The Sunscreen that Made me Scream

I was lucky enough to finally take a vacation. It’s been WAY too long. Headed to the beach in February with a car-load of beach-gear, sans sunscreen, so I located the nearest local healthfood store asap. A person with sensitive skin (and body) I’m careful of what I buy. This time, I wasn’t careful enough.
Eager to hit the sand running, I made a quick decision at the store and bought a product from a name I [thought] I could trust. Bad move. Remembering this company’s commitment to me and you – “100% Natural, 100% of our products, for over 30 years” – I just grabbed the familiar label and left. I didn’t read the label, but just covered my face, neck and arms in the stuff in hopes of having a long day on the beach.
What I got was an allergic reaction. Tiny blisters in every pore of my skin. Red, burning and itchy blisters – it wasn’t pleasant. I thought maybe it was the sun, but decided to finally see what what in this product. A form of PABA – Padimate O. Knowing there has been such controvery about sunscreen products in general, I was shocked to find such an ingredient in my 100% Natural choice. (You may research the stuff – it ain’t good). I did confirm my allergic reaction by googling the stuff. Yep – I saw other people’s faces that looked just like mine.
I’ve been an advocate for natural/organic products for over 20 years – before it was cool. I’ve made a career in educating, entertaining and presenting an organic lifestyle by offering healthy living tips for my viewers. As you can imagine, I was upset about my experience, on both a personal and professional level.
What I want to say to you: Be careful of what you purchase. No company or industry is perfect, and often people make bold claims that simply just aren’t always true. Even with company’s you think you can trust.
I did call the company and spoke with a top-dog, but the response was filled with explanations, defensiveness and an attempt to coach me. I don’t think she realized that my vacation ended with a nap-sack around my head with blisters popping at every move – or at least the empathy wasn’t there. Her response was: “We have removed that product from our inventory, sorry you had that experience but it is rare, and some people have allergic reactions to avocados…does that mean no one should sell avocados?” It wasn’t what I was hoping for, but at least she gave me 20 minutes of her time to complain. Truly, I didn’t want anything from them, I’d gotten my $8.59 back from the store, unless of course they wanted to send me one of their clean products that didn’t have such harsh chemicals to try. She didn’t offer.
I simply told the head-hauncho to please stop telling lies. To turn off their commercials that say one thing while they do another. To help the consumers instead of confuse them. Of course, she said they weren’t doing that. I disagree.
Be careful of what you purchase, even if it says organic or natural. I’m sorry it’s come to this, but according to this company, we can only take it up with the FDA. I say we keep barking until someone listens.