California Sun

A friend of mine recently declined a visit to the beach with us because she doesn’t go to the beach with her baby. She doesn‘t want to expose her to that much sun. Her response threw me off for a moment. I haven’t even considered NOT going to the beach. I mean, we live in southern California now. Aren’t my girls supposed to be little surfers-in-training?

While I'm unwilling to give up our weekly beach trips, I’ll admit that the exposure to the sun has become a concern for me here. My mom is smiling triumphantly if she is reading this. Except she is probably also shaking her head because it is too late for me. She spent our teenage years chasing after us with hats and sunscreen (back then SPF 8 seemed extreme to me), but despite my mom’s best efforts, I spent years as a lifeguard and swim instructor in the summers and I have plenty of photo albums full of peeling nose photos to prove it.

My mom was ahead of her time in her obsession with sunscreen. Since then, the ozone has depleted some more, further research has been done about the sun’s effects on our skin, and nearly every minute someone in the United States dies of skin cancer. Pair that with the fact that I’m turning 34 this summer and am starting to see some of the effects of those years of sunburn, and I’m ready to lather on the sunscreen… Except that this is 2008 and the days when moms could actually throw their kids in "way back" of the car without car seats while drinking soda out of a chipped BPA-laden plastic cup is over, so of course new research shows that we not only have to worry about the sun, but also really bad for you? Sunscreen. Apparently we are all peeing out hormone-altering chemicals, which just doesn't seem like a good idea. I guess it is sort of obvious if you think about it - all of those weird sounding names on the back of the sunscreen bottle you buy at CVS just can’t be good for your skin.

So what’s a concerned mom to do? Any dermatologist will tell you “stay out of the sun from 10 to 4 every day”, and I’m willing to concede that it probably would be the best option for your skin. But what about your life? From hiking to biking to swimming - most of the activities I enjoy involve some sun exposure. And, as I wrote in my last blog entry, being outside is the most natural place for children to be. Also, you have to factor in sanity, and staying indoors for six hours a day with kids in the summer is just not an option.

So we’re investing in long sleeve rash guard shirts, hats, and natural zinc-based sunscreens. Apparently we are willing to look dorky and pasty white to avoid being inside! Fortunately, I think the trend is catching on so maybe we won't stand out too much as the overly sunscreened family. In fact, when I asked about sunscreens on a listserve, my friend Sandy gave a homemade option, which I included below:

Sandy’s Recipe for Homemade Sunscreen:

1 teaspoon titanium dioxide 1 tablespoon zinc oxide 10 ml of vegetable glycerine (this is only for mixing the 2 powders, so any amount will work--I think it is more than a tsp and less than a tbsp) 1/4 to 1/3 cup Shea Nut Butter (olive oil will work, too, but SNB has natural sun protective qualities 1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut oil Mix the powders with the glycerin, using a fork will help get the lumps out, stir well, almost whipping. The SNB can be warmed so it is more liquid, but also works at room temp. Mix all ingredients together. The more you stir the more "whipped" it will be and that seems to be the preferred texture.

Now, speaking of beaches, my family is there now and I am supposed to be unpacking (another example of how a day in the sun is much more appealing!) so I am signing off to try to find the floor in my room...