Sunblock for your children

--> So with computer in hand I started to surf the web for some answers. What I found out is that there are two general types of sunscreen, chemical ones and physical ones.  Physical sunscreens use physical UV filters, while chemical sunscreens use chemical UV filters.  So basically the physical sunscreens protect your skin from the sun by deflecting or blocking the sun’s rays.  Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing the sun’s rays.  Some chemical filters can scatter sun rays but most just absorb them.  That seems simple enough

Physical sunscreens contain either titanium dioxide or zinc oxide as the uv filter.  Some of the more common uv filters in chemical sunscreens are oxtylcrylene, avobenzone, oxtinoxate, octisalate, oxybenzone, homosalate, helioplex, 4-MBC, tinosorb S and M, uvinul T 150, and uvinul A plus.

As far as protection, the chemical sunscreens offer more coverage against UVA and UVB rays than physical sunscreens, but the range of protection will depend on the active ingredients.  Also there is a difference between when the sunscreens become effective.  Chemical sunscreens have a wait time of 20 minutes after application before they are effective, where as physical sunscreen start protecting the skin immediately after application. Chemical sunscreens can also be more irritating to the skin, where as physical sunscreens are less problematic. 

As far as safety is concerned physical sunscreens are fairly safe and are FDA approved and they do not cause free radicals.  Chemical sunscreens are generally safe but some chemical can generate free radicals, which can cause skin damage, irritation and aging.  Many chemical filters have not been approved by the FDA , but are in sunscreens sold in Europe and Asia.