CHEMICAL SUNSCREEN Chemical sunscreens are designed to be absorbed by the top layers of skin as they work in two different ways to help neutralize harmful UV radiation. On one level, it deflects and scatters the sun’s harmful rays before they damage the skin, while on the other they filter the UVA/UVB and convert them into heat, neutralizing them.
Unfortunately, chemical sunscreens may cause skin reactions in certain people and can worsen melasma and rosacea. They also contain one or more of the following active ingredients, oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, or octinoxate, each of which carries its own potential for harm.
Ingredients of Concern:
- Oxybenzone: one of the most commonly used sunscreen chemicals, oxybenzone (sometimes called benzophenone-3) is linked to endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity, contact allergies, and photoallergies, meaning exposure to light is required to generate an allergic response. In fact, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) recommends avoiding oxybenzone because of concerns that this ingredient may disrupt hormones and cause allergic skin reactions.Oxybenzone is also harmful to aquatic life; in 2018, Hawaii banned it to protect coral reefs.
- Octinoxate: A commonly used UV filter that protects from UVB rays, but not UVA rays. It may be listed as OMC, methoxy-cinnamate or ethylhexyl methoxy-cinnamate and is linked to endocrine disruption as well as reproductive toxicity. Researchers have detected octinoxate in breast milk, urine, and blood. Like oxybenzone, this ingredient was targeted in Hawaii’s ban, as it harms coral reefs.
- Homosalate: A common ingredient that absorbs only UVB rays to prevent direct skin exposure. Homosalate is linked to hormone disruption and may also enhance the absorption and penetration of pesticides, including bug sprays, as well as other harmful ingredients found within sunscreen.
Further, a small randomized clinical trial published in May 2019 in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that four of these sunscreen chemicals (avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, and ecamsule) are absorbed into the bloodstream at significantly greater levels than 0.5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). That’s far above the amount at which the FDA requires topical medications to undergo safety studies to determine possible toxic effects.
MINERAL SUNSCREEN This type of protection relies on two different types of minerals — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. They work by physically deflecting UVA and UVB rays from getting to the surface of the skin. Because of this, their formulas are naturally a little thicker than chemical versions as they are meant to sit on the skin’s surface, rather than absorbing beneath it. Unlike chemical sunscreens, which typically take 20 to 30 minutes to absorb into the skin, mineral sunscreens offer immediate protection — no waiting needed. Mineral sunscreens can also be applied on top of makeup and other skin-care products.
WHY WE LOVE YL MINERAL SUNSCREEN
- Contains naturally derived plant- and mineral-based ingredients, including non-nano zinc oxide, so it is not absorbed into the bloodstream
- Available in broad-spectrum SPF 50 protection.
- Filled with skin-loving essential oils like Helichrysum, Carrot Seed, and Frankincense that put a protective barrier on your skin and help retain the skin's natural moisture while out in the sun.
- Has a non-greasy, lightweight formula that goes on smoothly (aka no white residue!)
- Stays water- and sweat-resistant for 80 minutes!
- Carries an official global certification from the National Skin Cancer Foundation and is recommended for daily use to help prevent skin cancer.
- It is safe for ALL skin types + won’t clog pores.
- It is reef safe!! An estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen go into the ocean each year and most (all the chemical-based ones) kill coral reefs. It is such a problem that Hawaii passed a bill banning ingredients that harm coral reefs!
WHAT ABOUT SPF SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is a measurement of sunburn protection. So if your skin would normally burn after 10 minutes in the sun, wearing an SPF 10 sunscreen would theoretically allow you to stay in the sun for 100 minutes (10 x 10) without burning. A higher SPF doesn’t always equate to that much more protection. Also, note that SPF is a measure of protection against UVB rays only, and we need protection against UVA rays which is why we want “broad spectrum” sunscreen.
- SPF 15 blocks 93% of UVB rays.
- SPF 30 blocks 97% of UVB rays.
- SPF 50 blocks 98% of UVB rays.
- SPF 100 blocks 99% of UVB rays.
DAILY SUNSCREEN USE & SAVVY MINERALS When it comes to the delicate skin on our face, we want to be sure we're protected, especially in the summer sun! Young Living's sunscreen works great as a base underneath your Savvy Minerals by Young Living makeup to offer the SPF boost you want.
- Wash and prime your face, then apply the SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen all over your face and rub in gently but completely. You may find it helpful to lightly set the sunscreen with a dusting of Matte Veil or Diamond Dust before applying the rest of your makeup.
- Apply the rest of your Savvy Minerals as usual! Or, skip the full face look and tint your sunscreen with your Savvy foundation. Quick and easy for summer days!
Sometimes it may seem a little foreign when we talk about cleansing, system support, and staying above the wellness line. What happened to the familiarity and seeming safety of doses and prescriptions?! Here in our oily world, we have to be careful about a few things:
We can't cure. We can't treat. We can't diagnose. We can't prescribe.
But that's actually really good news! Why? Because it helps us to focus on roots, causes, and holistic health instead of symptoms and bandaids. (Also, goodbye side effects.) It also helps us to remember that we're not all the same. There's no “one size fits all” when it comes to health.
We are all the product of different habits, experiences, and backgrounds. In the same way, our health care should be tailored to our daily needs.
Enter oils. You will even see several of them such as lavender, peppermint, or lemon on both lists of oils that stimulate and oils that relax! Depending on what your body needs, they will simply come alongside your natural defenses and processes to strengthen and support whatever your body determines itself to need.
As you're learning about oils begin asking yourself, not how can I fix this problem temporarily but why does this health problem exist in the first place? What could I do long-term that would put my body in a prime state of health where temporary bandages and fixes weren't required. This is what we call supporting our body systems. We're checking our oil and filling up with gas BEFORE the car is in dire need of repair. We're living far away from disease by the best prevention of all, a healthy, nourished, responsive body.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
The Scary Truth About Chemicals in Dryer Sheets & Fabric Softeners
Of the 3-10 gallons of toxic household cleaning products in a home, the chemicals in dryer sheets and fabric softeners are considered to be among the most toxic. Fabric softeners and dryer sheets are made up of pernicious chemicals combined with a hefty dose of fragrance. The fragrance chemicals are particularly difficult to remove because they have been designed to cling dearly to fabric so the signature scent stays in the clothing. This is called “fragrance substantivity,” which describes how long a fragrance lasts on a particular surface and how it is affected by temperature, humidity, and other conditions.
Lingering chemical residues in the clothes enter the body through the skin, which is tantamount to eating them! Many of these compounds are solvents that directly affect the nervous system and endocrine systemand can contribute to the development of chronic illness. Since the term “fragrance” on a label can mean up to hundreds of synthetic chemicals, the body is provided a cocktail of poison 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of this issue because their constant exposure to these chemicals makes it impossible for them to realize the impact it makes on their health. Not to mention the health of those around them! The non-stop exposure has dulled their sense of smell as a warning mechanism, their ability to perceive the specific fragrance in many cases is lost, or they actually get a high and crave the smell of the clothing.
Of 171 they studied, the Environmental Working Group gives 83.33% of fabric softeners a D or F rating.
The fact that your fabric softener may be under a counter and only used occasionally is bad enough, since the chemicals in the bottles and boxes are off-gassing into your living environment. But the truth is, these chemicals are accompanying you day and night through your skin and your lungs as you wear your clothes and sleep in your sheets. That’s why using fabric softeners, dryer sheets or even laundry detergent with fragrance are such dangerous health offenders. Once you start using them, they seem practically inescapable!
Live Life Clean Tip: if you can smell detergents, fabric softeners, and dryer sheets in the laundry room when you’re not using them, that’s a sign that they’re off-gassing chemicals and degrading your indoor air quality.
12 Reasons to Get Rid of Your Fabric Softeners and Dryer Sheets
These are just a few of the toxic chemicals in commercial dryer sheets and liquid fabric softeners! Note, this list doesn’t include the synthetic fragrances that are added to these products!
amazing education RESOURCE
My health journey began fall of 2007 when I was a few months out to my wedding... what does every good Christian girl do? She goes and gets on birth control. Duh. No biggie. I went in to a doctor, asked for birth control, she prescribed something & I went on my way. No questions or concerns. Within the month of getting on them I gained 10 pounds (I knew that might happen so I wasn't too concerned) and then I started feeling off. Like crawl out of my skin, off. On our honeymoon I decided I was done.
•••
With each month after I got off of birth control I continued to gain about 10 pounds for almost a year. Um, not ok. After a year of this battle I found out I was insulin resistant, estrogen dominant, too low in testosterone and progesterone and my cortisol and adrenal glands were completely wacked out. On top of all that I was now battling depression, major anxiety and feeling like I was living in someone else's body with no answers on how to "fix it". One of the any doctorsI went to couldn't understand how I was sitting in her room upright, after looking at my blood work.
For years, I felt helpless inside my own body.
I battled depression, major brain fog, terrible insomnia, extreme weight gain &
fatigue when just breathing felt too much most days.
Up until this point in my life I had never really struggled with weight. I was tall, skinny and loved to eat. I lived for food with no consequences. I loved going to the gym and working out and I was studying to be a physical trainer right before I met my hubby.
This threw me a huge curve ball I never wanted.
•••
I have done everything under the sun from diet, cleanse, supplement, doctor, naturopath and chiropractor to help heal my body, to make it right. I have also spent waaaaay too much money in the attempt to heal myself. I had to become my own advocate and do the research my doctors were not willing to do. I was once told I was depressed because I was fat and I "should just loose weight".
At that time, I was training for a triathlon eating clean yet kept gaining.. Sorry doctor, try again.
•••
Ultimately I trust that the healing of my hormones and my body is in the Lords hands, my great physician. I have had to hold the tension between trusting His provision on this journey & doing all I can without being all consumed by it.
I have failed more than succeeded at that BUT I have learned so much in each season.
•••
My story is mine. I claim the times I have given up, felt defeated, and honestly wanted my old self back and treated my body like it could handle it. After having my youngest, 5 years ago I felt a renewed hope in this journey which is when I started THE WELLENSS WELL and my attempt to THRIVE & simply feel better. I was done circling that mountain and decided it was time to head north! I am determined to be the best me. I have no clue what that looks like for me and that's ok (as I repeat that to myself) I want to make wise choices because its wise, not because it's guaranteed I will get certain results. It feels like an uphill battle with this body of mine.
Even as I was learning how to integrate more holistic and “modern day hippie” habits into my life, I was hit multiple times a day with terrifying panic that overtook my senses, extreme weight gain, brain fog and hormonal dragon like senses that no one in my family appreciated. It was crushing.
One day, I was introduced to a few products that a lot of people are talking about lately.
To be honest, I’d considered it before, but I was skeptical. I’m not really into “fads.” If you know the enneagram, I’m a wholehearted “4”.
I refuse to be like others just for the sake of it.
This time, I knew the company who made it and trusted the source— so I tried it, I had nothing to loose.
Now, my life is dramatically different. I used to have to put on a face and pretend that I didn’t feel like I was dying inside.
Now, I’m fearless. And I’m on a mission to help a whole lot of women break free & empower themselves with the knowledge and resources I’ve worked so hard to get myself.
Come join our group of fearless mamas and learn how you can find freedom with the knowledge & information we share in our exclusive community. 
