As if Milk Allergies weren't enough!!!

Yes, I have a sun allergy.




I developed a funky rash on my lower legs after spending a couple minutes reading while my dogs romped around outside this summer.


It went away, but the next time we did the same routine, the rash came back.


My culprit was the sun. Only the lower legs were exposed and the rash stayed around for several days to weeks, and then disappeared as if never there. It wasn't itchy on my legs.


I have a sun sensitivity. Ye gods, what's next?

Fast forward to our summer vacation - setting, Wauseon, Ohio. I've got SPF 75 sunscreen on (chemical base), I'm wearing a hat, and I have a floor length gown made out of "SPF" fabric draped over my summer clothes. I develop a rash at my collarbone area. And this one IS itchy. Being that I'm wearing the mineral foundation, I don't rash on my face. But this does give me the to idea to run out for sunscreen with a physical sunblock, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Obviously the chemical sunscreen wasn't hacking it.

Welcome me to the micro- and nano-sized particle family. I'm staying for a while.

I apply the physical sunblock and have no more problems the remainder of the trip. My rash fades quickly and stops itching.

Now I just have to worry about white face, and leaving titanium dioxide and zinc oxide residue everywhere. It is on my pockets, on my collars, on the car handle ...




















Purple Prairie Botanicals


I've been wearing two sunscreens since:
Purple Prairie Botanicals SPF 30, a very low 1 on the hazard scale of Cosmetics Safety Database.
Ingredients:
Water
Olive Oil
Hammamelis virginiana Witch Hazel
Kosher Vegetable glycerin
emulsifying wax
Cocos nucifera Coconut
Butyrospermum parkii Shea Butter
Jojoba oil
zinc oxide
titanium dioxide
vitamin E
Salix nigra extract Black Willow
Rosemary extract

This does have a fairly strong smell at application, and I wish they would use "light" olive oil. But the smell does disappear fairly quickly.

I do have a bit of white face on first application, but it seems to fade within 10 minutes.

It has much better slip than the other sunscreen. I wear this on my face and upper body.




















Neutrogena's Purescreen Line, currently a hazard of 3 on the Cosmetics Safety Database:
- Sensitive Skin SPF 60+
- Pure & Free Baby SPF 60+

Ingredients:
Titanium Dioxide 4.9%
Zinc Oxide 4.7%

Alumina
Arachidyl Alcohol
Arachidyl Glucoside
Ascorbic Acid (Avena sativa Oat Kernel Extract - in Pure & Free Baby only)
Beeswax
Behenyl Alcohol
Benzyl Alcohol
BHT
Bisabolol
Butylene Glycol
Butylocytl Salicylate
Cetyl Dimethicone
Dimethicone
Dimethicone PEG-8 Laurate
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Disodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Glyceryl Stearate
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Isohexadecane
Methicone
Methylisothiazolinone
Pantothenic Acid
PEG-100 Stearate
PEG-8
Polyaminopropyl Biguanide
Polyhydroxystearic Acid
Polymethyl Methacrylate
Polysorbate 60
(Potassium Sorbate - Pure & Free Baby only)
Retinyl Palmitate
Silica
Stearic Acid
Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer
Tocopheryl Acetate
Triethoxycaprylylsilane
Trimethylsiloxysilicate
Trisiloxane
Water
Xantham Gum

The two are so close in formula and ingredients as to be the same. I've found that with the oat extract in the baby formula, "Pure & Free Baby" applies slightly more easily. They both drag quite well, unfortunately.

I wear this on my arms and legs.

May I just point put that, man, these have a bunch of alcohol and silicone in them.

43(41) ingredients vs. 13 ... can you guess which one I reach for most often???