droolicious : Phthalate-free

7 Days of Beach Bests: What's the Safest Sunscreen for Your Little One?

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:04:00 GMT

TruKid's all-natural SPF 30+ sunscreen: Safe Mama-tested, Droolicious-approved.

Before you break out the Water Babies or Banana Boat this season, here's a fun bit of information: From their potentially hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic properties to the gunk they wash off our bodies into the ecosystem, chemical sunscreens may be anything but benign when compared with their physical counterparts. Truthfully, though, we had a hard time understanding the difference between physical and chemical sunscreens in the first place, so we went to the American Melanoma Foundation's website for help:

"Chemical sunscreens contain special ingredients that act as filters and reduce ultraviolet radiation penetration to the skin. These sunscreens often are colorless and maintain a thin visible film on the skin. These sunscreens usually contain UVB absorbing chemicals and more recently contain UVA absorbers as well.

OK, got that.

"Physical sunscreens, most often referred to as sunblocks, are products containing ingredients such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide which physically block ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Sunblocks provide broad protection against both UVB and UVA light. They can be cosmetically unacceptable to many people, because they are often messy, visible and do not easily wash off. However, some new zinc oxide products are available in brightly colored preparations which are popular with young people."

Young people! You mean like us? Sweet. Still, given all the scary news we've heard about chemical sunscreen's dangers, there have to be reasons beyond simple aesthetic appeal for choosing a physical sunscreen for the little ones this summer, right? Enter our friends at the Safe Mama blog, who recently conducted a sunscreen showdown to help make just that determination.

Though Safe Mama notes that "the active ingredients in just about every sunscreen can create harmful free-radicals when out in the sun," its test for other hidden ingredients (namely, nasties like parabens, phthalates, and the endocrine-disrupting synthetic chemical oxybenzone) helped to narrow down our choices to a handy list of five safe sunscreens for the summer.

We won't spoil the details of Safe Mama's whole report (available here via PDF), but if you're wondering why we included a photo of TruKid's Sunny Days Mineral Sunscreen UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum ($14 from Amazon) at the top of this long-ass post, it's because we concur with Safe Mama's findings: If you're looking for a natural, kid-safe sunscreen that offers broad-spectrum protection and also happens to smell great, this eco-friendly, paraben-free, SPF 30+ formula should be a staple in your beach bag this summer.

Side note to all of this -- if you're truly determined to give your little ones natural protection from the sun's harmful rays, you'll want to avoid slathering anything on their skin and make sure that a UV sunsuit is on your summer shopping list. Check out Erin's awesome recent find from the Florida-based Sunsafe, as well as this quirky suit from overseas, for a few Babble-selected sunsuits that offer great looks in addition to their monster UV protection.

Wee*Go's Soft-Shelled Glass Bottle Defies Toxins, Breakage Alike

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:04:00 GMT

On first glance, this Wee*Go bottle from Babylife looks like another questionably safe plastic drinking implement, but appearances can be deceiving. Not only is the bottle itself 100% glass (which, of course, immediately takes it off the "may leach dangerous chemicals" list), but even the soft protective sleeve that houses it is also non-toxic and free of plastics.

The Wee*Go's latex-free silicone nipple is also free of toxic materials, and the plastic ring, plug and cap are food-grade, polycarbonate-free and recyclable. While such attention to safety should please anyone who's tired of Googling bottle manufacturers' names for BPA, phthalate, PVC and polycarbonate findings, it does create one slight drawback: The softer, safer plastics Babylife uses in its cap and ring may not hold up under repeat boiling or automatic dishwashing, so hand washing is recommended. The sleeve and bottle, however, can take whatever high-temperature fury you unleash on 'em.

Available in the six sleeve colors pictured here, the 9 oz. Wee*Go is $18 from the Babylife store. Enter coupon code SIXORMORE at checkout for free shipping on orders of six or more bottles.

Vice Versa Binky + Case: Safe Storage or Germy Harbor?

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:03:00 GMT

I like the idea behind Vice Versa's Binky + Case set ($14 from A+R Store), and not just because said binkies are BPA- and Phthalate-free: Each pink or blue pacifier in the Italian-made line comes inside its own bubbled housing, which includes a clip to keep it from dropping on the ground. Simply pop the binky back into the housing when baby's done sucking, and you've presumably got a way to keep germs at bay until it's time to suck again.

But what happens if baby has a cold? If Mom or Dad has germy fingers? If you drop the binky on the ground? (No, the five-second rule doesn't count.) It's hard not to imagine that housing turning into a Petri dish for all sorts of gruesome bugs unless you wash it regularly; and when you're out shopping and need a quick place to stash the binky, what are the odds you'll actually do that?