ONO All-Natural Sunscreen Lotion

Ingredients

Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Cocoa Butter, Bees Wax, Non-Micro Zinc Oxide (a mineral), Essential Oils

Size

40 grams

Tub size: 4.5 x 3.8 x 4 cm

Direct Benefits

We need sunscreen for protection from UV rays.  It is said that more than 20 minutes of sun exposure can damage the skin and cause problems with our immune system.  So either we stay indoors, or we protect our skin with sunscreen.

The problem with sunscreen use, however, is that most of the sunscreens that are out in the market today are chemical-based ~ chemicals that are known to be bad for the body.  And the do not sit on the skin: they get absorbed into the bloodstream.

Chemical sunscreens don’t sit on the surface of the skin – they soak into it and quickly find their way into the bloodstream. They scatter all over the body without being detoxified by the liver and can be detected in blood, urine, and breast milk for up to two days after a single application. That would be just fine if they were uniformly safe – but they’re not. (taken from this website)

Why are these chemicals unsafe?  The same website article quote above says:

There are 17 individual sunscreen ingredients that are FDA approved: 15 of these are clear chemicals that absorb UV light and two are made of minerals that reflect UV light. Of these 15, nine (9) are known endocrine disruptors. xxx

Those are chemicals that interfere with the normal function of hormones. The hormones most commonly disturbed are estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid. Endocrine disruptors, like some ingredients in chemical sunscreens, can cause abnormal development of fetuses and growing children. They cause early puberty and premature breast development in girls, and small and undescended testicles in boys. They cause low sperm counts and infertility. Endocrine disruptors that act like estrogen can contribute to the development of breast and ovarian cancers in women, and other endocrine disruptors may increase the chance of prostate cancer in men. (taken from this website)

One of the dangerous chemicals found in most sunscreen brands is Oxybenzone.  According to one website article:

[Oxybenzone] is one of the most troublesome ingredients found in the majority of sunscreens. Its primary function is to absorb ultraviolet light. However, oxybenzone is also believed to cause hormone disruptions and cell damage that may provoke cancer. (taken from this website)

Another dangerous chemical found in chemical-based sunscreens is Retinyl Palmitate (or Vitamin A palmitate).  According to the same website article quoted above, this form of Vitamin A actually facilitates the development of cancer cells when exposed to the sun:

Sunscreen products may actually increase the speed at which malignant cells develop and spread skin cancer because they contain vitamin A and its derivatives, retinol, and retinyl palmitate.

The problem occurs when this form of vitamin A is exposed to the sun (as opposed to when it is used in night cream, for example), which is why sunscreens that contain it should be avoided. (taken from this website)

Other chemicals known to be present in chemical-based sunscreens are Parabens, Phthalates, and Synthetic Musks, often “hidden” in the sunscreen’s list of ingredients simply as “fragrances”.  According to the same website article quoted above:

I caution against using personal care products that contain synthetic fragrance, as this term describes any number of harmful chemicals that do not have to be listed individually on the label. Some common “fragrance” chemicals include:

Parabens: Synthetic preservatives known to interfere with hormone production and release.

Phthalates: Another synthetic preservative that’s carcinogenic and linked to reproductive effects (decreased sperm counts, early breast development, and birth defects) and liver and kidney damage.

Synthetic musks: These are linked to hormone disruption and are thought to persist and accumulate in breast milk, body fat, umbilical cord blood, and the environment. (taken from this website)

So why use ONO Sunscreen?

ONO sunscreen does not have any of the harmful chemicals found in commercial, chemical-based sunscreens.  Its active ingredient is non-micro zinc oxide which is a mineral.  Mineral zinc are derived from rocks that have been ground to powder form and are known to be effective.

Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are rocks that are ground down to a fine consistency. They do a great job at blocking both UVA and UVB light. Zinc is less whitening on the skin and blocks nearly all dangerous UV light. (taken from this website)

We use non-micro zinc oxide on purpose because there are studies that say that micronized zinc oxide can get into the skin and cause oxidation.  Because our sunscreen has non-micro zinc oxide, there is no danger of getting zinc oxide absorbed by the skin.

ONO Sunscreen is entirely all-natural.  When you use ONO Sunscreen, you can rest in the assurance that you are truly safe under the sun.

“You don’t need anything over SPF 20.”

What does SPF 20 mean?

SPF is short for Sun Protection Factor.  It is explained in one website article this way:

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor and refers to the theoretical amount of time you can stay in the sun without getting sunburned. For example, an SPF of 15 would allow you to stay in the sun 15 times longer than you could without protection. So, if your skin starts to redden in 20 minutes without sun block, applying a product with SPF 15 increases that time by a factor of 15, meaning you could stay in the sun for 300 minutes. In addition, a higher SPF blocks out more rays—a product with an SPF of 15 will filter out approximately 93 percent of UVB rays; SPF 30 filters out about 97 percent. (taken from this website)

Most of us think that a sunscreen with a rating of SPF 30 is twice as good as one with a rating of SPF 15.  But experts say this is not necessarily correct.

“SPF is not a consumer-friendly number,” says Florida dermatologist James M. Spencer, MD. “It is logical for someone to think that an SPF of 30 is twice as good as an SPF of 15 and so on. But that is not how it works.”

According to Spencer, an SPF 15 product blocks about 94% of UVB rays; an SPF 30 product blocks 97% of UVB rays; and an SPF 45 product blocks about 98% of rays.

“After that, it just gets silly,” he says. (taken from this website)

What the article is really saying is that between SPF 15 and SPF 45, or any number after that, the difference in sun protection is not really all that significant.  Another article makes a similar observation:

What I thought was interesting though, is the percentage of UVB that SPF blocks (or absorbs):

SPF 15 blocks 94%

SPF 20 blocks 96%

SPF 30 blocks 97%

SPF 45 and above blocks 98% – 98.5%

Notice that minor difference when you get above SPF15? In a host of other countries, manufacturers are not allowed to show any rating above 30 – 45, since this is misleading to the public. Some people think SPF60 is twice the protection as SPF30, when it’s actually only 1.5% more effective. A lot of researchers believe that you really don’t need anything over SPF20. (emphasis supplied) (taken from this website)

So what does it mean when we say that ONO Sunscreen has a rating of SPF 20?  It means that ONO Sunscreen gives ENOUGH protection under the sun, and that another sunscreen with a higher rating will probably not make that much difference.  To repeat what the article above says: “You don’t really need anything over SPF 20.”

Potential Sensitivity to Beeswax

This product has beeswax. Beeswax itself does not cause any allergies or sensitivities. But propolis does to some people. Propolis is “bee glue” that gets mixed in the wax. Propolis can cause a rash. Not many people have this sensitivity to propolis, but if you are not sure, you may want to keenly observe your reaction to the product. Stop use if a rash develops.

The All-Natural Guarantee

Like our other ONO products, this does not contain artificial fragrances, artificial colours, hardeners, or any other artificial additives. It is completely all-natural and is entirely handmade.