Octinoxate Overload

She uses sunscreen. She is a skier. Downhill. Snow glare, especially during spring skiing, demands skin protection. She slathers on the sunscreen. Today it is Clinique. Perhaps containing PABA, oxybenzone, and definitely octinoxate. She does not read the labels. She is a trusting consumer and an outdoor enthusiast. She has no idea of the danger she is doing to her skin. Or to her body. She may be disrupting her hormones, her reproductive organs, possibly causing infertility or a miscarriage. She is only 25. She has been using sunscreen as long as she can remember. Her lips need it too. Her Beyond Coastal Sunscreen Lip Balm also has sunscreen protection. It is in her zippered jacket pocket.  She never travels without it and needs it often. It is a part of her daily routine. Her name is Mia.

This morning, in the shower, Mia washed with her beloved Dove Dry Oil and Restorative Hair treatment. She has no idea she was lathering in octinoxate.  After her shower, Mia used her Olay Complete Daily Moisturizer with added SPF production. Mia felt she could not get enough coverage when hitting the slopes. More octinoxate was absorbed into her body, unknown to Mia.

Octinoxate, AKA Octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) filters UV rays from the sun. It protects the product from degrading when exposed to the sun. In 2019, octinoxate was proposed as an ingredient that is not safe and effective anymore. It has been found in the blood 16 times above the approved FDA safety threshold. The FDA does not ban it. Instead, it restricts the strength permitted in the formula. Since Mia uses several products daily that contain this toxic ingredient, this ban does not work for Mia. She is simply NOT safe.

Mia plans to visit Hawaii soon. She does not yet know that several places ban the sale of sunscreens made with octinoxate because there have been studies that show they are harmful to aquatic life. Hawaii is one of them. Mia loves scuba diving and wants to explore coral reefs. She will not be permitted to bring her sunscreen into the state of Hawaii. Many states and countries have followed suit, so Mia will be made aware. This is a good thing. She will now think twice about her choices, not only for saving the aquatic life, but for saving herself. 

Mia should choose non nano zinc oxide mineral blend instead. Non- toxic. Healthy. Safe.