Sun Moon Lake

I'm in Taiwan and I really want to visit Sun Moon Lake because it is beautiful and I've been in Taiwan probably a total of 10 years and I haven't done any tourist-y things. And also I want to fill my life with beautiful memories. And I want to be a better person... a better sister and a better granddaughter to start with.

I hope I get to go.

In my life I tend to try to hide my hopes and little things like this because I'm afraid of being vulnerable. I'd like to change that about myself too.

Clinique City Block SPF 15, overview of ingredients

I used to love Clinique City Block, I would swear by it, but I know that sometimes ingredients can be bad for you and in my search for good products I always wished there would be a list that contained information about all of the ingredients. I decided to do a lot of research and make my own list. As always, remember that research of chemicals is never ending and it could be that next month they find out one of these ingredients is terrible.

 

Ingredients: 

water (aqua purificata) purified: totally safe and wonderful

trioctyldodecyl citrate: Synthetic skin conditioning agent based on citric acid and octyldodecanol: has not been assessed for safety, not suspected to be bad but I guess they don't really know

butylene glycol: irritant (skin, eyes, lungs), solvent and conditioning agent

cyclomethicone: emollient, humectant, there is a safe concentration, may be bad for environment, too big to penetrate skin therefore not true moisturizer

titianium dioxide: blocks and absorbs UV, nanoparticle form is absorbed into skin (may be harmful, some research suggests it is), if inhaled is carcinogenic (not relevant here but is for aerosol sunscreens), must be coated with alumina otherwise gives off carcinogenic radicals that damage skin, considered to be less irritating than other UV absorbers. (i'll find out whether this is nanoparticle titanium dioxide or not)

tricaprylin: a pure fat, emollient and skin conditioning agent, irritant (skin, eyes)

steareth-2: waxy, helps to mix ingredients, not safe for injured or damaged skin, skin and eye irritant but okay in low concentration

silica: safe in the context of a face cream

tricaprylyl citrate: skin conditioning, emollient, not assessed for safety, very little information on it

behenoxydimethicone: silicone, plastic-y, mild water repellent, toxic and carcinogenic if in body, but at low concentrations FDA approved, unlikely to penetrate skin

zinc oxide: protects against UVA UVB, no research shows it penetrates skin but to be sure stick to non-nano, should be coated too because it is reactive 

lecithin: natural lipid, safe

sorbitan tristearate: waxy, emulsifier (makes it easier to mix the ingredients)

stearic acid: fatty acid, safe 

dimethicone: non-reproductive organ system toxicity, lubricant, emollient, safe in low concentration 

alumina: inorganic aluminum oxide, moderate hazard, enhanced skin absorption, non-reproductive organ toxicity

ceteth-2: emulsifying agent, moderate hazard 

peg-40 stearate: surfactant (act as detergent or emulsifier), moderate hazard, not safe for damaged skin

octyldodecyl neopentanoate: emollient, no data, not assessed for safety

dimethicone copolyol: see dimethicone

sodium phosphate: buffering agent, not expected to be harmful

tocopheryl acetate: antioxidant, strong evidence that it is human skin toxicant

magnesium ascorbyl phosphate: vitamin C, antioxidant 

steareth-20: surfactant, non-reproductive organ system toxicity 

disodium edta: control consistency, skin absorption

pantethine: emollient, not assessed for safety but assumed to be low hazard

polyglyceryl-6 polyricinoleate: emollient, no information

bisabolol: fragrance from camomile, enhanced skin absorption

sodium stearate: surfactant, low hazard

isopropyl titanium triisostearate: emollient, not assessed, based on stearic acid

silver borosilicate: preservative, not assessed for saftey, considered low risk, non-reproductive organ toxicity

barium sulfate: opacifying agent, neurotoxicity, non-reproductive organ toxicity, skin absorption, moderate hazard

xanthan gum: binder/emulsifying agent, not assessed for safety but considered a low hazard

magnesium aluminum silicate: anticaking agent, moderate hazard, neurotoxicity, non-reproductive organ toxicity

bht: antioxidant, moderate hazard, non-reproductive organ toxicity

iron oxides: colorant, low hazard

Overall, I guess this is an okay sun block. I won't want use it until I find out if they use nanoparticles. I am also going to continue my search for a sunscreen that is a lower hazard and also contains some beneficial ingredients as well. 

Sometimes I write low or moderate hazard. That is based on a scale with three levels: low, moderate, and high.

The degree of harmfulness may vary with concentration so some might be in such small concentration that they aren't harmful. Though I am not sure and, unless otherwise stated, have not found any definitive evidence stating either way.

References:

http://truthinaging.com/ingredients/

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

http://www.organicmakeup.ca/ca/titaniumdioxide.asp

http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient_details.php?ingredient_id=1055

http://ijt.sagepub.com/content/7/6/881.abstract

http://www.badgerbalm.com/t-sunscreen_zinc_oxide_nanoparticles.aspx

EWG war against oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate

This is a big and complicated controversy that I am going to present in the simplest terms possible.


What we know
Oxybenzone: organic compound, absorbs UVA and UVB
Retynly Palmitate: form of Vitamin A, antioxidant (neutralize free radicals that cause wrinkles), may cause birth defects


EWG: Environmental Working Group, non-profit, working to protect vulnerable consumers by doing research and "persuades bureaucracies to rethink science and strengthen regulation" (EWG website).
The Skin Cancer Foundation: international organization strives to educate public on sun protection and prevent skin cancer
Seal of Recommendation: given to products that meet standards of a volunteer Photobiology Committee


What we don't know
There are claims that oxybenzone, last reviewed by the FDA in the 70s, may produce free radicals. There is evidence that it penetrates skin.
Retynyl Palmitate: maybe cause cancer when exposed to the sun.


The Fight
EWG is claiming that oxybenzone and retynyl palmitate are not safe to be put in sunscreens. The Skin Cancer Foundation claims that EWG's claims are supported by "junk science". 


My 50 cents
Both organizations are run by people. People who may have agendas and biases and who may be feeling threatened and defensive. Scientists are people too. Scientists, even non-junk-scientists, are proven wrong all of the time. By the way, what exactly is junk science? The Skin Cancer foundation didn't give any evidence to support the junk science claim. They just kind of stated it and moved on (seems immature). 
I wouldn't trust either source. In time, perhaps the FDA, Skin Cancer F., and EWG will all agree on what is safe for people to use. Until that time, I am going to avoid using products with these potentially harmful ingredients and leave it at that. Oh, and I'm going to continue researching this because I really want to know what junk science is and if the EWG really is using junk science. 


What we all agree on
Wear a hat, sunglasses, cover up in general, stay out of the sun at peak sun hours, stay in the shade, and sunscreen (whatever kind) is better than no sunscreen.


Where to find EWG: www.ewg.org/
Skin Cancer Foundation: http://www.skincancer.org/