Ideal Bite

If I were trapped on a desert island one of the few products I would want with me is miessence organic sunscreen. Its first ingredients are certified organic olive oil, zinc oxide and certified organic shea butter. The zinc is not in nanoparticle form or silicon-coated, like most “natural” sunblocks. It’s safe for babies and kids, and actually doubles as a great diaper cream. The best part is that my skin actually feels better (and looks younger) the longer I use it. It’s only available online: http://www.anniesorganics.com/products/products/sun.html

By staying indoors and not receiving sunlight you are pretty much condeming yourself to having cancer. You are depriving your body of Vitamin D. You need to keep up with current science. In fact you should be visiting a tanning center and using controlled indoor tanning to protect your skin and receive Vitamin D. You would be much healthier for it than slathering all that stupid sunscreen on which is promoted by guess who the pharmaceutical company's who want to keep you sick. Think about. Research it. TanningTruth.com.....

I love, love, love that you are encouraging women to wear sunscreen! It's a must, ladies! However, please also be warned that because we tend to apply very thin layers of facial moisturizer or foundation, the SPF factor is considerably reduced from what is on the label (an SPF30 can actually become an SPF15). They don't tell you this on the label, of course. So, it's important to still use a sunscreen on top of your moisturizer. A friend recently made me aware of an organic moisturizing sun protection line called Coola, www.coolasunblock.com. It has a greaseless feel, is hypoallergenic, and is loaded with vitamins and botanicals. It offers UVA/UVB broad spectrum protection too. Their website is great too...and can I just say they have a Sport formula in Mango scent!! Yummm! Bite Staff (& Biters), you might want to check it out.

My family (including 3 of us with red hair and very pale skin) has used a bunch of different sunscreens from Whole Foods and they've all worked as well as the "conventional" ones. The brands include Nature's Gate and Jason. There's also one in a white tube with green trim that's a sunscreen/bug repellant combo - forget the brand but it's got a cartoon pic of a misquito on it. Oh and we live in Fort Lauderdale, FL so the sunscreens are really put to the test.

I rarely come to the blog section to read comments, but this tip really piqued my interest. Unfortunately, most of the comments appear to be people peddling their products or their own personal websites. Too bad, this could be a good way to exchange ideas if this wasn't polluted with advertisers. Most message boards are strictly against this and remove such posts.

One of the all time, hands down, best sunscreens I've ever come across is Soleo Organic 30+SPF. Uses only microfine zinc oxide which is proven to be nature's most effective sunblock ... ever. It doesn't leave you looking white and it's loaded with organic botanicals such as skin softening macadamia seed oil, grapeseed oil, cucumber extracts, green tea extract, roman chamomile and more. So not only does it block UVA + UVB, it also fights the free radicals that are one of the biggest causes of aging. This stuff is AWESOME. You can get it at: www.futurenatural.com

Debbie, I agree that some people come here to promote their own businesses..and honestly, if they've got a great product, I'd love to hear about it. On the other hand, I blog about skincare, which is why I found it necessary to state the facts about the reduced SPF effects in moisturizers & foundations. However, you did not see me mention the name of my blog, did you. I also happen to be a Green sales representative of all-natural, eco-friendly, and philanthropic lines of skincare, bath & body, teas, candles & yoga products. I actually represent a sunscreen line which is the most advanced formulation offered in this country, but it is not all-natural or organic so I didn't mention it. The line I mentioned, Coola, is actually my competition...but being as how I am personally a green biter as well as professionally, I wanted to share the info with folks, as I want to try Coola myself personally as well...nothing to do with business. I just think the line sounds great! Sometimes, sometimes we are lucky enough to be living our passion where our business and our passions overlap and we just want to shout out to the world about what makes us passionate!! I also think that many people provide a link to a product, even if they just love the product, so that others can easily find it. I certainly did. I didn't want folks to have to go Google 'Coola', etc...as I always appreciate it when a quick link is provided. I'm also glad others have listed other products here as well, as now I have more products I want to check out...both personally & professionally ;).

Anyone no of a good sunless tanner that is non-tocix etc.? (And by good, I mean no streaks, smells, etc.!) Or is that kind of impossible? I checked out skin deep but the best still only got a rating of 3 or 4 with some scary sounding stuff. Help, it's warming up and I need a little (safe) glow :)

You Should use a real Mystic Tan Spray Tan. It is DHA which is a natural sugar. They are great- last 3-7 days. They also have Mystic Sunless in a spray.

Just weighing in with one more natural sunscreen, the one I like: MyChelle Sun Shield, SPF 28. All natural, non-toxic, mostly organic products. I love them and you can find them online at www.mychelleusa.com (they won't be taking orders online until March 31 - they're replacing packaging with soy-ink packaging, and the site seems to be down right now) or at your local natural foods store, most likely. They also have a sunless tanner, but I've never tried it. I'd be interested to know more about this Mystic Tan DHA... I only know of DHA as a fatty acid (oil), not a sugar.