Clean sunscreen exists. Here’s how to find it.

Jun 9, 2026 | Uncategorized

Full Capacity Living…

What’s Really in Your Sunscreen?

How to Protect Your Skin and Your Health

This Summer

Tuesday Wellness Edition • Summer 2025

Summer is here and so is the annual ritual of reaching for sunscreen before a day in the sun. Protecting your skin from UV damage is genuinely important. But here’s a question most of us have never asked:

Is the sunscreen you’re slathering on every day actually safe?

The answer, according to growing scientific evidence and years of research by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), is: it depends. A surprising number of conventional sunscreens contain chemical ingredients that absorb into the bloodstream, may disrupt hormones, and haven’t been properly tested for long-term safety in humans, especially children.

This week, let’s unpack the science, look at the ingredients to watch out for, and give you the tools to find clean, effective sun protection for your whole family.

First: The Sun Is Not the Enemy

Before we talk about sunscreen, let’s acknowledge something important — sunlight is vital to human health. Regular, moderate sun exposure:

Triggers vitamin D synthesis in the skin, supporting bone health, immune regulation, and mood
Activates over 1,000 genes involved in calcium metabolism and immune function
Stimulates the production of antimicrobial peptides that help fight infections
Supports serotonin production, contributing to emotional wellbeing

Research published in the NIH’s Environmental Health Perspectives confirms that sunlight exposure goes far beyond vitamin D — it influences immune system pathways and endorphin production in ways that supplementation alone cannot replicate.

A review in PubMed Central (NIH) reinforces this: “Sun avoidance strategies should be avoided due to the unwanted health risks associated with vitamin D deficiency.” The goal is smart, protected sun exposure — not avoidance.

The Real Risk: UV Exposure and Skin Cancer

That said, unprotected overexposure to UV radiation is the leading environmental risk factor for skin cancer, including melanoma — the most deadly form.

According to research published in NIH’s PMC (Melanoma Epidemiology and Sun Exposure), melanoma accounts for roughly 75% of all skin cancer deaths. It arises when UV radiation causes unrepaired DNA damage in skin cells, triggering mutations that lead to malignant tumors.

Key risk factors include:

Intermittent, high-intensity UV exposure and blistering sunburns
Sun exposure during childhood and adolescence
Repeated use of commercial tanning beds (classified as carcinogenic by the WHO)
Light skin, fair hair, and a tendency to burn rather than tan

Critically, research published in PubMed (NIH) found that children receive three times the annual UV exposure of adults — meaning the vast majority of lifetime sun exposure accumulates before age 18. This makes sun protection in childhood especially critical for long-term skin health.

The EWG’s Alarming Findings: Most Sunscreens Fall Short

Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) — a nonprofit science and advocacy organization — evaluates thousands of sunscreen products for both effectiveness and ingredient safety.

Their 2025 Annual Guide to Sunscreens reviewed over 2,200 SPF products. The results were striking:

EWG 2025 Sunscreen Report — Key Findings

Nearly 80% of sunscreens offer inadequate skin protection, contain potentially harmful ingredients, or both
Only about 1 in 4 products met EWG’s safety and efficacy criteria
The FDA has not meaningfully updated sunscreen regulations since 1999
More than 1 in 3 sunscreens list undisclosed “fragrance” — a word that can hide hundreds of chemicals, including allergens and hormone disruptors
Only zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are currently recognized as “generally safe and effective” by the FDA

“Too many sunscreens still rely on risky chemicals or high SPF claims that don’t offer the broad-spectrum protection users expect,” said Carla Burns, EWG’s Senior Director for Cosmetic Science.

The Problem with Conventional Sunscreens

FDA studies published in JAMA (2019) and JAMA Dermatology (2020) confirmed that common chemical sunscreen ingredients absorb into the bloodstream — in some cases at levels 16 to 40 times above the FDA’s own proposed safety threshold — after a single day of typical use. Several of these ingredients have been linked to endocrine disruption and have not been adequately tested for long-term safety in humans.

The EWG has done the ingredient-by-ingredient work for you. Their annual Sunscreen Guide flags the specific chemicals to avoid and tells you exactly which products are clean. Rather than memorizing a list, use their guide — that’s what it’s there for.

For Kids: The Stakes Are Even Higher

Children’s skin is more permeable than adult skin, meaning these chemicals absorb more readily into their bodies. Their developing endocrine and immune systems are also far more vulnerable to disruption from hormone-active compounds.

Given that most lifetime UV damage accumulates before age 18, children need sun protection that actually works — and that doesn’t introduce new risks through the very products meant to protect them.

For Children: What to Look For

Mineral sunscreens only — zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the active ingredient
Fragrance-free (“fragrance” can mask hundreds of undisclosed chemicals)
No oxybenzone, octinoxate, homosalate, avobenzone, or octocrylene
EWG Verified® or top-rated in EWG’s children’s sunscreen category

SPF 30–50 is sufficient — higher SPF does not mean meaningfully better protection

The Safe Choice: Mineral Sunscreens

The good news: there are excellent options. The FDA has designated two ingredients as “generally recognized as safe and effective” (GRASE) — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. These are mineral-based filters that sit on top of the skin and physically block UV rays rather than absorbing them into the body.

Zinc oxide offers broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection and is stable in sunlight
Titanium dioxide is effective for UVB and short-wave UVA rays
Neither is absorbed into the bloodstream when applied as sunscreen
Both are gentle enough for sensitive skin and young children

EWG-approved brands like Thinkbaby, Babo Botanicals, and All Good have made the EWG Verified® list — meaning they meet rigorous standards for both UV protection and ingredient transparency.

Your Resource: EWG’s Sunscreen Guide

The EWG makes it easy to find clean options. Their annual Sunscreen Guide at ewg.org/sunscreen lets you:

Search and filter thousands of sunscreen products by safety score
Find the best options for babies, children, and adults separately
Access the EWG Verified® sunscreen list — the gold standard for clean formulations
Read detailed ingredient breakdowns for any product

🔗 Visit EWG’s Sunscreen Guide → ewg.org/sunscreen

🔗 EWG’s Best Sunscreens for Kids → ewg.org/sunscreen/best-kids-sunscreens/

🔗 EWG Verified® Sunscreens → ewg.org/ewg-verified/sunscreens

Smart Sun Habits — A Functional Medicine Approach

Rather than a binary of “no sunscreen” vs. “slather on chemicals,” a functional medicine approach looks at the whole picture:

Get 10–20 minutes of unprotected morning sun (before 10 am) to support vitamin D and circadian rhythm
Use mineral sunscreen during peak UV hours (10 am–4 pm), especially during prolonged outdoor activity
Wear physical protection: lightweight long sleeves, a wide-brimmed hat, UV-blocking sunglasses
Stay hydrated — well-hydrated skin is more resilient to UV stress
Prioritize antioxidant-rich foods (polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin C and E) that support skin’s internal defense against oxidative damage from UV
Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours during extended outdoor time — and always after swimming or sweating

Protection and nourishment are not opposites. You can honor the sun as a health-giving force while also choosing products that protect your skin without burdening your body with poorly studied chemicals.

Stay well and stay safe…

Karen

Research & Further Reading

The following peer-reviewed and government sources informed this newsletter:

NIH PMC: Benefits of Sunlight — Vitamin D and Immune Function

NIH PMC: Benefits and Risks of Sun Exposure for Vitamin D Levels

NIH PubMed: Sun Protection in Childhood and Skin Cancer Risk

NIH PMC: Melanoma Epidemiology and Sun Exposure

NIH PMC: Sun Exposure and Risk of Melanoma (Epidemiological Review)

JAMA 2019: FDA Study — Sunscreen Absorption into the Bloodstream

JAMA Dermatology 2020: Follow-Up FDA Absorption Study (6 Chemical Filters)

EWG: The Trouble with Sunscreen Ingredients (Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Homosalate)