of moisturizer with UV protection like my personal favorite, Supergoop! SPF 30+ Everyday UV lotion, which contains vitamin E and protects from free radicals triggered by sunlight, tobacco smoke, and smog. It also contains the super-charged antioxidant blueberry extract, which helps prevent and repair oxidative damage while assisting in boosting the regenerative power of the skin’s cells to improve your skin’s overall smoothness, wrinkles, texture, and elasticity without leaving any heavy residue.

-And never neglect your lips: Always put an SPF balm on before leaving the house and be sure to carry one in your bag while you’re out and about. The new Supergoop! SPF 30+ UVA/UVB AcaiFusion and MintFusion lip balms (in stores this January!) provide a unique, high SPF 30 lip balm solution to protect against broad-spectrum UV rays in a super-antioxidant and regenerative formulation. And with the added benefit of shea butter and the power of super berry acai and cooking spearmint leaf oil, respectively, lips are guaranteed to smack.

Tips for the P.M.

-In the evening, after washing your face with your favorite cleanser, always apply either an over-the-counter lotion with AHA to help rid the dry skin on the topmost layer of your face so you can prepare your skin for soaking up the moisture and UV protection in the morning.

-Another tip I highly recommend is regularly applying a Retin-A at night. It’s a wonderful way to combat fine lines and sunspots. Just ask your you dermatologist during your next appointment (maybe your six-month mole check … hint hint) and find out what level is right for you.

Introducing Elizabeth, Our New Best Friend...

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:35:00 -0600

By Elizabeth Sykes, Guest blogger, UV Sun Specialist and F.O.S. (friend of Supergoop!), Seattle, WA

So, remember, way back in the warmer months, when we mentioned on Facebook (which might as well have been a decade ago at the speed all this social media moves) that we were dispatching official Supergoop! UV Sun Specialists in Sg! friendly Sephora and Nordstrom locales from coast to coast? Well, we did just that … and now a particularly enthusiastic F.O.S. (Friend of Supergoop!) has offered to join our campaign to educate the world on innovative, everyday sun protection solutions: Her name is Elizabeth, she hails from oh-so-hip Seattle, Washington, and she literally jumped at the opportunity to join the Supergoop! troupe.

Why, you may ask? Well, aside from the fact that she spent a lot of time putting her best face forward as a model, Elizabeth always has believed that good UV protection is the first step in a life-long commitment to maintaining healthy, radiant skin. So naturally, she’s going to have a little something to say about how she goes about taking care of her most delicate asset. From here on out, you’ll be hearing a lot more from Elizabeth, as she waxes poetic on everything from winter sun smarts to fool-proof mascara application (and, we ask you: who hasn’t inadvertently jammed one’s mascara wand into one’s cheek?) to cocktail-party-stopping looks for the holiday season.

And just so we get this relationship off to a beautiful start, here are Elizabeth’s top five beauty secrets for you to mull over and enjoy … perhaps with a lovely cup of green tea (which, incidentally, is an ingredient that calms and soothes the skin … and is in many of our products, of course):

1. Lemon juice and sugar for a glowing face: Apply the mixture directly to your face and gently rub in a circular motion. Let sit for 5 minutes. Reapply lemon juice only for an even deeper exfoliating treatment. (You will feel a lovely tingling as the lemon juice does its thing.) Leave on for another five to 10 minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry.

2. Honey and sugar for smooth lips: Mix the two ingredients together and rub gently onto lips. Rinse and smile.

3. Pumice stone for more than feet: A must-have. Gently rub all over body to stimulate collagen production.

4. Lac-Hydrin or Am-Lactin for your skin: Both are lactic acid lotions that you apply at night to help exfoliate while you snooze.

5. Supergoop! for all over: Apply to every exposed inch of face and body every morning to ensure total UVA and UVB protection.

Sugars, Starches, and Carbs...Oh My!: How Your Diet Can Affect Your Skin

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:41:00 -0500

We all know how important innovative, environment- and body-friendly sunscreen is for protecting your skin against the damaging UV rays of the sun. But have you ever considered it’s what’s on the inside that’s making a difference too?

Lately, I’ve been particularly interested in how one’s diet can affect the skin. In an attempt to cleanse our systems of all the bad stuff (you know, starches, refined sugars, ice scream sundaes), my husband and I decided to follow a stringent food regiment of nothing but water, egg whites, grilled salmon, blueberries, raspberries, apples, cantaloupe, almonds, broccoli, brussels sprouts, haricot verts, and whole-grain oatmeal for three very long days, Now, I would be lying to you if I said that I enjoyed every minute of it (truth be told, I’m glad it’s over), but it got me thinking about how important the very colorful fruits and vegetables that were the mainstay of my stripped-down diet are for the body—adults and children—inside and out.

Of course excess sun exposure causes photo-aging, loss of skin elasticity, thinner-looking skin, wrinkles, broken capillaries on the face, freckles, spots and blemishes, among other things. But not getting enough protein in your diet, going totally “fat free,” not drinking enough water, and consuming inflammatory foods such as the aforementioned starches accelerates aging and shows up on your skin in the form of dark circles under the eyes, puffiness, an increase in fine lines and wrinkles, increased pore size, and an overall loss of radiance. And sugar is the biggest culprit (as someone with a nearly insatiable sweet tooth, it’s a battle I fight every day). It robs us of our youth, our health, and our beauty, and also can contribute to many diseases (coronary heart disease and osteoporosis, among them). Pass the sprouts, please.

And today’s children unfortunately show the signs of these dietary deficiencies right on their lovely faces: many have dark circles under their eyes, carry an extra 5-10 pounds on their bodies, and show a decreased interest in playing outside. That said, it’s important to instill good habits on how to prevent the degenerative diseases plaguing our society right from the start: infancy and childhood. As parents, we need to walk the walk and talk the talk, providing them with a balanced diet and a role model of someone who follows a balanced diet so that we can all look and feel our best.

And doing this doesn’t have to be complicated (or cause total mayhem at mealtimes); try making a few simple additions to your weekly menu such as steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast; whole grains including quinoa and brown rice for lunch and dinner; and integrating high-antioxidant treats like cherries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, and even dark chocolate (in moderation, of course: the higher the cacao percentage, the more cacao and less sugar there is in the chocolate) throughout the day.

Because I founded Supergoop! in part to provide innovative, everyday UV protection solutions for all and also to educate adults and children on how to protect their skin, I’ve always believed that Supergoop! is not just a sunscreen, but also a lifestyle. It’s about not only forming great skincare habits, but also forming great body-healthy habits at a young age so everyone in the family is healthy from the inside out.

We’d love to hear from you on this topics, so let us know what you think and what you are doing to ensure your family is eating and living healthfully every day.

The End of Summer is NOT the End of Sunscreen

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:01:00 -0500

So, the end of summer is very nearly upon us—Labor Day is less than two weeks away, if you can believe it—and soon we’ll be packing up our straw hats and bathing suits, beach bags and flip-flops. But not, we repeat, not the sunscreen.

Never the sunscreen, people, and we’ll tell you why: excessive exposure to the sun not only causes wrinkles but increases your risk for developing skin cancer—your vulnerable face is still out there for those hardcore UV rays to shine on. And although the sun is at its least powerful in the winter months, it’s very nearly impossible to avoid all of the sun’s damaging UV rays (unless of course you live in a cave). So, you need to be vigilant in your efforts to protect your gorgeous mug for all 365 days of the year.

However, take heart: This doesn’t require an extra half hour in front of the bathroom mirror. It’s as simple as adding a quick step in your morning beauty regimen (which you should be in the habit of doing anyway after the past three months!): Cleanse first, then your sunscreen/moisturizer combo, and finally, if you choose, your makeup. It’s as easy as that.

What’s not so easy is figuring out what kind of sun protection to buy and use. There’s a lot of information in the marketplace right now and not all of it is accurate (or decipherable). And since we are committed to protecting you and your family from both harmful skincare ingredients and the UV rays of the sun, we’ve developed a quick list for choosing the best sunscreen:

Be wary of products claiming waterproof, hypoallergenic, eight-hour or all-day/continuous protection, and/or chemical-free (the FDA deems these claims unacceptable)
The FDA recognizes claims that can be substantiated with numbers such as “clinically tested,” “water resistant (up to 40 minutes),” and “very water resistant (up to 80 minutes)”
Read the ingredient list. If you see things like oxybenzone (a.k.a. benzophenone-3), methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, propylene glycol, fragrances, and dyes-Move On.
Keep your eyes peeled for safer ingredients, such as Avobenzone (Parsol 1789) or alternatively, the whole particle physical blocks titanium dioxide and zinc
Look for SPF 30+ in combination with UVA Active Ingredients or the words “broad spectrum” to ensure protection against both UVA and UVB rays. Even better, ask your favorite brand to send you the UVA testing paperwork because in the U.S. alone, it is acceptable for any sunscreen brand to claim “broad spectrum” without having any tests to back it up

And because we like to make things as easy as possible, Supergoop! meets all of the above criterion AND we are giving sample packs to 50 new Facebook fans who tell us your preference (before Labor Day!) for SPF lip balm flavors: Mint, Vanilla, Coconut or Acai Berry.

It's what's INSIDE that counts!

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:08:00 -0500

BE SUN SAVVY:
One of the greatest challenges of creating safe UV protection is balancing performance, texture and feel, and body-friendly ingredients. With the proposed changes to the FDA’s sunscreen guidelines still waiting approval, companies are labeling sun protective products with claims that, according to the Environmental Working Group’s 2009 Sunscreen Investigation, could not possibly be true.

BE SUN SMART:
Until the FDA guidelines are updated and consumers are finally provided more information on product labels to guide their purchases, companies are free to sell products that would be considered misbranded if the guidelines were already in place. So why do so many mass manufactured lines continue to use misleading marketing terms, such as “waterproof”, “sweatproof”, and “continuous protection”? Clearly, the lack of regulation has resulted in far too many exaggerated and inaccurate claims in advertising and labeling to gain market share. What’s a confused consumer to do?!

We’ve compiled our 2010 TOP TIPS for reading a sunscreen bottle to help you better understand what’s INSIDE!

Know how to spot common misleading claims:

Products claiming waterproof, hypoallergenic, dermatologist-approved, 8 hour or All-day/continuous protection, and/or Chemical Free, should make the consumer skeptical. According to the FDA, the above mentioned claims are unacceptable. If the brand is careless with their marketing lingo, how can we trust other claims for legitimacy as well? Do you want these products in your home or beach bag?

Look for recognized claims by the FDA and claims that can be substantiated with numbers, such as Clinically Tested, Water Resistant (up to 40 minutes) or Very Water Resistant (up to 80 minutes). While dermatologist approved sounds comforting, most dermatologists are not set up to perform stability, skin compatibility and UVA testing. It is the responsibility of the brand to ensure that the proper testing protocol is completed in independent, clinical labs and these results are transparent to the consumer. Ask for the clinical test results.

Read the Ingredient labels carefully:

The FDA requires over-the-counter manufacturers to disclose a complete active and inactive ingredient list on all SPF packaging. It doesn’t take long to spot the common cosmetic ingredients that are widely recognized as possibly carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and allergens. (oxybenzone -also written as benzophenone-3, methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, propylene glycol, synthetic fragrances, dyes)

Ask the brand if their products contain any ingredients on the SIN (Substitute it Now!) list. The International Chemical Secretariat organization provides this list of 356 chemicals identified as substances of very high concern based on the criteria established by the new EU chemical regulation. These ingredients should be avoided in all cosmetics and sunscreens are no different. Where you’ll find one, you’ll often find many, so be sure to be a good label detective.

Look for SPF 30+ in combination with UVA Active Ingredients

The FDA currently has no regulations about what degree of UVA protection a sunscreen must provide in U.S. to be able to make the claim of “UVA/UVB” or “Broad-Spectrum”, so you won’t know how much protection you are actually getting by reading these claims on the bottle. Look for either Avobenzone (Parsol 1789) or alternatively, look for the whole particle physical blocks, Titanium Dioxide and Zinc. And remember, SPF numbers refer only to the ability to protect from UVB rays —they tell you nothing about UVA protection.

Finally, a few last words as a sunscreen manufacturer and a mom of two: While the challenge will continue for us to push for innovation in creating safe UV protection that meets European standards with beneficial natural ingredients, the challenge will continue for consumers to read and understand the labels, and make a commitment to form healthy habits that include everyday use of safe suncare products. For us, total brand transparency is a must. For our consumers, read your labels and ask questions. Together we can prioritize our health and the health of our environment.