EWG

Hello there!  Today I want to tell you guys about a really cool website called EWG, or Environmental Working Group.  You can find their site at ewg.org.  If you care about using natural products you will really like this site.  I'll walk you through the site so you understand how to use it.

These are the two products I will show you how to look up on the site just because they are the sunscreens I use.  The Alba one on the right is the one I used last year and LOVED and the Coola one on the left is the one I bought for this year.  I couldn't find the Alba one this year which was disappointing because I really liked it :(

Ok, back to the actual site.  The picture above is the Home Page.  This is what you will see as soon as you go to ewg.org.  I know it's kind of hard to see but right under the box that says amazon.com you will see "More Tools and Resources" and the very first one listed is Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database.  That is the one you want.

Once you click on that you should see a screen similar to the one above.  You can see all of the choices above such as sun, makeup, hair, fragrance, etc.  For this post we're going to click on the sun link.

I'm actually sitting in the sun right now while I type this [I'm on vaca :) ] and there is a glare so I can't see my screen well.  But I think it says there are 48 pages of different sunscreens.  That is a lot! You will notice that there is a green circle with a number in it for each product.  That number represents the hazard score.  Basically it tells you how toxic or bad for you a product is or isn't.  A score of 0-2 has a low hazard score, 3-6 moderate, and 7-10 high.  

If you already have a product in mind that you want to try or if you just want to check a product you already have at home you can do that too.  In the picture above you'll see the sunscreen I showed you earlier (the sunscreen I used last year) and you'll see that it has a hazard score of 3 . . . which is pretty good!  When I searched the sunscreen that I bought for this year I didn't find the exact product but I found it in a different scent and it had a pretty low hazard score as well.  So that's good!

I just wanted to share this website with you guys because I thought it was pretty cool and very helpful.  If you're really high tech and have a phone with the internet on it next time you're in the store buying bath/beauty products you can just pull up ewg.org on your phone and check the products hazard score before you buy it!

By the way, I really like the Coola Sunscreen.  It has a nice light beachy smell.  And I've realized that I really like the spray version of sunscreen.  It's really nice to not have to rub it in.  One thing I will say is that you can't get too many uses out of it.  Dave and I brought it with us on vacation and we probably only got about 15 applications out of it.  And it cost around $30.  So it might not be for everyone.  You'll have to decide for yourself!  :)  But hopefully you all find this post helpful!