Did You See The News About Chemical Sunscreens?

At Juice Beauty, we weren’t surprised by the news but happy after receiving so many positive emails from our customers thanking us for embracing mineral sunscreen from the inception of our company!

In 2005 when I started Juice Beauty, it never occurred to me to use anything BUT a mineral sunblock. At that time, not much was known about chemical sunscreens but over the years, on the soccer field and beaches, I watched so many parents spray and lotion their kids with chemical sunscreens—I had a hunch that these chemicals wouldn’t be great for the skin nor inhalation.

Fast forward to 2019 and the prestigious Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) released an important study on May 6^th. The study was conducted by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, an arm of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Researchers found that it took just one day of sunscreen use for one common chemical SPF ingredient to enter the bloodstream and less than 7 days for all the chemical sunscreens to enter the body at levels high enough to trigger a government safety investigation. The government safety alert was due to the results showing much higher levels than current U.S. health regulation guidelines.

The objective of the study was to determine whether the active ingredients of avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, and ecamsule, available in commonly used sunscreens, were absorbed into the body.

Systemic concentrations confirmed by blood draws were greater than 0.5 ng/mL for sprays, creams and lotions on day 1 for avobenzene and maximum plasma concentrations of all chemical sunscreens (avobenzen, oxybenzone, octocrylene, and ecamsule) was reached through day 7.

Previous studies have already shown oxybenzone, along with some other sunscreen active ingredients including octocrylene, has been found in human breast milk and amniotic fluid.

This news is of concern because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines state that sunscreen active ingredients with systemic absorption greater than 0.5 ng/mL or with safety concerns should undergo a toxicology assessment, including systemic carcinogenicity and reproductive studies.

We are happy to say that ALL Juice Beauty products receive EWG’s top approval rating every year and that ALL Juice Beauty SPF products use the mineral zinc for UVA and UVB protection.