EWG.org has posted this year’s review of sunscreens. There are quite a few interesting ones and the report is filled with interesting information. Turns out, they discovered in their research of more than 1,600 sunscreens that “3 of 5 brand-name sunscreens either don’t protect skin from sun damage or contain hazardous chemicals — or both.” Yipes!

Now I have to say, from their “top 10″ list, many of them are either incredibly expensive, very hard to find (often out of stock) or they are icky to use (the Badger brand is very very greasy/sticky). But that said – to each his own. If you are a stickler for a sunscreen that has a “0″ hazard rating, then check them out. But many of the others are just fine to use – and you can read all about them.

But best of all is this year, EWG created what I think is very smart, handy and practical – a handy guide that you can bring with you when you go to buy sunscreen. This way, you have a quick cheat sheet of the brands that you’ll find at CVS or Target or wherever – and which are the best choices within a brand (as some brands like Coppertone and Neutrogena have some of least safe/effective products but also have a couple of good ones). Plus it has a list of the ingredients to avoid!

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as though they reviewed any of the Trader Joe’s products. I will say, however, that a personal review of the ingredients of their Face and Body SPF30 looked pretty good. Paraben-free, oxybenzone-free and it includes a mineral block. That said, I have no idea what the actual EWG safety rating would be.

So take a look at the EWG review site and print off the cheat sheet. And have a safe, and hopefully SUNNY summer.

(Northeast weather update – we are actually supposed to see the sun for multiple days in a ROW! Amazing!)