Before kids, my sunscreen strategy for myself and Mr. Piñata was to use whatever sunscreen I happened to find on clearance. I was pretty fond of the spray sunscreens because they made application so easy, but I was happy with whatever I could find that was cheap.
But once we had kids I really started doing my research because I started hearing that the chemicals in many sunscreens were not as safe as I assumed them to be. I even found out that my favorite face sunscreen got a score of 10 on the Environmental Working Group’s sunscreen scale (1 is safest and 10 is most dangerous)! Yikes! And later I discovered that spray sunscreens are not really recommended either. So, I decided to start with the list on the Environmental Working Group’s safe sunscreen list, did some price researching, asked other moms what they used, and did some trialing of our own.
In the end, these are our favorite sunscreens for both us and the kids. They all scored a 1 on the EWG’s sunscreen safety scale.
1) Baby Badger – This is the sunscreen we use for Sweet P since it has the fewest and safest ingredients. In addition to her digestive sensitivity she has very sensitive skin and eczema, so I have to be extra careful with everything we put on her skin. Thankfully this hasn’t aggravated her eczema at all, so we love this brand for her. It’s also water resistant, so when we are at the pool for a couple of hours I don’t worry about reapplying. Although I just recently discovered that the ingredients are almost identical to the Badger Sport sunscreen, except that the Sport is missing the Chamomile and Canendula scents. So we are going to try out the Sport too. The only downside is that Badger sunscreens are very thick, so they definitely leave you looking white and smeary after applying. But, that’s also a good sign that you are using a mineral based vs a chemical based sunscreen.
2) Baby Badger Sunscreen Stick – We use the Sunscreen stick on Sweet P’s face because toddlers are wiggly and I feel like it’s easier to apply without feeling nervous about getting it in her eyes.
3) Blue Lizard Baby Sunscreen – This is in our list mostly because of price. It’s still a good mineral sunscreen that has kept us from getting burnt, but there are some ingredients in here that don’t register as 100% safe on the EWG list. It’s also not water resistant, so it’s not best for a day at the beach. But, we do use it when we aren’t in the water and for those of us without such sensitive skin it works just fine. And is still high on the safe list and free of the most concerning chemicals.
4) ThinkBaby Sunscreen – If I had to choose my all-around favorite sunscreen it would be this one. It definitely has more ingredients than Baby Badger, so we don’t use it on Sweet P, but all of the ingredients are safe (they are all 1s except the Zinc Ozide is a 2 and is the necessary sun protecting ingredient). It’s also SPF 50+, which I love (vs 30 or 35 on the others), has the highest level of water resistance (80 minutes) and goes on really smoothly and doesn’t leave as much of a thick layer of white as other mineral sunscreens we have tried. We love it!
Of course, there are many other safe sunscreens on their list, and I definitely didn’t try every single one of them, but I am really happy using these brands on our family. If you are wondering how safe the ingredients are in your or your children’s sunscreen (or even cosmetics or body products), you can search for them on the EWG website. And also check out what the most common reasons are for giving a sunscreen an unsafe rating. I am shocked at how many baby and kids sunscreens scored a 10, and am glad I did some research before using them on our sensitive little girl. There are also some adventurous parents that have made their own sunscreen (here is a highly recommended recipe if you’re interested), but I’m definitely not ready for that yet!
What have you discovered in your sunscreen research? What are some really safe sunscreens you use but that I have missed?
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
We love Badger and Blue Lizard as well! Was going to try Think Baby this summer but went with Blue Lizard instead for the bigger bottle.
grapefruit / 4923 posts
i did a lot of research and tried many different sunscreens. in the end, i decided that ease of application was easiest, so i looked for a spray sunscreen with a moderate EWG rating. definitely not a purist here (although i did balk when i saw that coppertone babies lotion spray was a 7)! i use banana boat kids spray and really like it–hardly any scent and super easy to apply (i think it’s a 4 on EWG).
blogger / kiwi / 626 posts
I’m so glad you posted this! I was just doing research about sunscreens a few days ago, trying to find one that was affordable and safe. Great post!
kiwi / 595 posts
We use think baby, since we live in the southwest, wearing sunscreen is a daily activity, not just seasonal. We find it the easiest to apply and I wear it on my face most days, it’s light enough.
guest
I’m with you on badger and blue lizard. I did buy the blue lizard sport for beach…only to discover it does not have the best EWG rating.
grapefruit / 4466 posts
I’m a fan of babyganics mineral sunscreen.
cherry / 101 posts
@periwinklebee: we are too!
I had been using ThinkBaby on DS because of all the great reviews and the 1EWG rating until I tried it on myself and it made my skin itch so badly! The babyganics applies much easier and my son doesn’t fight me anymore when putting on his daily sunscreen (and we need it, super pale people over here
).
nectarine / 2173 posts
@periwinklebee: babyganics here too
pomegranate / 3858 posts
We use badger and green beaver which is a Canadian brand similar to badger
pea / 20 posts
I understand the instinct to worry about chemicals in sunscreen, but I worry just as much about taking the EWG’s word for it. They are actually funded in part by a lot of the companies that they recommend. In general, they tend to over-state the dangers in many products. Your doctor is the best source of information on what is safe. There is so much conflicting info out there on everything!
blogger / kiwi / 675 posts
thank you this is a great list!!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@MamaLovesDonuts: I’ve heard this too that they aren’t the 100% the most reliable source. But I still figure that fewer ingredients and ingredients I recognize are all good signs.
pear / 1547 posts
@MamaLovesDonuts: there isn’t a whole lot of clinically validated evidence behind the EWG – I have yet to find a dermatologist to get behind it. That being said, I’m a doc and we love the thinkbaby sunscreen!
honeydew / 7504 posts
@MamaLovesDonuts: Thank you! My sister is a chemist/epidemiologist and warns of the same thing – a LOT of the ingredients they list as bad aren’t nearly as bad as they make them out to be. I personally put very little stock in the EWG ratings. I looked for a mineral sunblock that was readily available, not too expensive, and easy to apply – Babyganics spray fit all those categories.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@littlebug: Basically everything you said. We also use Babyganics, which of course gets blasted on another site where the natural mama can’t believe a sunscreen SO TOXIC gets EWG’s thumbs-up!
It’s always good to be aware of what’s in these products, but I think EWG largely fans the flames of “all chemicals are bad.”
nectarine / 2821 posts
Glad to see such reasonable comments on here!
cantaloupe / 6869 posts
@littlebug: Agreed! We also use Babyganics and I have tried ThinkBaby and Badger and all of those are incredibly hard to rub all the way in. In some ways, I think they are less safe because my kid won’t sit still for me to put it on whereas he will do it for the Babyganics sunscreen.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@MrsKoala: i totally understand wiggly kids! But with mineral sunscreen it’s my understanding that you don’t have to rub it all the way in. So it’s fine if the kids are still creamy white.
It sounds like babyganics is a good choice for lots of people!
pea / 20 posts
@Mrs. Pinata: I hope I didn’t come across as too harsh. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the sunscreens you listed here. My issue is more with the chemical phobia that EWG promotes. Some chemicals are good and more effective than natural products, but sometimes the natural products really are the better choice. I find it overwhelming sometimes to sort out all the options in this world of too much information!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@MamaLovesDonuts: not at all! I agree that it’s totally overwhelming. We try to do things on the natural side, especially with sweet p’s very sensitive skin. But I certainly understand why some do things differently. In this day and age it’s impossible to find 100% agreement on anything, even from experts, so everyone just has to do what’s right for their family and kids.
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
I use Badger and Babyganics but have been thinking about trying Thinkbaby.