We are less than a month away from the first day of Summer, whoohoo! That means school is out and there is more time to sleep in or get out and get some of this beautiful Florida sunshine. With the fun in the sun comes the important job of taking care of your skin while it soaks up some rays.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the use of sunscreen. Babies that are younger than 6 months should be kept in the shade and out of direct sunlight. If you are able to wear clothing that covers most of the body without the risk of over heating, AAP recommends light comfortable fabrics such as cotton. With the clothing recommendation, AAP suggest clothing with a tightly woven fabric as those allow less light to pass through. A good way to see how tight the weave of the fabric is is to hold the clothing up to a source of light and note the amount of light that passes through. The less light that comes through the better the fabric for sun protection.
The AAP also recommends wearing sunglasses as they can protect your eyes. When looking for sunglasses be sure to look for “UV protection” identifiers. The recommendation for the amount of UV protection is 99%. You should also looks for sunglasses that fit your child and offer UV protection as well. In addition to sunglasses, hats with a 3-inch brim can protect your eyes, face, and neck. Bring on those cute sun hats!
According to ewg.org, when choosing a sunscreen you should look for it to have ingredients such as zinc, titanium dioxide, or avobenzone and you should avoid ingredients such as oxybenzone and vitamin A ( retinyl palmitate). Ewg.org recommends products that are creams, water resistant and cover a broad spectrum and they suggest avoiding sprays, powders, and SPF that goes over 50+ as it doesn’t necessarily offer more proctection. Head on over to ewg.org to find out the best and worst sunscreens for you and your family. There you will find a variety of sunscreens that will work for you and your family as well as why they work.
