We’ve been hearing a lot about retinyl palmitate lately. Just what is it and what is it alleged to do? Retinyl palmitate is an ingredient found in many sunscreens and skin products. It’s a form of Vitamin A that over the years has been shown to be very beneficial to the skin. Now, studies are showing otherwise. The FDA has just finished up a study (although it has not been released yet) about the effects of retinyl palmitate on the skin, using mice as their test subjects. Their findings suggest that RP stimulates lesion and tumor growth when in direct sunlight. And this is in many sunscreens, which is designed for use in direct sunlight! Read more about it here: EWG Retinyl Palmitate

I also found out that retinyl palmitate (third to last ingredient) was in my favorite sunscreen, Dr. Mercola’s Natural Sunscreen with Green Tea. So I went right to the horse’s mouth for a response on this. I completely trust Dr. Mercola to use the safest and purest ingredients in his products and I wanted to hear what he had to say. Here is Dr. Mercola’s answer:

“The use of the word retinyl palmitate can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and cause confusion between retinyl palmitate and retinoic acid. Both of these are of the same family, but retinoic acid is a prescription ingredient used to exfoliate the skin, and can also cause the skin to become hyper sensitive to sunlight.
 
Retinyl palmitate (vitamin A) on the other hand, is the normal form used for application on the skin and has great anti-aging, superb antioxidant and moisturizing capabilities.
 
It accelerates cell renewal and stimulates the fibroblast and collagen in the skin, thereby reducing wrinkles and fine lines. Due to its antioxidant properties, it is also a great anti-aging ingredient, and helps promote a softer smoother skin.
 
The topical application of vitamin A on the skin, when formulated into creams and lotions, has a host of positive effects on the skin, which includes:

Increases the activities of enzymes found in the skin
Stimulates the mitotic activity in the epidermis and thereby helps with the process of cell division
Stimulates cell proliferation in the epidermis and thereby stimulates growth
Helps to thicken the epidermis, which becomes thinner in aging
Improves the elasticity of the skin
Helps to normalize sun-damaged skin
Helps in wound healing
Stimulates collagen formation in the skin
Reduces UV-induced wrinkle formulation
Regulates keratin formation

Exposure to sunlight, which includes both UVA and UVB radiation, reduces the amount of Vitamin A not only in the skin, but also the blood.”

So there you have it. How many times over the years have we read and trusted the things Dr. Mercola has to say? In the toxic beauty world, the next toxic ingredient is always uncovered and sometimes all it takes to quell the panic is to do a little research. Want a little more? Read this ehow article: Difference Between Retinyl Palmitate and Retinol…it may shed a bit more light on this subject. For me, I will continue to use his sunscreen and believe in Dr. Mercola. As for you, it’s always your choice.

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Stay natural…stay beautiful…go green!

Hey everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying your summer…I know I am! I recently blogged about a teriffic sunscreen, Badger, but now I have another one to share with you! I am obsessed with finding effective natural sunscreen and although I love Badger, I was still seeking something that was a little more spreadable. So I purchased one made by one of the nation’s leading natural health experts, Dr. Joseph Mercola. Mercola Healthy Skin Natural Sunscreen caught my eye for a few reasons. First of all, I got 10% off as a little birthday gift from Mercola.com (they do know how to treat their subscribers!)   After receiving Dr. Mercola’s wonderfully informative health newsletters, I knew I could trust his products to be as natural as possbile. Click here to join his online health community and begin receving his newsletters: Mercola.com.

It is SPF 30, water resistant, eco-friendly, and biodegradable. Did you know most sunscreens harm the environment with it’s chemical ingredients? I did not know that until recently so I was pleased that Mercola met these standards. This sunscreen protects with titanium and zinc oxide as the main ingredients. The other ingredients include sunflower oil, green tea extract, shea butter, and eucalyptus oil to name a few. It has a light, delicate, scent, and is not thick! (That can be a problem in a lot of other natural sunscreens….the zinc oxide makes them horribly thick.) It goes on smoothly and sinks into skin quickly, providing excellent protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays.

I was very impressed with this sunscreen. After my day at the beach (I was there for three hours, so I did reapply once) I was slightly tanned with no burn at all! Now that is a great, natural sunscreen that does what it promises to. I purchased the 8 oz. (large bottle) and it even came with a mini bottle to refill for travel. It sells for $15.97 (one bottle will last you for quite a while!) What a deal!

It’s on sale for 50% off today so it’s a great time to try this fantastic product. Simply click the above link to go to the site. If you try Mercola’s amazing sunscreen, please drop me a line and let me know if you love it as much as I do! Stay natural, stay beautiful…Robin

Hey organic beauty lovers! I have been on vacation for the past week, so I have not updated the blog in a bit. Thanks for hanging in there with me though! I had the opportunity to go to Orlando, Fl and I had a blast! I went to the water park and beautiful Cocoa Beach. I did not go unprepared however. I made sure I brought safe sunscreen to protect myself from harmful sun rays.

In my organic journey, I have searched and searched for a safe, natural, non-chemical sunscreen. I live in South Florida, where this is a necessity. Plus during the summertime I practically live at the beach. So what is a girl to do? Well I did a little trial and error (which can be expensive!) First I tried Burt’s Bees non-chemical sunscreen. I was not impressed. It was difficult to rub in and seemed to bead when it was rubbed in to much. Plus, I noticed that I burned. Next, I tried UV Naturals sunscreen. While it was thick as can be and also difficult to rub in, it provided great sun protection and the ingredients were very pure. I also use a sunscreen made by Badger (SPF 30,) which has been my favorite so far. Still on the thick side, but providing very good sun protection.

So maybe you don’t have the time or resources to test sunscreens? The Environmental Working Group now makes this easy for you! The EWG is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping inform and protect people about health and environmental issues. They recently studied over 1,600 sunscreens and products containing spf to determine their safety and effectiveness. There were some surprising results. Most sunscreens tested did not protect skin from sun damage or had hazardous chemicals! To make it even easier for you, they rate the sunscreens from best to worst. The ratings go from 0 (the best) to 10 (avoid.) Not surprisingly, the best overall sunscreen was…(drumroll please)…Badger!! It received a rating of 0 for UVB and UVA protection and sunscreen stability. If you would like to check out the rest of the list and even search for your sunscreen, visit EWG.org.

Click here to read the full ingredient list and to purchase this protective sunscreen: Badger

On a personal note, I would just like to thank those at EWG and Skin Deep (EWG’s Cosmetic Safety Database) for all their hard work and dedication on informing the public about the dangerous chemicals in our products. What safe sunscreens do you use? As always, comments are welcome. It’s good to be back!

   On Memorial Day weekend I had the pleasure of going away to beautiful Naples, Florida. I got to sit on the beach and swim in the healing waters of the gulf. I didn’t forget to protect my skin either. I saw many people using sunscreen, but unfortunately they were using commercial sunscreen, not knowing the dangers they were exposing themselves too. A lot of people think the sun causes cancer. That is far from the truth. The sun actually prevents many different types of cancer. It is the sunscreen that causes cancer.   Sunscreen contains many toxins such as oxybenzone that are absorbed into the skin causing a myriad of health problems.

  I am not saying to stop using sunscreen period… it is important to use natural sunscreen to protect from harmful UVA rays when exposed to the sun for long periods of time. Many natural sunscreens contain zinc or titanium oxide, which does thicken the sunscreen but works well to protect the skin. One of my favorites is made by a great all natural company, Badger. It’s natural and best of all it does the job. I just ordered natural sunscreen made by one of my favorite natural health experts, Dr. Joseph Mercola. I’ll keep you posted on how it works!