If you’re anyone with a Facebook account (so, that probably means you), you know that a ton of weird, biased sunscreen info has been circulating people’s timelines. Unfortunately that stuff is mostly inaccurate, and like science as always said, just listen to a doctor you trust. I caught up with Dr. Joshua Zeichner, one of my fave derms in NYC, to get the scoop on how HE chooses sunscreen for himself, his patients, and his family.
There’s also a video, and frankly I think it’s worth a Facebook share so people know how to properly protect their skin and their health.
How a Dermatologist Chooses Sunscreen with Dr. Joshua Zeichner
Is Sunscreen Safe?
According to Dr. Zeichner, “As a derm and a parent, I say, the risks of not applying sunscreen and getting sunburn, far outweigh any other concerns. Don’t believe everything that you read, and if you have any questions, speak to your dermatologist.” That’s pretty important, because we all know that the internet is well, the internet, and has the ability to say whatever the heck it wants without any real verification– but real doctors still stand behind using trusted brands of sunscreen.
As someone who has watched several family members go through the melanoma experience, using sunscreen on a daily basis is a non-issue.
“It can be really challenging to understand sunscreen labels. What I do, is go to the drugstore and look for a trusted brand. Make sure that it is labeled as broad spectrum and turn the bottle over and look for ingredients such as avobenzone or oxybenzone. For those with sensitive skin, look for a mineral sunscreen that only contains ingredients such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.”
Agreed, and I loved hearing that buzzword ingredients like oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate have no damning evidence against them. If a clinical study tells me otherwise, fine, I’ll believe it. In the meantime I’d rather trust real doctors and actual science instead of non-scientific and definitely not journalistic websites (but hey, that’s just me).
I’ve personally been slathering my kids with the baby-safe Neutrogena line for years, and plan to continue doing do. My kids are currently burn-free, and that keeps my mind at ease. I assume Dr. Zeichner is feeling the same.
GIVEAWAY ALERT: I’m giving away gift bags FULL of Neutrogena sunscreens to 3 lucky winners! Want one? Just make sure you live in the USA and share this post on Facebook and tag me as @brycegruber. Here’s an example post: Hey, @brycegruber I want to win the @neutrogena sunscreen giveaway because I want to protect my family from sun damage (and include this link).
I’ll choose a winner by August 15, 2015! xo
This post was sponsored in an effort to get the word out to help people #ChooseSkinHealth, but I really have gone to Dr. Zeichner, fully trust this advice, and am eager to share it with you.
