Our family is a green family, and that means not only using cleaning products that are all natural and non-toxic, but this applies to personal care products as well. Unfortunately, it’s a bit harder to find truly natural personal care items, and especially when it comes to choosing a sunscreen. In my experience, all natural sun protection creams are few and far between.
Description
I was only able to find a small one ounce size of Alba Botanica Sun Organic Sunscreen, in the lavender scent. It was in a bin of sample sized products at my local Fred Meyer store, in the health food/nutrition center. The tube is light lavender colored,w ith a brigth yellow circle just under the word “SUN”.
The tube states that the sunscreen has a SPF, or Sun Protection Factor, of 30, which is suitable for most people. It claims that the sunscreen is very water resistant, and that it is hypoallergenic. The lotion is of a medium consistency, and is colored white.
* Not tested on animals
* Contains broad-spectrum UVA & UVB protection
* Lavender is a natural insect repellant
Active sunscreen ingredients
10% octocrylene, 7.5% octinoxate, 6,0% benzophenone-3, 5.0% octyl salicylate.
Ingredients
Certified organic infusion of green tea (camellia sinensis), lavender (lavandula officinalis), chamomile (chamomilla recutita), echinacea purpurea, ginkgo biloba and yarrow (achillea millefolium), certified organic aloe vera barbadensis, isopropyl palmitate, glyceryl stearate, dimethicone, stearic acid, silica, cetearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, vegetable glycerin, certified organic lavender essential oil (lavandula officinalis), oat extract (avena sativa), allantoin, d-alpha tocopherol (vitaminE), sodium hydroxy-methylglycinate, vegetable wax,methyl/propylparaben and phenoxyethanol.
My Experience
I have never cared for the smell of sunscreens, especially those with a coconut scent (and I’ve found the majority of them do smell like coconut) – I guess it is supposed to conjure up images of a hawaiian paradise.
The Alba Botanical Sun Organic Lavender Sunscreen has a light scent of lavender, a smell that I adore. The lotion comes out of the tube easily, and is the consistency of hand lotion. It also spreads very smoothly, and since it’s colored white, it’s very easy to see where it has been applied. It doesn’t take a lot of rubbing to be absorbed into the skin, and it’s not at all greasy like some sunscreens are. I definitely don’t feel the need to wipe my hands after applying it.
The lavender, aloe vera, chamomile, ginkgo biloba, and green tea are all certified organic, and are great for repairing damaged skin, and this product is suitable for every skin type. There is mounting and alarming evidence today of many companies using nanotechnology in their sunscreen formulations. Nanoparticles are super tiny particles that are being added to sunscreens to make them clear rather than white. Ingredients such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are two of the culprits where nanotechnology is being used. “Nano” represents any ingredients measuring less than 100 nanometers. To put this in perspective, one nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Nanoparticles are thought to be much more easily absorbed into our skin, and the skin is our bodies largest organ. It is said that these tiny particles can enter the tissues and can lead to the disctuction of skin cells. For this reason, I always read labels carefully, and if I see any labels reading “micro” or “nano”, I am sure to avoid those.
I love the Alba Botanica line of products, and their sunscreen is no exception. It does contain the paraben preservatives, so if you are avoiding those ingredients, you may want to look elsewhere. Those ingredients are very minute, as they are listed dead last. These are essential in some personal care formulations, or else the products would go rancid. Some manufacturers use Vitamin E and other natural ingredients to naturally preserve their products, but I have had the problem with these going bad, so it’s kind of a toss up.
Bottom line, the Alba Botanica sunscreens are indeed organic and contain great ingredients that not only provide important sunscreen protection, but are good for the skin as well. It smells wonderful, and the lavender scent does linger after it has been applied. It absorbs nicely and leaves no greasy feeling behind. I highly recommend this sunscreen!
