According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a recent report by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group says that “more than half of the sunscreens on the market do not provide adequate UVA protection, and many of them actually contain hazardous ingredients…” The EWG advise avoiding sunscreens with ultra-high SPF’s because they give you a false sense of security. The high SPF sunscreens may keep the UVB rays that burn you at bay, but not the UVA rays that cause melanoma and wrinkling.

A sunscreen should contain either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide for best protection. However, it’s also important to note what to avoid in a sunscreen: retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A; and oxybenzone, a hormone disruptor. These two ingredients are in a lot of sunscreens and may cause skin irritation or even skin tumors.

I’ve perused the EWG’s list of sunscreens and made my own list of the ones that have the best ratings. These first three sunscreens get an “Excellent” rating in UVB protection, UBA protection, and sunscreen stability. They all have a “Good” rating in A/B balance and a “Low” rating for health concerns:

1. Mexitan Products Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50

2.Tropical Sands All Natural Sunscreen SPF 50

3. Coola Baby Unscented Natural Mineral Sunblock SPF45

I like these two sunscreens as well:

4. Green Beaver Company Certified Organic Kids Non-whitening Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30 –Good UVB rating (probably because it’s just SPF 30), excellent UVA, good A/B balance, excellent stability and low health concerns. That it’s non-whitening makes this one a winner!

5. UV Natural Sunscreen and Lip Sunscreen 30+ — Good UVB rating but excellent in all other categories as well as low in health concerns.

If you have trouble finding these sunscreens at your pharmacy, try Amazon. Also, sunscreens expire so throw the old out and don’t overbuy. Apply sunscreen generously and often. (Girls: If you think the sunscreen in your makeup will protect you, you are either wearing too much makeup or you are wrong!)

Be smart: try to stay out of the mid-day sun (10-2 standard time), wear a hat and sunglasses, and if you have to be out for long periods of time wear protective clothing.

For more information and  to see the complete list of “Best Sunscreens” click on the link below.  You will also find a search feature that let’s you plug in the name of your favorite brand to see how it rates.

The Dress — Stunning!  The Alexander McQueen design was pitch perfect. It is a dress that could have come down the aisle of Westminster Abby one hundred years ago, and a dress that will be perfect a hundred years in the future — timeless, elegant, and a beautiful fit.  The understated tiara and simple veil allowed Kate’s beauty to be the star.  I couldn’t help but think that inasmuch as Diana’s dress with its puffy sleeves and grand train was perfect for someone who would forever remain a princess, Kate’s dress, elegant and comfortable, was perfect for a women who would be queen.

The sister/maid of honor, Pipa, looked fabulous in a column dress that showed off her svelte lines while complementing the bride’s dress.  (I loved the button detail down the back that mimicked the bride’s dress!) The girls were lovely but I have to admit, I swoon over a man in a uniform — the epaulets, the braiding, the medals — oh my!  And, you have to love the brother/best-man with his rakish charm keeping things human.

Other than the all-important fashion, this is what I noticed:

–The British commentators were absolutely astounded that a “commoner” could gracefully walk down an aisle in a wedding gown.  At this, I am absolutely astounded, and I’m sure it’s why we kicked their bums in the war for independence!

–When William salutes, Kate bows her head.  If the commentators commented on this I missed it.

–I love that they kissed twice: once for the people and once for each other.

–I’m guessing that Queen Elizabeth approves of this match by the “happy” shade of yellow that she wore.  And I couldn’t help but notice that HRH has incredibly beautiful skin.

–All-in-all, it was a fairy tale kind of day.  Let’s hope it has a happy ending.

Cheers!

3. Back to normal

The tsunami that “hit” San Francisco was a tsunami with a little “t” — interesting, but not terribly exciting.  My friend “B” and I grabbed a coffee at Starbucks in the Presidio (the coolest Starbucks in the World!) and headed to the beach with the dogs to see if we could catch the tsunami.  NOTE:  If my kids are reading this,  we  were advised that the waves would only reach one to three feet, we didn’t go into the closed-off areas, and, we stood by the bottom of the stairs that go straight up the hill to the Golden Gate Bridge for an escape route — we did not grab our wetsuits and surfboards and jump into the Bay!!!

As you can see  the beach is unusually empty and the water has started to recede ( picture # 1) as we walk along Chrissy Field Beach around 8:30 am.  When we got to the furtherest place that was safe to go (the last quarter mile to the bridge was blocked off) we were surprised to see the tide so far out and the bay looking anemic (picture #2). Around 9:00 am, as we watched the water under the bridge, we noticed a swell forming, and the very quiet bay developed some waves.  By 9:05 am the Bay had returned to a “normal” look (picture #3).

I have certainly seen much bigger waves with winter storms, but it was amazing at how quickly the surge brought the water level up.  A mere five minutes difference between picture number 2 and picture number 3!

We were lucky here in San Francisco — it was an incredible phenomenon that we witnessed, but without the damage that Santa Cruz saw, or the tragedy in Cresent City where a man taking pictures was swept away.  Kids, if you are still reading…