My favourite natural and non-toxic suncreams for the family 2024

1.Sol De Ibiza £23 2. Sweet Bee Organics £20.99 3. Fierce Nature Sun Balm £18 (10% off with code SLOWHOME10) 4. Shade £12.75 5. Sunstick Fierce Nature- £11.90 (10% off with code SLOWHOME10) 6. Husk and Seed Mineral Suncream £24 7. Upcircle Suncream £27.99 8. Sun-dose £20 9. Flo-Holistics £18

For the last 5 years or so I’ve tried to find a suncream I’m happy with and I have miserably failed. The ingredients aren’t quite right, it’s too tricky to apply on the kids, I want one we can all wear. Well, this year was different! I finally found one to keep buying!

You don’t have to look far, whether it’s an article or online or the suncream bottle in your cupboard, or just to catch a whiff of someone’s Nivea Suncream on a hot day to know or think that the ingredients inside are NOT the ones we want going on our skin. Thought to be endocrine disrupting and allergy-inducing (the list scarily goes on) brands like Piz Buin, Malibu and Nivea are known as chemical suncreams (more on that in a minute). The suncreams I want to buy are physical or mineral suncreams.

Believe it or not, I try to apply as little suncream as possible to myself and the kids in the warmer months. SHOCK horror. Instead, I like to allow the kids to grow in exposure to the sun. So, that doesn’t look like camping inside all spring then BAM we arrive in Corfu for summer but instead, play lots outside as the weather gets warmer to build a tan gradually. As the temperature rises we either stay in the shade for the hottest moments or I make sure they are well covered with clothes. I only use suncream when necessary. Why? Because I don’t unnecessarily want to be putting products on their skin, even if they are good ones and I want their skin and bodies to get the benefits of the sun! The sun is a gift! Unfortunately, it’s been given a bad rep. We’ve been told to hide away from it and so we find the widest-brimmed hat, cover our eyes with sunglasses and apply the strongest SPF. This is not to say I am not aware of the damaging effects of the sun- I still have a vivid memory of coming home from my post A-level trip to Newquay with a blister wedged between my boobs and a scar to remind me, but I think we have swung too far away from the healing benefits of the sun. Our bodies need to feel it and be healed by it. So many are lacking in vitamin D. Did you also know it’s thought that our eyes play a role in signalling to our bodies to produce melanin in response to sunlight. It’s healthy for our eyes to be exposed to sunlight!

With all that being said you can enjoy the above fancy table I made! Ooooo. It makes it easy to see what’s going on! All the suncreams I have selected above would be classed as mineral suncreams. One of the main reasons people may hesitate with the mineral suncreams aside from the cost is the application…known to be thick, white and smeary compared to the easy spritz bottles we’ve all grown up with. Of course, it’s an adjustment going to a tin of suncream, yes it does take a little longer to put on BUT i’m so excited to let you know I have found suncreams that no longer make my kids white!!! I’ve put some medals next to my favourites above! My favourite three happen to be tallow-based, there are other options above if you are vegan. Flo Organics Tallow Balm is coming out top from me and a family favourite. Fierce Nature as you can see is also a favourite and I love it in the stick as it makes it really simple for the kids to apply. Just a note to say that most mineral suncreams use Zinc Oxide as part of the ingredient list. Make sure you are using non-nano zinc oxide. Non-nano means the particles in it are larger than 100nm and therefore won't penetrate your skin and get into your blood-stream, rather, sit on the surface of your skin.

Tell me…Have you tried any of the above suncreams?

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