Beauty Review: Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic Sunblock

There’s nothing beautiful about sunburn. And, let’s face it: When Midwestern college sophomores with bad dye jobs, Pink sweatpants, and fake Uggs sport a perfectly even, russet-brown fake-bake in the middle of winter, sun-bronzed flesh has lost its capacity to signify its owner’s membership in the leisure class. A tan no longer says, “I came in second in the club regatta.” Rather, it says, “I have a frequent-visitor punch-card at Tanfastic.”

Thank heavens for sunscreen. Given that I slather the stuff on year ’round, I was alarmed to read the Environmental Working Group’s report denouncing most bestselling sunscreens as basically worthless or potentially harmful (you can check out the EWG sunscreen database here). There has been some backlash from the manufacturers of these sunscreens, but I tend to believe a not-for-profit organization committed to using “the power of public information to protect public health and the environment” more than I believe cosmetic industry spokespeople.

So, I recently traded in my Aveeno sunscreen for Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic Sunblock, the top-rated sunscreen analyzed by the EWG. It’s a physical sunscreen, rather than a chemical sunscreen. Its active ingredient does not deteriorate when exposed to sun, and, unlike a shocking number of sunscreens, it blocks not just UVB rays, but also UVA rays. The second ingredient—after zinc oxide—is shea butter, so it’s moisturizing, but it’s not at all greasy. I like the subtle herbal smell, too. And it’s vegan, if you care about that sort of thing.

Ted, Frances, and I have all been using Solar Rx for a couple of weeks now. It seems to be working, in that our skin does not appear to be either tanned or burned, and we’ve been out in the sun a lot. Frances and I both have sensitive skin, but neither one of us has had an adverse reaction to this product. You can read more about Solar RX here, and it’s available through Amazon, too.

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Beauty Review: Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic Sunblock

There’s nothing beautiful about sunburn. And, let’s face it: When Midwestern college sophomores with bad dye jobs, Pink sweatpants, and fake Uggs sport a perfectly even, russet-brown fake-bake in the middle of winter, sun-bronzed flesh has lost its capacity to signify its owner’s membership in the leisure class. A tan no longer says, “I came in second in the club regatta.” Rather, it says, “I have a frequent-visitor punch-card at Tanfastic.”

Thank heavens for sunscreen. Given that I slather the stuff on year ’round, I was alarmed to read the Environmental Working Group’s report denouncing most bestselling sunscreens as basically worthless or potentially harmful (you can check out the EWG sunscreen database here). There has been some backlash from the manufacturers of these sunscreens, but I tend to believe a not-for-profit organization committed to using “the power of public information to protect public health and the environment” more than I believe cosmetic industry spokespeople.

So, I recently traded in my Aveeno sunscreen for Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic Sunblock, the top-rated sunscreen analyzed by the EWG. It’s a physical sunscreen, rather than a chemical sunscreen. Its active ingredient does not deteriorate when exposed to sun, and, unlike a shocking number of sunscreens, it blocks not just UVB rays, but also UVA rays. The second ingredient—after zinc oxide—is shea butter, so it’s moisturizing, but it’s not at all greasy. I like the subtle herbal smell, too. And it’s vegan, if you care about that sort of thing.

Ted, Frances, and I have all been using Solar Rx for a couple of weeks now. It seems to be working, in that our skin does not appear to be either tanned or burned, and we’ve been out in the sun a lot. Frances and I both have sensitive skin, but neither one of us has had an adverse reaction to this product. You can read more about Solar RX here, and it’s available through Amazon, too.