For the Mamas

I don't have any friends here in Vegas.  None.  It really sucks.  Well, there is this mom who seems really cool who is the mother to one of the little girls in Savannah's gymnastics class and we talked a few times...she also told me about how the library has free story time and arts and crafts during the summer and how she takes her daughter.  So i think I need to take Savannah too...and hopefully start a friendship with the mom.  I am desperate.  Pathetic i know.

Even though I don't have any friends here in Vegas, I do read a certain blog like religiously.  She posts pretty much every day and she is frickin smart.  She has lived in Vegas a long time, has kids who are in elementary school, and she is smart.  I mean super smart about everything Vegas.  She is into politics, the school system, the PTA, and not just Nevada stuff; She knows a lot of about....about....well about just random stuff that is actually useful.  She is not some kind of self-proclaimed super-mom, don't worry.  She is just smart.  Well anyway...one of her useful investigations caught my eye and it had to do with sunscreen for kids.  I have been using the spray sunscreens the past 2 summers...not anymore.  I am now going to order the same sunscreen she got her kids because of what she wrote and the website that you can use to see if your sunscreen is working correctly. 

HERE IS HER BLOGPOST and the LINKS:
"On average, Las Vegas experiences 72.6 days a year above 100 degrees. Incidentally, there are exactly 72 days left before school starts.
Coincidence??????? I THINK NOT.
Then I was freaking out because I got really lazy about getting good sunscreen and have been using chemical sprays which are super dangerous and actually cause cancer. I was picking it up at Trader's and using Trader Joe's Nourish Spray and noticed that it contains oxybenzone, which is a hormone disrupter and mimics estrogen, and I finally went to EWG.org's website, which rates toxicity of sunscreens by manufacturer's name and Trader's spray is ranked a SEVEN, which is highly dangerous.
In fact, my fertility doctor is now recommending to his new patients that they use no chemical sunscreens at all because oxybenzone is lowering sperm counts so much. It's also affecting toddler boys by shrinking the penis during development and causing female-like imprinting of the brain. It's also been linked to increased endometrosis and migraines and a whole host of bad and nasty things.
Also, if your sunscreen contains Vitamin A, that is a huge, huge problem because studies are showing that vitamin A, when exposed to the sun, actually PROMOTES skin cancer. I bought Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby and that was also ranked a SEVEN in toxicity for containing vitamin A.

What sucks is that in order for me to get the really good mineral sunscreen, we are talking $20 a tube and I could EASILY go through a 3 ounce tube a day. And what sucks even more is that safer and better sunscreen is available in Europe, but we can't get them here in the United States. I'm sure that is because the better ingredient, Meroxyl, is patented by L'Oreal, a French company, and why would any of our corporations want to pay royalties to use it?
Did you know that for 33 years, the FDA has failed to regulate or put rules on the 65 billion dollar a year sunscreen industry? They finally did two days ago. If you click on that link, you can read how sunscreens will change next year.
In the meantime, I just ordered a half gallon of Tropical Sand's All Natural Sunscreen for $89. Which is a smoking deal when you have four kids to keep covered. "

I wanted to share this post with the mamas out there.  And also...here is a link for a smaller bottle of the all natural sunscreen for 15 bucks on Amazon.com.  Unfortunately you can't find the natural stuff in target or walmart.  You have to pretty much go to a specialty store or go online.
Also...when Vegas Mom put it on her kids...they were out in the sun all day and she did not have to reapply and her kids barely got a tint of sun.  I believe the only thing you can find at Target is called California Baby, but it is pretty expensive as well and remember to reapply if you are constantly going in and out of water.  Just thought I would share this information.

BUT...I also want to let you know...ANY SUNBLOCK IS BETTER THAN NO SUNBLOCK!  Just stop using the sprays cuz that is what is really dangerous.  We live very frugal and we are out in the sun almost everyday becuz swimming and the parks are free.  We might be outside "more than the average bear", ya know.  And cancer just makes me paranoid with Emmett.  This post is strictly for knowledge. :)