Comments on: Year 2, Week 12 Results: 1.0 oz of plastic waste. Plus questions about Sunscreen.

By: Aubyn

Aubyn — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 07:20:00 +0000

No way it’s wrong to freecycle that stuff. You can’t control what other people do, and anyway what else would you have done with it? It’s probably worse just to squirt it down the sink. The people in the wrong here are the dudes who made the stuff to begin with.

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:35:00 +0000

I’m so fair skinned and I burn very easily. Unfortunately, only the non-natural sunscreens keep me from burning (no matter how often I reapply them) so I go with them. I usually apply them once and try to go with the hat and parasol route if I’m out and about in sun during say, an outdoor festival. My parasol is an Asian one (it’s paper too! No plastic!), actually I got it at an Arts festival because I needed some extra portable shade – my baseball hat at the time wasn’t doing it. :)

I don’t know or really care if I get strange looks when I carry the parasol. Getting sun poisioning or skin cancer is a lot worse in my book.

By: ehmeelu

ehmeelu — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:22:00 +0000

I love parasols. They are totally commonplace in Asia – women pop them up to cross the street so they don’t get sun on them, like Americans would treat heavy rain! I’d love to keep carrying one here now that I’ve moved back, but haven’t quite been able to bring myself to do it due to the funny looks I would get. So at them moment I go the long-sleeves-and-hat route, and put sunscreen on my hands when I remember.

By: Rosa

Rosa — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:24:00 +0000

Even if you’re not worried about the chemical effects on your self, it’s worth worrying about where they go when you’re done with them.

I can’t find a news article that says *which* UV blockers kill coral, but definitely some of the sunscreens do.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/23/coral-reefs-sunscreen.html

By: Kim from Milw

Kim from Milw — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:23:00 +0000

Beth, I’m fair-skinned like you, and I’ve been using a mineral makeup type powder on my face, and the minerals in it are natural sunscreens, and they WORK!!!! I realized this last summer when the family went to an airshow. I had mineral makeup on my face, and regular sunscreen on my arms, legs, neck, etc. Well, my face was the only part of me that didn’t turn fluorescent pink. Voila! My new solution to sunscreen. I didn’t have to reapply it, either!

By: Kellie

Kellie — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:41:00 +0000

I totally think you could bring back the parasol as a fashion accessory.

By: axelle

axelle — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:41:00 +0000

Google “How to make sunscreen”. You’ll find out everything you need to know.

By: Mazzajo

Mazzajo — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:20:00 +0000

I guess it depends on how one uses sunscreen – If I was applying it several times a day every day of the year, I’d probably spring for the more expensive non-tox stuff. But for the few days a year when I slather up the whole body when I’m at the beach (always after 3pm, mind you), then I’m gonna go for the chemical-laden stuff. I just choose sensitive skin whatever because sunscreen can be so irritating to sensitive skin. But I reckon the best thing to do for regular sun exposure is just cover up. It’s a whole lot less greasy, for one thing.

By: islandveggie

islandveggie — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:33:00 +0000

Stay in the shade, wear protective cothing, hats etc and try to stay out of the sun during the “danger hours” when the sun is highest in the sky. I only wear sunscreen if I can’t follow my own rules.
For the kids, they wear sun suits handed down from the oldest to youngest and worn by cousins in between the years until they fall apart. Sunscreen with good quality sunscreen on exposed parts only. The suits cover a lot of skin if you get good ones and they last a long time.
I think it is great to freecycle your old sunscreen because it is likely that the recipents would have bought those products anyway and you may have saved them from having to buy a brand new bottle then throw that one out too.

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:26:00 +0000

I use Aubrey Organics face spray on my whole body. It’s a very clean product and the spray is a lighter sunscreen than the lotion.

I give away my old, chemical-laden products as I replace them with better choices. I know my friends are going to continue to use the old stuff, so I’m saving them money. When they’re interested in trying chemical-free, they know who to ask for advice!