Well Groomed | The Feel Good Factor
Sustainable sun-care is better for your skin and your surroundings, WELL CURATED take a look at the top products to help you get your glow on.
Most of us love the warmth of sun on our skin, and rightly so, sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D which regulates the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and facilitates normal immune system function. However, have you considered the harm our sun seeking appetite is actually having on our health and our habitats.
Sunscreens are full of chemicals that are not only toxic to the human body but are awful contributors to ocean pollution, between 6,000 and 14,000 tons of sunscreen washes off into our coral reefs every year, bleaching corals reef and killing marine life.
Try to buy;
vegan
cruelty-free
organic / natural
palm oil free
zero-waste packaging
Caudalie
Caudalie has banned controversial filters from its formulas, this includes chemical filters suspected of being endocrine disruptors, and the filters known to be toxic to the marine environment. As with all Caudalie products, no parabens, phenoxyethanol, phthalates, mineral oils or animal-derived ingredients are used.
Coola
Coola has a long list of credentials… reef-friendly, vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free and paraben-free. This refreshing SPF 18 water mist infuses organic aloe & coconut water with COOLA's plant-derived Full Spectrum 360° complex, going beyond UVA/UVB protection to help mitigate the effects of blue light and pollution.
Weleda
Weleda Edelweiss Sun Care range contains non-nano mineral UV filters and is inspired by the edelweiss flower and how it protects itself from the extreme sun in the Swiss mountains. All products are 100% certified natural, safeguarding skin health and the environment.
Key Factors
Nanoparticles: Nanos are teeny tiny, one billiomnth of a mm, they can pass through the skin barrier. We don’t want to breathe these in and we dont want our skin to absorb them either.
Just like you don’t want to breathe in particles, your skin doesn’t want to absorb them. Nanoparticles are particularly crafty because they can pass through the skin barrier and causes cytotoxicity (i.e. toxic to cells). Look out for nano zinc-oxide and nano titanium dioxide.
Free Radicals are a derivative of nanoparticles and can cause skin cancer if they pass the skin barrier. Research is still underway but both the EU and New Zealand have regulations around nano-particle containing beauty products.
UVA: Long wave ultraviolet, this non-visible light spectrum is present on cloudy days and still damages and wrinkles your skin and causes skin cancer. It can penetrate glass! Daily moisturiser containing SPF is a must.
UVB: Short wave ultraviolet, the more damaging part of the suns waves, causes sunburn and discolouration.
Broad Spectrum: This means it will protect against both UVA and UVB rays. You want to look for broad-spectrum sunscreen.
SPF: Stands for “sun protective factor”. It indicates the level of protection your skin has from the sun in timing. It isn’t one rule for all, as it depends on the strength of the UV rays and your natural melanin levels (i.e. skin tone). The idea is if you would naturally burn in 10 mins a factor 30 gives you 30 x 10 minutes. However the best way to protect yourself from the sun is to get out the sun. You don’t want to ever reach burn zone, seek the shade.
Aesop
This broad-spectrum moisturising sunscreen with high SPF50 protection has been formulated to provide up to four hours’ water resistance, meaning the likelihood of the product and its ingredients transferring from skin to water is greatly reduced. For the most part, the ingredients utilised in Aesop sunscreen products are biodegradable or readily biodegradable.
Saltee
This naturally derived formula absorbs ultra-quick whilst cucumber extract hydrates as you hit the beach. Saltee sun-care is vegan-friendly, cruelty free and paraben free, as well as Oxybenzone and Octinoxate free, making it safer for our oceans! As if that wasn’t enough to convince us, this product can be used after sun exposure to soothe and hydrate the skin.
REN
This mattifying mineral sunscreen forms a physical barrier to help protect against the sun's rays and blue light from electronic devices. 22% non-nano naturally-derived zinc oxide offers broad spectrum protection, passion fruit extract supports the skins natural defence against free radicals and rice starch leaves the skin mattified.
WHAT IS HEV LIGHT?
Blue light (also known as high energy visible light, or HEV) is the strong light that emits from the screens on mobile phones, computers, tablets, and TVs, as well as from fluorescent and LED lighting. The sun also emits blue light, so you are exposed to it when you're outside, too. Yep, it’s everywhere.
Research indicates that blue light can reach deeper into our skin than UVA and UVB rays, passing through both the epidermal and dermal layers to reach the subcutaneous tissues, and perhaps even deeper. And it's causing trouble all along the way. One study suggests that blue light may be as harmful to skin as UVA and UVB light combined.
Aethic
The major benefit of this product is its triple-filter protection, which means it bats away more sun ray wavelengths than most sunscreens. It also shuns zinc oxide and titanium dioxide and instead uses a naturally occurring compound found in seaweed, trademarked as Photamin, to protect your skin from the sun. Dubious? Understandable. To reassure you, this was proven by King’s College London scientists to absorb UVA and UVB rays.
Stream2Sea
This mineral-based sunscreen has been rigorously tested for biodegradability and aquatic toxicity. Containing an antioxidant blend of Green Tea, Tulsi, Wakame and Olive Leaf it is safe for your body and safe for our waters. Stream2Sea tubes are made from sugarcane resins, growing sugar cane absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. For every kilogram of ‘green’ plastic produced, 3.09 kilograms of CO2 are removed from the air by the sugar cane.
Medik8
If you share our concerns over palm oil this is the brand to you. Millions of acres of palm forest, their habitats and wildlife have been devastated by our need for this precious ingredient used across so many industries, including skincare. Medik8 have carried out a huge audit of all their ingredients to ensure they are 100% pure palm oil-free. The brand have also removed all plastic inserts from their cartons and replaced them with 100% recycled card, this saves over 3 tonnes of plastic every year.
