Little Buddy loves to be outside. It’s not uncommon for him to wake up in the morning and immediately point to the door. When he’s out in the sun for more than a short while, we always apply sunscreen, but I was surprised to learn a few years ago that the majority of sunscreens on the market contain harmful chemicals. A lot of new research has come out about the dangers of these ingredients. Mr. Handsome and I don’t mind that for ourselves, but we opt to use a more natural product on Little Buddy.
I did quite a bit of research and found an affordable SPF 50 sunscreen and sunscreen stick from Thinkbaby. Free of avobenzone, oxybenzone, parabens, phthalates, and UV chemical absorbers, it is a mineral-based formula that uses zinc oxide. We applied it on Little Buddy at the beach and had no burns.
Another way that we keep our outdoor-loving son safe from the sun is with a short-sleeved rash guard and wide-brimmed hat. Good hats are also hard to find. My mom read a ton of reviews and found the SwimZip sun wide brim sun hat for babies, toddlers, and kids. Our first one was bright blue, and I recently bought a back-up that’s orange. I’m all about bright, even neon, colors at the beach and pool so I can keep track of my toddler easier.
The SwimZip hat comes in various sizes, and it’s adjustable around the head and on the chin strap. It stays on very well, and Little Buddy does not complain. The hat floats and is made of bathing suit material, so it’s perfect for water play. SwimZip hats are $19.99, which I agree is a bit pricey. However, they are made well and will fit your child as he or she grows. I cringed as I made the purchase and tried to remind myself that you can’t put a price on UV protection. Another goal of mine is to hopefully help my son develop the lifelong habit of wearing a hat outdoors.
The style reminds me of my late grandmother because she enjoyed gardening in her wide-brimmed hat. That’s the picture that pops into my head when I think of her, so it makes me smile to see my son in a similar hat.
This is not a sponsored post. I paid full price for these products and am simply sharing some of my new favorite products.
We used Coolibar hats with my daughter, and we really liked them. We always put a hat on her when we went out, and she’s nine now and still wears her hats most of the time:-) Don’t forget the sunglasses too.
I remember back when my girls were babies we used Coppertone Baby and Banana Boat for babies that had huge SPF(50+) numbers. If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely do my homework and avoid brands just because “all my friends” use it. And speaking of sunblock, do you remember the disappearing purple sunblock that was so popular in the 90s and maybe early 2000s?
Yes! I do remember the purple stuff. I wonder if they still sell it.
We love Thinkbaby too 🙂 I found it at Target!
. The sunscreen does have harmful chemicals it was just made up from people to get people scared. None of that stuff online is true about sunscreen. It’s just made up stuff.
No, it’s very true. Regular sunscreen is extremely harmful. Premature aging at that too. It causes wrinkles. I always buy a sunscreen that has zinc oxide instead of that other junk. Who wants to get wrinkles early in life? Not me.
No its not true at all. I buy that stuff and I never got wrimkles or skin cancer.
Thank you for sharing!! I will be looking up both right away! I agree hats are really hard to find for toddlers, little buddy is getting so big.
I applaud you for protecting your son’s identity. I bet he is so cute! Can you tell us whose personality he favors?
Thank you! He has a lot going on in his head and loves to figure things out (like my husband), although he is also very busy and active and needs to be entertained (not like my husband). He is a daredevil who doesn’t usually learn from past mistakes, which isn’t like either of us. The other day, he tried really hard to ride his little car down the stairs. Very persistent (like my husband). And when I stopped him, he had a huge tantrum. He has a sweet, calm side, too, and we’re trying to cultivate that. 🙂
Little Buddy will thank you one day for instilling safe sun practices.I grew up in FL when it was cool to use baby oil while sunning and now I’m paying the price. I have gone through radiation to remove skin cancer and just recently had my entire face deep lasered to remove sun damage and pre cancerous spots.
I’m so sorry to hear that! Hope your doctor is able to help you stay healthy and keep everything under control.
Hi Ellie! First of all, there’s nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution with what you put on your children’s skin! But I wanted to clarify for you and your readers that it’s actually not true that research has shown the chemical barriers in US sunscreen to be unsafe. What was recently found is that they are absorbed into the body, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are harmful. Because they are absorbed, the FDA has ordered companies to do more research on their effects on the body to determine if they can be declared safe, but that doesn’t mean they’re unsafe. They’ve been used for years with no definitive evidence that they are unsafe and the FDA says they can continue to be used while more research is done. There are some chemicals used in sunscreen that are unsafe, but they’re not used in the US. But again, physical UV blockers like zinc oxide have been shown to be safe, so there’s nothing wrong with choosing to use those sunscreens for both children and adults! They’re a pain to rub in though, haha!
Just wanted to offer this clarification from a scientific perspective since the media will often lable things as unsafe when that’s not technically true, leading to a lot of confusion with consumers. Sun safety is not something you want to be confused about!
I don’t know if you accept links in comments but the American Academy of Dermatology has a great article on this. You can find it by searching “AAD is sunscreen safe.”