Before I bring a new product into the store, I learn all I can about it, info about the ingredients, how it is manufactured, why particular ingredients were used. I then make the decision whether or not it will be a good fit for the store or not.

When I heard last winter that Green Beaver was going to be introducing a brand new certified organic sun care line, I knew that it would possibly be a good fit for us and took a closer look at all the info that was available. However, there were a few facts that were missing so I dug a bit deeper and got in touch with Alain, Green Beaver's founder to ask him what I needed to know.

For those who are familiar with natural sunscreen, you know that it is pretty much a guarantee that it will leave a white sheen to the skin. Why? The whiteness is the active ingredient in the sunscreen (either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) and it is the actual barrier that is blocking the UV rays from getting to your skin. I spoke a bit about this last year when I wrote a blog post called "Sunscreen 101".

Now, Green Beaver sunscreen goes on with very little whiteness, it is actually not really noticeable, a huge jump from other natural sunscreens, a first for a natural sunscreen! BUT, when a natural sunscreen goes on without whiteness, it is usually an indicator that nano-particles are part of the formula. You want to stay away from nano-particles (nano-particles are very fine particles that are so small, they may enter the skin and cause problems in the body).

But Green Beaver does not use nano-particles. So how is this possible?

This was my first question to Alain:

"How it is possible for your sunscreens to be non-nano and not leave whiteness on the skin?"

His answer:

Good question….we use a fine powdered zinc oxide but not nano (nanoparticles are not allowed to be part of certified organic products). Although the fine powder helps to minimize the whiteness, it still was not “100% non-whitening”. There are fine powder zinc oxide coated with silicon that are available and are ~“80% non-whitening”. We could not use this either because silicon is not allowed as well. So, we took the fine powder and developed our own coating (plant oil extract… it is listed in the ingredients list but can not reveal which one… top secret).

My next question was about the use of zinc oxide in the Green Beaver sunscreens. I have noticed that many of the natural sunscreens on the market only use zinc oxide as the active ingredient and if they previously used titanium dioxide, they have changed their formula to only use zinc oxide.

So I asked:

"Is there any particular reason why you used zinc in your sunscreens rather than titanium dioxide? I notice the majority of the natural sunscreens lean towards zinc. Is there something wrong with titanium? Is it not as safe as zinc?"

This was his answer:

"Zinc offers better UVA coverage than Titanium Dioxide. Zinc stops both UVA1 and UVA2 while titanium only reflects UVA2 (refer to this link for more info.)

Furthermore, zinc oxide is a counter skin irritant thus ideal for people with sensitive skin. That is why you will find zinc oxide in diaper rash creams."

So, not only is Green Beaver Sunscreen natural and safe, it is certified organic and it is the only sunscreen to be endorsed by Health Canada. This is why you will find it at Nayla Natural Care.

Green Beaver has only recently hit the market and they have already gotten a lot of positive buzz. Check out this review by Daniel Thompson, Yummy Mummy Club's Beauty expert. Not only does he rate Green Beaver as 1 of his top 3 picks, our Badger sunscreen is also made his list. Green Beaver Sunscreens also made the list for top safest sunscreens in the EWG Skin Deep Sunscreen Guide 2011.

In the new Green Beaver sun care line, you will find: Certified Organic SPF 15 Lip Balm, Certified Organic SPF 30 Adult Sunscreen and Certified Organic SPF 30 Children Sunscreen Lotion.

Have more questions? Leave them in the comments.

-Gwen

Labels: Daniel Thompson, ewg sunscreen guide, green beaver sunscreen, kids sunscreen, natural sunscreen, Nayla Natural Care, organic sunscreen, safe sunscreen, Yummy Mummy Club, zinc oxide sunscreen