Summmmerrrr!

This weekend was heaven. I spent (literally) the entire day at the beach with my sister/best friend, had a perfect taco dinner with the whole family, rode in my dad's vintage firetruck – in a parade, enjoyed a refreshing mug (or 2) of birch beer at my favorite local festival, fired a shot gun (terrifying) AND spent another blissful day in the sun – in an inflatable lounge chair in a beautiful lake. If this is any indication of the rest of this season's activities, it's going to be the best summer ever. It's also going to be the sunniest summer ever, and that means we all need to start taking care of our skin.

Yesterday I was a lobster, today I am peeling from head to toe. However apathetically, I DID apply sunscreen. Though, I may have been better off without it, according to the Environmental Work Group's 2011 Sunscreen Report. Apparently a lot of sunscreens in today's market contain harmful chemicals that could be doing us more harm than good. For instance, did you know that...BOTH UV radiation and many common sunscreen ingredients generate free radicals that damage DNA and skin cells, accelerate skin aging and cause skin cancer? We could be unconsciously encouraging the health issues we are working so hard to prevent! Very scary. For a quick reference, check out their list of best sunscreens here, though you'll find the rest of the site to be a great resource as well.

via free range